Elves on the run

 Book 3 of The Prism Pentad by Troy Denning concerns Sadira, The Amber Enchantress, who again proves there aren't any particularly nice characters in this series. At the end of the last book, we heard about The Levy owed to Borys AKA the Dragon, and in this one, Sadira heads off on her own to find the Pristine Tower, where the dragon was born, to find a way to stop or kill him. This is made complicated by several factors, among them, Nok, the halfling wizard whose staff she bears wants it back and is a bit annoyed by her holding on to it. We also have King Tithian riding the mind of her Kank (a horse sized ant) trying to get her killed. Oh yeah, and her long lost father, chief of the Sun Runners elf tribe and her half brothers and sisters. 

Now, to say Sadira has Daddy Issues is an understatement. Daddy left her mom to rot in the slave pits of Tyr. When she eventually gets around to confronting him, he doesn't even remember her mother's name. Mind you, the worst comes in the City of Nibenay, where Sadira and her half sister get wrapped in a plot to incapacitate Daddy, but they also have to keep giving him the antidote due to various complications. 

Mind you, the half centipede prince is out to get Sadira after being tipped off by Tithian, and half of her allies want her dead because she keeps abusing her magic. (This book delves deep into how magic works on Athas. Most magic users draw energy from plants. Problem being, you grab too much, you kill the plants, making you a defiler. Certain users can draw on the energy of animals, although again, it's possible to kill people by drawing too much. Thus the levy. Anyway, Sadira does manage to kill several plants along the way, instead of dying as her allies feel she should have.) On the other hand, when she does eventually reach the Pristine Tower, we find it has a strange metamorphic field that causes any wound to start transforming the bearer into....something else. 

By the end of this, we know the Sorcerer Kings are keeping something imprisoned, and the shadow people aren't happy about it. We know the Kings are afraid of something. Oh yeah, and Tithian wants to be a true Dragon King. 

Fun book. Not a single good person in it.

Legion of DOOM!

 So, we're back in Athas for The Crimson Legion as Rikus and his partner Neeva lead the Tyr legions to defeat Hamanu of Urik, who's trying to take over Tyr. Added drama by the love quadrangle or Rikus sleeping with both Neeva and Sadira, and Sadira sleeping with Agis, leading to a bunch of relationship drama that would fit right in in Genoa City or Port Charles. (Or maybe Passions, since Rikus gets possessed by a racist wraith halfway through the novel.)

Anyway, plotwise, we're dealing with an "odds are against us" military story, as the free legions are far outnumbered by Urik forces, who also happen to be led by Rikus's first owner. Said owner, is also a master psionicist who is able to get magic from Hamanu, as well as having a shadow giant he can summon. 

We play cat and mouse northeast through the desert as both belligerents try to outwit one another. We find a Dwarven city that happens to have a bit of metaplot within, as well as two maguffins for Rikus to survive combat. (One is the sword of Borys, which cuts through everything AND lets the bearer hear conversations from some distance; the other a belt that catches any missiles aimed at the wearer.) We find out Tithian isn't at all happy about the Senate not respecting his authority. (That King Tithian has two floating shrunken heads as advisors should have tipped us off.)

Anyway, by the end, we know that Borys was on a quest to exterminate the dwarves, and we also know he's since become The Dragon, and the Dragon will eventually demand tribute from Tyr. (We also find out gnomes don't exist in this setting.) We also get our first look at one of Kalak's old buddies and get a better look at how Dragon Magic works. (In this setting, sorcery mixed with psionics. Dark Sun was famous for giving everyone psionic stats. Which, to me, was basically more math is the math game that can be D&D.) 

Overall, a good continuation, and we get to know Rikus better by the end, even as he loses almost everything.

Slavery is bad, ya'll

 It's been several years since I last slogged through Troy Denning's Prism Pentad (which is pretty much the story of D&D's Dark Sun setting), and I'd forgotten how much I occasionally enjoy the desert soap opera. 

The Verdant Passage sets the stage for the next four books (which mostly focus on individual characters in here), as fate aligns the lives of Slave gladiators Rikus and Neeva with escaped slave and sorcerer Sadira, and again with Noble senator Agis and Templar Tithian in the city state of Tyr. 

Basically, the King of Tyr (Kalak) is holding gladiator games to celebrate the building of his ziggurat. Well, except the edifice is actually part of his goal to become a dragon. 

Rikus and Neevah as selected by the Veiled Alliance to kill Kalak during the games. Sadira, who works with the alliance and has been schtupping Rikus, starts schtupping Agis to get him on board after finding out he's all about taking down Kalak. Agis, in the meantime, thinks that because he doesn't abuse his slaves, he's an ok slave owner. His majordomo, on the other hand, would rather become a dwarven banshee than remain a slave. 

Tithian agrees to not interfere, since he has his eyes on becoming king if Kalak buys the farm. (He's also terrified of what Kalak intends to do.)

We end book 1 with Kalak dead, the slaves of Tyr freed, and Tithian wearing the crown. 

It's torrid and turgid, but it's engaging. Worth reading.

Captain Caveman!

 Technically Murder Beneath the Buried Sky by Keith Hartman is a novella, but when it came out, it was the first writing from the author in quite a while. 

We follow Calvin around, in the cave system his parents and several others followed into the cave to escape "The Burn", a nuclear holocaust. While indications remain that it started off as a cult of religious types, it comes clear that isolation had kind of ended the more religious mania of the area, as free love regardless of gender seems to be the norm among most of the folks in the caves. 

The problem is, as we find out, Calvin's dad is found dead at the opening, and Calvin is the prime suspect. 

What follows is a rather engaging mystery, as to who killed Dad and, more importantly why someone would kill the Quartermaster. 

To go into too much detail on everything would spoil the plot, although I think I can get by with saying the author himself expresses its inspiration came from Plato.

Lots of fun, although darker than much of what else Hartman has published.

Merry Go Round the world

 So, Morgan Brice wrote Roustabout in both her universe and in a shared universe involving the Carnival of Mysteries, which I'm taking to be basically like Thieves World back in the day, where different authors write with a shared setting. In this case, a unique carnival that's kind of secondary to the romance budding between Tennessee Supernatural Investigator Bart and RJ (aka Ghost Boy), a con man out to expose the sins of people who hurt his family. (Supposedly, older versions of these guys show up in the Kings of the Mountain series, but it's been a while since I read those.)

Anyway, Bart is called to take on the Ghost boy case in Memphis after the previous agent died of a heart attack. He and RJ actually meet in a hookup bar, although neither realizes who the other is at the time.

Anyway, while they both touch themselves thinking about their encounter in a stall, RJ is busy bringing down his former foster family and a warehouse owner who's disregard for OSHA regulations killed his brother. Bart in the meantime is using his Necromancy to try to figure out what RJ's game is. 

Things go sideways when the RJ finds out the Warehouse owner has a witch on staff. Said witch curses RJ before he can have another date with Bart. Bart in the meantime has figured out what RJ is doing and arranges to have RJ join the Bureau as his partner, although when RJ gets cursed and ghosts him...

Anyway, RJ ends up at the Carnival of Mysteries, figuring dying of a curse among his people (he worked carnivals after running away) is better than dying alone. 

Eventually, everything works out, we get some smut, and everyone is happy, except the bad guys. 

Fun read, although I'm unsure if I feel like looking up other books with the Carnival just to find out more.

Secret identity issues

 I was really happy to see that Keith Hartman released a new novel this year, since his other 3 novels have been entertaining and fun and rereadable. 

So, Confessions of a Former Teen Superhero has what we want from a novelization of a four color comic, with cosmic powers, supervillains, and angst. Since it's Hartman, the hero we're getting as a POV character is queer, and his life without the cape is a shambles. 

Poor Josh. He lives in his mom's basement, and due to his need to go save the world, he has issues getting and keeping employment. Yes, he moonlights as Kid Quasar, complete with a Superman-esque backstory of being an alien sent to earth as a baby, but who gained superpowers when his transport got too near a quasar on the way. He can fly and is invulnerable to bullets, plus he has super strength. Problem is, outside of his skin tight black and gold costume, he has the body of Clay Aiken back in American Idol season 2. 

Josh's mom sets him up with Rick, who leads us in to the idea that Superheroes in this world get sponsorship deals. Rick is part of an agency that works for the current wunderkin Comet Boy, a super speedster who leaves flames in his wake, and seems to always rescue celebrities or save the world where people can film it. 

Not that Quasar Boy doesn't have his fans, there's Tiffany, the obsessed stalker girl who puts herself in jeopardy to get Quasar Boy's attention, plus a few "Mean Girls" men who basically love screwing capes. (Due to my own censorship and the fact I like to keep this blog PG-13 at the outside, I'm sure adults can read between the phrasing on that one and get the idea.) He also has a super scientist Arch-Nemesis, Doctor Nightmare, who winds up providing a heck of a lot of humor through the book. (Really, it's a bit like if Batman and Joker went out for beers and started discussing their personal lives at one point.) 

As the book progresses, we meet other minor superheroes, like Super Surfer (whom just about everyone refers to as Super Stoner) and La Tarantula, the female Mexican Wrestler. And of course, a finale when the masks more or less come off everyone out of camera range.

I found myself loving this book, less because it manages to humanize Superheroes in a way the DC Shared Universe movies have decidedly failed to do (Ok, that was uncalled for. But the DC animated universe has done a better job of making the characters more relatable to viewers than the Live Action one have ever done.) and more because I can better relate to Josh than I would like to admit. (I realize Marvel downplays queer characters for International sales, but with 4 phases, we deserve more than one guy mourning his husband at a support group at the end of Phase III.) I mean, yeah, Josh is fighting the fact he feels ugly because out of costume, he finds himself unattractive surrounded by underwear models and fitness trainers. While I'm surrounded by less...athletic...body tyoes, I feel his pain, as siomeone who's been a fatass most of my life. (Off topic. Even when I got down to 180, I still felt like a fatass.)

Two good things come out of this. One is that it seems to be the start of a series *fangirl squee*, and two, it gives me a chance to recommend another good read to people.

Vampires in fin de siecle St. Louis?

 So, a recent Amazon search turned up another new series by Morgan Brice, this one set in 1896 Missouri. (That search turned up other happy things, as we'll see over the next few entries.)

Peacemaker inaugurates another new series for Brice, this one centered on two (in modern terms) gay men working for the Paranormal Secret Service of the US. Neither knows the other one has an interest in men. Both are attracted to each other. However, in this era, when such things were illegal...

Anyway, Owen Sharps is a medium, who can see and occasionally speak with ghosts. His partner, whom he meets on the train from New Pittsburgh, is Calvin Springfield, a psychometrist, who can read objects. They are replacing tow missing agents in St Louis who were investigating some rather shady land deals around train rail spurs. As part of their compensation, they get a rather Steampunk pullman car and a witch butler named Winston. 

Both have a female contact in St. Louis; a woman muckraking reporter and a pinkerton showgirl. 

While the story follows the beats of a normal meet/cute, they do get involved in a plot by an ambitious vampire to open the gates of hell in a limestone mine, and do eventually realize the attraction is mutual.

While anyone who has read Brice before (or probably her Gail Z. Martin books as well) will recognize the plot devices and pacing,I am giving her credit for doing her research on homosexuality in the era, finding the least offensive slang for the men involved and presenting ways they could seek companionship in an era where such things were highly verboten. 

While this book shares several bones with other series by the same author, the setting drew me in, and I really did wind up enjoying it.

It's a nice day for a white wedding

 Finally getting around to Point Blank by Morgan Brice, the latest book in her BadLands series. (Much as I enjoy her writing, I kind of wish all of it was available in print, since tablets are inconvenient for me to try to read on when I'm travelling to and from work.)

Any rate, Simon, our psychic medium tour guide and shop owner is finally tying the knot with homicide Detective Vic. However, since nothing is ever that easy, we wind up with 3 powerful witch ghosts out to destroy each other and most of Myrtle Beach before the blessed event. 

If you're reading this series, you have an idea of how the plot works, although this time there's a bunch of subplots about wedding jitters and exactly how just how many things can go wrong before you reach the altar. (Yes, I was nodding along quite a bit, although we didn't serve shrimp at our reception.)

Of the numerous Brice series, this is by far the most realistic, since both main characters are older, neither are particularly rich, and much like Agatha Christie, the mysteries come to them. That, and they have actual refraction times. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my smut erotica, but the first Witchbane novel really made me wonder how either POV character had energy to do anything after screwing 5 times in 12 hours.)

And it is nice to see them get the wedding they deserved, and finding out how much their friends actually do care about them. 

A fun addition to the series.