The Summoner: Volume One in the Chronicles of the Necromancer

The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
[Note: This review was originally written in 2007.]

I opened to the title page of The Summoner, where the author had written in my copy, "Thank you for believing." I gave her comment only cursory thought at the time, but it only took the reading of a few pages before I began to believe in Martin’s well-developed fantasy world and in her ability to lead her readers through it with an enchanting grace that obscures the fact that this is her first published novel.

This epic fantasy quest begins with a bloody and violent coup d'état on "Haunts", an evening of festivities when the line that separates the living from the dead blurs and ghosts walk freely among the living. The King of Margolan and his family are slain by order of the heir to the throne, Prince Jared, and the cruel and avaricious prince seizes power. After routing those loyal to the old king, King Jared is left with one small matter remaining: Jared’s younger half-brother, Prince Martris Drayke, has survived the coup and has escaped along with a handful of trusted friends.

"Tris" and his tiny band of followers prove to be elusive and, as the young prince begins discovering the true strength of his heritage, he learns that some of his greatest allies do not dwell in the lands of the living. Tris slowly gains the knowledge and control he will need in order to master the powers of a summoner -— a necromancer. He also learns difficult lessons in the laws, limits, and responsibilities that come with such potent magical power. Meanwhile, as he continues his mission to find a means to remove his half-brother from Margolan’s throne, Tris learns that Jared may not be his most dangerous foe. Another sorcerer of great power, one of the immortal vayash moru, is allied with the Margolan usurper and is setting in motion his plan to awaken and unleash the Obsidian King, thereby plunging the world into a reign of darkness. Tris finds that he must prepare for battles of both physical and magical nature. We learn, as do the young necromancer’s allies, that their fates are deeply intertwined and all will share together in triumph or defeat.

Although one might be tempted to describe a great deal of The Summoner as standard fantasy fare, such a generalization would be a misstatement and an injustice. Martin’s work easily rises above the standard due to the care she has taken in presenting the interaction between the living, the dead, and the undead. The background and detail evident in several of these encounters suggest that they could be easily expanded into novels or novellas and, perhaps, a prequel will appear someday. For now, however, we can be thankful for this breath of new life Martin has summoned into the fantasy genre. After the first few pages, I thought the author’s greatest strengths were a knack for character development and the creation of splendid settings. I was wrong. As I progressed through the tale, I soon found myself adding to my initial list of the author’s skills, admitting gladly that Martin’s command of foreshadowing, suspense, and intricate plot development are also noteworthy. The world, the characters that populate it, the social structures, and the laws of magic are all well conceived and skillfully presented by the author. The Summoner is the first volume of what Martin calls "The Chronicles of the Necromancer" and will be continued in The Blood King, due for release in January 2008. If The Summoner is indicative of what adventures lie ahead in this series, Gail Z. Martin is certain to keep her readers entranced from page one to the finale.

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The Cattle

The Cattle by Greg M. Sarwa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The author gets five stars for his fast-paced story.
I'll only give three stars for the proofing/editing.

Greg Sarwa’s The Cattle is a chilling and incisive glimpse at one possible future facing America. Following a wave of fear and uncertainty brought about by continued terrorist attacks on US interests both at home and abroad, the American government reacts in a decisive, far-reaching effort to curtail acts of violence and end terrorist anonymity. However, in its haste to protect its citizens, the federal government unknowingly squanders the hard-won freedoms purchased with the blood of our forefathers. With international terrorism growing at an alarming rate, ample justification exists for the creation of a National Identification System (NIDS), an electronic guardian of unprecedented scope. The legislation enacted to protect Americans now threatens to irrevocably alter the American way of life, and only a select few are even aware of the dark agenda that takes shape under the guise of protecting our citizenry.

Does this sound like fiction? Perhaps, but it isn’t as improbable as one might think. Disturbingly enough, the technologies needed to make this system a reality are either available or under development today.

But questions remain.

Exactly where are the boundaries of such a system? By accident, Brian Warburton discovers the answer to this question and copies startling evidence of the system’s capabilities on a computer disk. When his dead body is searched, the disk is nowhere to be found.

What secrets have been uncovered? Clues to the disk’s disappearance are contained on a security camera videotape that has also vanished. A trail of death follows both the tape and the disk in a fast-paced and deadly game of cat and mouse.

Can America be warned in time? Chicago TV news reporter, Jacob Reed, through an unusual sequence of events, finds himself thrust into the role of would-be-savior. He must unravel the mystery quickly, all the while staying one step ahead of his coldly efficient pursuers. As Jacob tries to ferret out the truth, others become caught up in a lethal race against time: Jacob’s friend, Eric Lester, whose computer expertise proves indispensable; a Polish immigrant named Anna Tabor who finds herself entangled in a sinister intrigue; Jacob’s “boss”, Richard Leyland, also unwittingly drawn into the fray as the fate of America hangs in the balance.

All in all, The Cattle is a cold splash in the face -- a stark, sobering view of what might yet come to pass. It is a tale many will find as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Chicagoans will delight in the familiar settings, Americans will be enthralled by Jacob’s common man heroics, and readers everywhere will pause to wonder, “Is this fiction or is this a prophecy?”

Visit Greg M Sarwa's website at http://www.gregsarwa.com/

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Arms of Deliverance

Arms of Deliverance: A Story of Promise by Tricia Goyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Arms of Deliverance is author Tricia Goyer’s fourth novel to feature Christian values in a World War II setting. Surprisingly, the main focus of her story is not the men who fought the battles in this bloody, war-torn era. It is, instead, a tale of three women: competitive New York Tribune reporters Mary Kelley and Lee O’Donnelley, and Czech-born Katrine. These women find their lives intertwined despite their vast differences. Mary, a tag-along reporter on a bombing run, finds herself behind enemy lines when Destiny’s Child, the B-17 she is aboard, is shot down while returning from its mission over Berlin. Lee, hailing from the glitz and glamour of high society, learns several lessons of the heart as Mary’s occasional roommate, as a war correspondent on the front lines following the Normandy invasion, and in her effort to rescue her friend. Katrine is an Aryan-appearing Jew hiding in plain sight in Nazi-occupied Belgium. Her deception is so effective and complete that she becomes pregnant with the child of a Nazi Schutzstaffel officer. She lives in terror that her secret will be discovered, thus threatening her life and the life of her unborn child. Heinrich, the SS officer, has devout belief in the righteousness of the Nazi cause. He is a complex character who possesses great national pride and a single-minded drive that is stereotypical of Nazi inflexibility and madness. Though he seems human at times, his humanity is often swallowed up by the part of him that is has become a brutally evil monstrosity. His actions are governed by his misguided belief in the Nazi philosophy of Aryan supremacy, his rationalization of the Nazi breeding program, and a deep desire to produce a son to perpetuate the Thousand Year Reich.

The Historical Notes and Acknowledgments pages, thoughtfully included by the author, speak of the care she has taken to bring her readers realism through research and historical accuracy. Although her book is a work of fiction, she has skillfully interwoven fact into this tale, effectively breathing life and honest emotion into the characters that populate it.

Arms of Deliverance is touted as "A Story of Promise" and, in this, Tricia Goyer does not disappoint. The diverse obstacles each of the three women face and the tough choices they make in moments of great adversity contribute to their increased faith in God and a resulting bond of trust in each other. Although some may be tempted to categorize her work as historical romance, it goes beyond such mundane attempts to pigeonhole it. Goyer’s book is a war story, a tale of faith in God, and a romance. Even so, her book is not written for the hardened student of military history, nor is it strictly for the Christian fiction crowd, nor those who devour romance novels by the dozen. In Arms of Deliverance, the author has created a sweeping meld of genres, and has provided a story that will be satisfying to a wide range of readers. It is an unexpectedly heartwarming story of promise—Tricia Goyer offers us the promise that there is hope for humanity through kindness, love, sacrifice, and individual acts of faith.

For more information about Tricia Goyer and the books she has written, visit http://www.thegoyers.com/

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Fragile Things

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Neil Gaiman Feast... As if he had written it expressly for those who think they have no reason to read an anthology, author Neil Gaiman presents a smorgasbord of thirty-one very good reasons in Fragile Things. While this collection of short fiction cannot provide the same experience as feasting on one of his novels, it does allow a reader the time to savor and digest each delicate morsel before moving on to the next bite. What a delightful literary meal!

In Fragile Things, Gaiman serves up an erratically varied stew of short fiction, which, for some readers, may be somewhat unsettling. Perhaps foreseeing this possibility, the author has included an informative and entertaining introduction that is useful in appreciating the pieces presented thereafter. These tidbits, introductory background notes regarding each tale or bit of poetry, are helpful in the reader’s full understanding of the author’s work. It is within the introduction, also, that one discovers which pieces have been awarded critical recognition, such as Locus Award-winning “October in the Chair”, or Hugo Award-winning “A Study in Emerald”, the latter an unusual blending of H.P. Lovecraft and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In predictably unpredictable Gaiman fashion, a thirty-second short piece, “The Mapmaker”, is found tucked neatly into the introduction.

The range of subject matter is wide, yet the voice throughout is unmistakably Gaiman: his stories contain an irrational plausibility that seems to stem from the ease with which he appears to write. To entertain his fans and to entice new readers, the author offers his readers appetizers such as a trip to hell in “Other People” and a brief foray into the world of filmdom’s “The Matrix” in the short story “Goliath”. Those who are familiar with Gaiman’s earlier work will revel in Gaiman’s tales and in the poems scattered between them. As an added incentive for his followers to remain faithful, the author closes the anthology with “The Monarch of the Glen”, a novella that revisits the world and main character made popular in his earlier, widely acclaimed novel, American Gods.

The poems and short stories nestled between the covers of Fragile Things afford glimpses of the author’s creativity; each view comes from a slightly different perspective, under varied shades of light and dark, and yet all are seen through the same prism—that fragile thing that is Neil Gaiman’s boundless imagination. This collection will become a welcome addition on the shelf of any Gaiman fan, and is an open invitation to the uninitiated. Welcome to the banquet. There’s a place at the head of the table just for you, dear reader.

Neil Gaiman's website may be found at http://www.neilgaiman.com/

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The Coming of the Walrus

The Coming of the Walrus by James Riordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I probably should have given The Coming of the Walrus only four stars. However, I'm allowing my personal tastes to override my critical sensibilities and awarding it that fifth star. Why? Just because I enjoyed it so much... After all, isn't that what reading is all about?

The Coming of the Walrus is the definitive novel for those who were born too late to experience the 60’s, or for those who fondly recall the 60’s, or even those who lived it but were too stoned then to remember any of it now. Here is author James Riordan’s hilarious tale of Dave Chalmers and his harrowing search for the greatest truth of all.

Dave Chalmers is a burned-out former reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. A fateful meeting with over-aged roadie Tom-Tom Brubaker at a concert in The Who’s “last” tour sets in motion a chain of improbable events and meetings. When Tom-Tom’s body turns up at the morgue following the concert, Dave Chalmers begins piecing together clues to a greater mystery and sets out on a personal quest to discover the identity of the legendary Walrus of Beatles song fame.

Chalmers, a reluctant, ill-prepared, and delightfully unlikely hero, soon finds himself whisked along on a wild, globe-hopping carnival ride of discovery—a roller coaster with angels and demons wrestling for the controls. Why are they interested in a nobody like Dave, you might ask? The answer is deceptively simple. Chalmers is determined to uncover the secret of the Walrus, to rediscover the source of all the “goodness” that existed in the 60’s and, perhaps, to satisfy his foot fetish or a few other fantasies. To make matters worse, Dave’s motivation for embarking on this quest is an enigma that even he cannot fathom. The author, skillfully stretching and manipulating even the most outrageous fables and conspiracy theories of the 60’s, soon has his readers hoping—and occasionally believing—that there actually may be something to the Walrus Myth.

In the broadest terms, The Coming of the Walrus is a tale well worth reading. If not for some adult language, situations, and themes, I would have recommended this novel to anyone who can lay hands on a copy. One should be aware at the outset, however, that it is meant for mature readers who are comfortable in knowing that their humor gyroscopes may be more than a couple degrees out of calibration. My initial impression of the book, based on its appearance and rather limited information about it, was very enthusiastic. As a reader, I was not disappointed by this fast-paced, madcap tale that reminds me of a quirky melding of The Da Vinci Code and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A great deal of the book’s charm rests in the raw feel of the work. Surprisingly, the over-sized, trade paperback format and a few scattered typos within add to its immediacy and appeal. The often-humorous revelations about human nature, presented through Dave Chalmers’ experiences, also have impact of a serious nature. After reading The Coming of the Walrus, it is easy to find oneself contemplating the big picture and marveling at the monumental battles between good and evil that raged in the 1960’s.

Even with the abundant humor straining to burst from between the covers of this book, readers can still believe that, perhaps, not everything about the Walrus is mere legend. Perhaps even peace, love, and understanding… So, dear readers, dive in for a swim with this Walrus, but watch out for the Roly-Poly Man!

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Weapon of Flesh

Weapon of Flesh by Chris A. Jackson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the city of Twailin a power struggle has been heating up for years. The fate of the city hangs in the balance as the Duke, others of the noble families, and factions of the Guilds ruthlessly vie for supremacy. The chessboard is cluttered with numerous pawns, but one very special pawn might sway the battle. But who will control this pawn?

Per the exacting instructions of the mysterious Grandfather, a weapon is fashioned. Through the painstaking labor of the wizard, Corillian, a perfect killing machine is created. Over the span of years, an innocent babe is transformed into a flawless, nameless assassin. He is simply “the weapon.” As a result of the wizard’s magic, the weapon has no emotion, feels no pain, moves silently, leaves no traces of his passing, and enjoys enhanced senses, agility, and strength. Grievous wounds knit and heal in moments. The weapon is trained by masters of the various martial arts in all forms of combat, armed and unarmed. His training does not include the clutter of social skills or human emotions. He has but one purpose: to kill.

This weapon is readied for delivery to a new master who will wield it to his advantage. But Corillian fails to deliver the weapon to this new owner, and a nameless young man, who knows nothing of the world and thousands of ways to end a human life, finds he must find his destiny on his own.

Based on his first brief encounters with society, the weapon makes the assumption that his name must be Lad. He thrills in his newfound autonomy, but Lad is unaware that the Grandfather’s hunters track him, intent on locating and capturing him alive—at any cost—by any means. After nearly two decades of waiting, the Grandfather is impatient to try out his new weapon. The Grandfather’s agenda remains a secret, even to his closest underlings, but there is no doubt that Lad, the weapon of flesh, is integral to the plan’s success.

Lad, through the controlled process of his creation, is like no other young man this, or any other, world has known. This fact was not lost on the author, who offers his readers the stark realities of a world rife with magic, intrigue, assassins, and death. This is not a tale for children, nor is it for those of meek demeanor. It is an often-dark exploration of man’s emotions, desires, hopes and downfalls. It is a clash of a wizard’s arcane spells and the magic of love, a battle of innocence against soul-consuming evil. The author’s treatment of the book’s characters is both consistent and insightful, allowing one to easily empathize with the heroes and loathe the villains. Some of Jackson’s characters fit neatly into one of those categories. Others, however, occupy that grey area between, adding spice to this tale as we struggle to sort them out. Weapon of Flesh is a fabulous tale of medieval fantasy that will leave readers begging for more from author Chris A Jackson.

To discover more about this talented author, visit http://www.jaxbooks.com/

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Collected Poems by Chinua Achebe

Collected Poems by Chinua Achebe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Within the bright yet unremarkable cover of this small book is the world as seen through the eyes of Mr. Chinua Achebe. The world witnessed by this talented Nigerian-born author and poet contains death, hope, strife, hunger, joy, love, wisdom, and wonder—and Achebe ushers his audience on an emotional journey through them all. As I read Collected Poems, I became more interested in the poet himself and was driven to learn more about the man behind the words. What continues to impress me the most about Achebe is the half-century span of his creative effort and quiet achievement in literature. As I thought more on this, I found that beside his sometimes brutally heart-wrenching imagery, what disturbs me about this man’s literary work is that America is mostly unaware of its existence.

As undeniable proof that big things come in small packages, Achebe’s mastery of the English vocabulary shines in this thin but powerful collection of poetry. He begins with a short preface then presents his poetry in five categorized chapters. At the back of the book are a few pages of notes, which I found to be a welcome and indispensable reference.

Steeped in the tragedies of a Biafra too soon forgotten, the chapter titled “Poems About War” is perhaps the most compelling. Achebe brings to light aspects of war sometimes overlooked. For example, in “A Mother In A Refugee Camp”, a mother’s love for her child converges with her hopeless acceptance of that child’s imminent death from starvation. Passing on into the chapter of “Poems Not About War,” the reader will discover such gems as “Public Execution In Pictures” and marvel at Achebe’s ability to capture the emotion of such an event. The poem expresses gratitude that children who see atrocities in newspaper photographs have not themselves witnessed them firsthand. At the same time, there is an unspoken regret that they may never fully understand injustice and or human suffering.

Much of this book has seen prior publication in 1973’s Christmas in Biafra and Other Poems. For those of us whose memory of the Biafran War has grown dim and for those unfortunate enough not to have read his earlier book, the reintroduction of Achebe’s vision in Collected Poems is nothing short of a gift. So mired are we in our own day-to-day minutia that we rarely notice what has happened or what is happening elsewhere in human terms. Mr. Achebe has, with his elegant words in Collected Poems, given both a reason and a means to see beyond our own doorstep.

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Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel

Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel by David Goodberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For our reading enjoyment--and contemplation--author David Goodberg presents three dozen short tales from the age following the Worlds War of 2267. Time travel has become commercially available and, as with most technologies, mankind has found various methods of exploitation, misuse, and ....... well, if there's a loophole in the rules, you can just bet that someone will find it and stretch it to the breaking point. With temporal paradox as that loophole, be ready for some serious reality evasion.

Some of the stories in this collection seem to be intended as lessons in future history that we should study so that we of our own era might use this knowledge to avoid falling into the pitfalls before us. Other selections from this time travel grab bag take serious jabs at the failings and flaws of society, highlighting those individual imperfections that make us human.

"Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel" stands as an entertaining diversion with subtle streams of deeper thought, and the illustrations throughout by Antonio Deleo spark just the right amount of curiosity about each new story by David Goodberg.

[Note: I received this book at no cost through Goodreads First Reads.]

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The Quotable American Civil War

The Quotable American Civil War by Iain C. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Iain C. Martin's The Quotable American Civil War is an excellent overview of the American Civil War, passed down to us through the words of those who lived it. The variety of attributed sources serves as both a "Who's Who" of the era and a remembrance of those whose names are no longer part of our collective memory. This book of quotations is a treasure trove of emotionally charged utterances -- from battle weary Union and Confederate infantrymen, storied generals, statesmen and scholars, and the Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis -- all grouped into chapters to enhance the reader's understanding of the war of brother vs. brother that tested the resiliency and resolve of all Americans.

The Civil War proved to be America's crucible, forging the nation's character. This compilation of compelling thoughts, deep wisdom, and occasional humorous quips does honor to those men and women whose actions and beliefs were the catalysts for great social and political change.

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Lyn Perry Reintroduces a Truly EPIC Warrior Hero

Some food for thought.