Where Alchemist Gangs Turn Everything into Trouble

Red City by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a birthday present, so I was already predisposed to liking the book. And I was glad to find it was a good read. :)

Sam and Ari are shy kids who become best friends in school without ever revealing anything personal about their lives and where they come from. Both are gifted in different ways and recruited by alchemist syndicates. There they are trained under pretty harsh conditions to be able to use alchemy to transform things into different states. There are many magic-type things they both learn to do, all in the service of the nefarious businesses their syndicates are involved in. But neither tells the other that they're in rival gangs.

The story tells about their childhood and their progress in alchemy and the business of organized crime, showing how they become useful and important in their separate organizations. This includes both of them being coached and pressured into committing some pretty horrible acts. It's all aimed at other gang members, rivals, career criminals, people we aren't supposed to care about all that much, but it's not awesome, and as a reader you start to wonder of either one is redeemable--because they're both still likable, in a way, and I was rooting for them. (Is this another Breaking Bad situation where the author is seeing how much we'll put up with and still root for the character? I'm not sure. Are we meant to pardon them their crimes because they've clearly been both coerced and groomed from an early age? Maybe.)

All through, you're hoping Sam and Ari get to break free of their rival gangs, and the ending has a sort of answer to that, though I'm sure the sequels will have a lot more to say about it.

It's a very compelling alternate world that Marie Lu has created. The rules governing the magic system (though it's something like a science in the book) make sense, and the societal impact adds up, too. Well thought out. I think there's a lot more to explore in future novels, maybe among the regular, non-alchemist population, and I hope we see more of that in whatever sequels she may write. I want to see more from the main characters, too, obviously, so I hope those are in the works.

Four stars. Recommended.

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Where I Gritted My Teeth and Loved It

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a high-powered read. Amazing.

The story of Miriam, a damaged and angry young woman who sees death everywhere, is rough, and it is upsetting at times, and it is hard to read in places. But it's hard in a good way.

Miriam is smart and smart-mouthed, coarse and off-putting and desperately self-aware, and she is a fantastic character. She's just trying to survive in a world where she can't hide from the horrible truths she sees, but she doing a bad job of it. She can't stop people from getting hurt so she just gives up. Until she can't. That's where it gets really good.

The language here is challenging, the dialogue especially filled with crudities and ugliness that would be labeled "problematic" if it were coming from a real person instead of a character, and reading a lot of it is like falling on your hands and knees in broken glass. I'm not precious or pearl-clutching as a rule, but I found myself grimacing and wincing and making faces--and it's fantastic. The prose is brilliant. F'ed up, but brilliant.

The story is non-stop, rolling along like an action movie. It's a ton of fun.

Recommended.

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Think Hellboy as Kolchak in Ohio

Uncanny Collateral by Brian McClellan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was good fun from start to finish.

A novella lives and dies on pacing, IMO--if it's gonna be short, it better be punchy--and I think he's nailed it. Brian McClellan has a knack for breakneck pacing, and it makes this book a fast, fun read.

I like the main character, Alek. He's tough but limited, in some ways. He's brave but not stupid. He's loyal but not blind. Sorta like Hellboy as private eye. And he has some friends and acquaintances that I look forward to seeing again.

The story here works, and shows there's a ton of room for similar tales. Maybe he'll write a bunch (there's one sequel already) and publish them in a big fat paperback, which is my preferred way to get books. For now, ebook is the best choice.

Lots of fun. Imps and shapeshifters and wizards in Ohio. Ya gotta love that!

Well, I did.

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