A Shadow All Of Light by Fred Chappell

Conceptually this should be an interesting book.   It has a unique perspective that shadows embody human characteristics.   It suggests that shadows can be captured and thusly impact the caster.

The author created a scenario of mentor and apprentice.   The apprentice earns a fair number of lumps as an apprentice.   The mentor is widely regarded as having been the consummate shadow thief although he, Astolfo, denies this.  Falco is the hapless apprentice that hopes to learn enough to fend for himself.

I struggled with this book and I really can't put my finger on the reason.  It never really captured my interest.   Aware that I might incite another reader pummeling for my strong feelings regarding likeability,  I really didn't find any of the characters likeable.   Not for their blackness of heart or lightness of soul, none incited likeability for me which, I confess, is what drags me into a book.  I want to  see what happens to the characters that i like.  

A well written book that didn't grab me but it might grab you.

www. http://us.macmillan.com/ashadowalloflight/fredchappellThis book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Dissension by Stacey Berg

This post-apocalyptic novel features a church as the technological overseer of the remnants of mankind.   The church keeps the lights on, the water flowing and the Saint keeps the church running.   Hunter is both a name and a descriptive turn for what appears to be a cloned police force for the church.  How Echo Hunter 367 discovers her humanity and strays from the church is the focus of the book.

Berg does a good job in describing her sad future.   She has portrayed characters that ring true while allowing room for likes and dislikes.   Naïveté and cynicism run rampant through the pages.

This may be a series if so I look forward to the next book.

I recommend the book.

website: http://staceyberg.com/?page_id=141

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Spotlight on Final Flight by Beth Cato

Another breathtaking short story from the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown, set in the same world…
Captain Hue hoped he was rid of his troubles once Octavia Leander and Alonzo Garrett disembarked from his airship Argus. But he was quickly proved wrong when his ship was commandeered by Caskentian soldiers. He is ordered on a covert and deadly mission by the smarmy Julius Corrado, an elite Clockwork Dagger.

Now Captain Hue must start a mutiny to regain control of his airship, which means putting his entire crew at risk-including his teenage son Sheridan. As the weather worsens and time runs out, it’ll take incredible bravery to bring the Argus down….perhaps for good.

Beth Cato hails from Hanford, California, but currently writes and bakes cookies in a lair outside of Phoenix, Arizona. She is the author of The Clockwork Dagger and The Clockwork Crown. She shares the household with a hockey-loving husband, a numbers-obsessed son, and a cat the size of a canned ham. You can follow her on Twitter @bethcato

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About the Book:

FINAL FLIGHT by Beth Cato

Harper Voyager Impulse, $3.99

e-ISBN: 9780062411280

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

I dearly love the Harry Dresden books but I think Butcher has outdone himself with this new series.  Skyscraper communities that avoid the surface of the planet and trade and war with air ships provide the setting for this intriguing book.   As normal with Butcher the relationships and depiction of courage, honor, loyalty and other laudable characteristics are imbued in his characters.  

Butcher does a superior job in creating an environment that is uniquely his.   The people are the strength of the story but his stage setting provides the glue that makes the plot soar.  

References to possible creatures in future books merely whet the appetite for more reading.   The sentience and behavior of cats as exhibited by Rowl certainly show Butcher has had plenty of exposure to the egocentric felines.   I have mentioned repeatedly that anthropomorphism is one of my favorite subjects.   Butcher does a very good job with that.   Inklings of sentience in aspects of transportation set up the potential for some interesting future communications.  

I highly recommend the book.

web site: http://www.jim-butcher.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Black Dog by Caitlin Kittredge

Ava is a lost soul who may not actually have a soul as she is a hellhound.  The black dog of death, the harbinger of doom or a massively conflicted semi-soul.  Her job is to collect the souls of those who have made deals with Hell.  This book sets the stage for a series as it introduces the good guys, the bad guys and they mass of grey guys in between.  

Ava is a contradiction, she is a merciless killer and yet has a heart.   She is not a shape shifter and yet she shifts her shape.  Her internal conflicts would fuel the furnace of a passel of psychologists and psychiatrists.  

Her interaction with her "friend" Leo and her supposed friends provides much of the tension of the book.   The story is one of personal growth or character development.   Ava at the end is not the same Ava of the begining.

I recommend the book.

Web Site: www. caitlinkittredge.com

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

This is a story of tolerance, relationships and love set on the Wayfarer, a utilitarian space ship.  

Chambers wrote a story that was far more than a space opera.  The characters were noble and yet felt like people you might have as acquaintances.   Jenks and Kizzy reminded me so much of some of the technicians on my staff when I had a computer business.   Sissy was the embodiment of some of my relatives who have a serious science bent.   I had no trouble at all relating to the characters and felt an enormous empathy for them.  

The demonstration of tolerance and the facing of intolerance was an unflattering mirror to our less than tolerant society as demonstrated by the current election process and some of the vicious and racists demagoguery.

Chambers clearly showed the camaraderie and loyalty that is inspirational and laudable.   This could be a workbook for team building.    

It should be abundantly clear that I really enjoyed this book.  

I highly recommend it.

Web Site: http://tinyurl.com/zyupsup

\This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The Skeleth by Matthew Jobin

As I said on my review of Jobin's first book,  The Nethergrim , this is billed as a YA book.  I would suggest the upper end of YA as there is considerable violence and death.  Do not take that as a criticism, merely as a caution that I would not recommend the book for 10 year olds.  

The trio of Katherine, Edmund and Tom return in this book to confront the continuing threat of the Nethergrim, an ancient evil. 

Jobin creates a situation that tests each character and further hones them into laudable young heroes.   There are a lot of adults in the book who illustrate the worse aspects of human nature.  

I particularly liked the way Jobin crafted a solution to the deprivations of the Skeleth which will remain a mystery until you read the book. 

This book shows the quality of the first book was not a fluke as that same high quality continues in this book.   Some of Jobin's lines are crafted so adroitly that they are poetic.  "Evening slipped inside and found itself a welcome guest."  I read that line multiple times and marveled at Jobin's talent.   Well done!

I highly recommend.

Web Site:  http://matthewjobin.com/

 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

In the Spotlight: DIVINE DESCENDANT by Jenna Black

For Immortal Huntress and cunning private investigator Nikki Glass, vengeance trumps all in DIVINE DESCENDANT(Pocket Star EBooks; May 16, 2016; $1.99), the final novel in acclaimed author Jenna Black's addictive urban fantasy series!

Nikki Glass, descendant of Artemis the Huntress, is all for justice, but she draws the line at cold-blooded murder. Too bad she works for Anderson Kane, a god in disguise who just happens to be the son of a Fury. He wants Konstantin, the deposed leader of the Olympians, dead, and he needs Nikki’s help to hunt his nemesis down. Saying no to a god might be bad for her health, but Nikki is no pushover. She would do anything to protect her family, and now sets off on the deadliest of hunts, knowing that a single false step could trigger a war between Anderson and the Olympians—a war Anderson cannot hope to win. But is it possible she has another enemy? Maybe even one in her own house? As the mysteries deepen and the suspects mount, Nikki must try to put the pieces together and catch the real culprit before innocent people get caught in the cross fire.

Jenna Black is the author of the Nikki Glass, Immortal Huntress series. She is also the creator of the popular Morgan Kingsley urban fantasy series, the Guardians of the Night paranormal romance series, and the Faeriewalker young adult fantasy series. She lives in North Carolina. Visit JennaBlack.com

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This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.