Review of The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein
Jul
15
2011
The Uncertain Places
by Lisa Goldstein
240pp (Trade Paperback)
My Rating: 6/10
Amazon Rating: 4/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.21/5
 

The Uncertain Places is a fantasy book incorporating fairy tales set in Berkeley, California, in the 1970s and some of the 1980s. The author, Lisa Goldstein, won the American Book Award for her novel The Red Magician.  She has also been nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and several other awards, including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award.

Ben Avery and Will Taylor have been friends for years so it’s no surprise that when Ben begins dating Maddie Feierabend, he tries to hook Will up with her sister Livvy – and is correct that his friend will hit it off with her.  Will continues to get to know Livvy while they both attend school at Berkeley, and both Will and Ben look forward to their visits with the entire charming family at their farmhouse in Napa Valley.

Yet as Will spends more and more time in the Feierabend home, he begins to notice strange occurrences.  When he gets up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he finds a man cleaning the house.  While exploring the woods one day, he overhears a conversation about a mysterious bargain but only sees crows nearby.  He’s also noticed Livvy’s entire family seems to get uncomfortable whenever fairy tales are mentioned, and when he tries to assuage his curiosity about these matters, he gets the feeling he’s not getting the entire truth.

One day when Will is supposed to meet Livvy, she doesn’t show up.  After he gives up on her coming by, he goes home and calls her.  Livvy says she’s felt strange all day so they keep the conversation short and Will says he’ll call her tomorrow.  The next day he keeps calling only to be told by her roommate that she is sleeping.  Every time he calls to check on her, he receives the same response until it’s been long enough that he’s really worried about her.  He goes to her apartment and then calls her mother to inform her about the situation and ask what she wants him to do.  She asks him to bring Livvy home, and when he shows up with her the family seems very upset but not particularly surprised.  As days go no with no change in Livvy, Will determines to discover the secret that the Feierabends are hiding – and do whatever it takes to get Livvy back.

When I was first offered a review copy of The Uncertain Places, I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of Lisa Goldstein before.  A dark fantasy involving fairy tales sounded right up my alley and I love to discover new-to-me authors, so I was really looking forward to reading this book.  It ended up being one of those books that’s hard to describe, though.  It was not a bad book by any means or a struggle to get through, but it wasn’t quite for me, mainly because it didn’t really engage me while I was reading it or keep me thinking about it after I was finished, either.  That special spark that moves a book from merely readable to truly enjoyable was missing, and this was largely due to a lack of any sort of emotional connection with any of the characters.

The best part of this book was the fairy tale of the bondsmaid, which as far as I can tell is an original tale with a lot of common fairy tale story elements.  It was first set up as a mystery, starting with the general strangeness of the behavior of the entire Feierabend family and the different strange occurrences Will noticed as he spent more and more time at the farmhouse.  Then Livvy began acting strangely as well and lapsed into sleeping for days on end.  Soon, the entire story of the family’s bargain was revealed and the mystery became discovering more of the details of the past and just how to change the bargain.  I loved this part of the story with its deals and tricks and how it fit in with Grimm’s Fairy Tales, as well as some of the little clues.  However, there were times where the research and interviewing that went into solving the puzzle lagged down the pacing a bit.

The fairy tale would have worked a little better for me if it was a little bit creepier, though, and I think that having some sort of affinity with the characters would have gone a long way toward that.  As is the case with Grimm’s Fairy Tales, this was a dark story, but it failed to disturb me at all.  Both Will and Livvy felt like characters in a story instead of real people with depth, and if I could have really cared about them or believed in either of them as more than a fictional creation in a tale, it would have had enough tension to do that.  We were told some about who the characters were and their hopes, dreams, aspirations, and beliefs – Maddie with her anti-war political agenda; Livvy with her enjoyment of chemistry and cooking; Rose with her history; and Will with his new feminist outlook, psychological studies, determination, and that love for Livvy that fueled his fierce determination. In spite of that, they never seemed to come to life with vibrant personalities, though.  There were conversations with banter that seemed to be trying to give them more of that personality, but a lot of it fell flat for me and seemed to be trying too hard with some punning and some lame jokes. (Fortunately, the bad puns were limited to the first chapter.)

Overall, The Uncertain Places was a decent book with a mysterious fairy tale merged with 1970s California, but it could have been a lot better if only the characters were less bland and some of the pacing was less uneven.  It has not left me averse to reading another book by Lisa Goldstein at all since the actual story told was enjoyable, but it also hasn’t left me excited about the possibility of looking up her backlist of work.

My Rating: 6/10

Where I got my reading copy: The publisher sent me an ARC.

Other Reviews:

A Dance With Dragons Book Tour!
Jul
13
2011

George R. R. Martin Signing A Dance With Dragons
GRRM signs the book that you can win in a giveaway below!

Yesterday I did something crazy and made the trip from central Maine to Burlington, Massachusetts – all to be at the release day event of the A Dance With Dragons book tour!  Was it worth it?  I think so now that it’s over, but I’m not completely sure since I drove about 8 hours total to spend about 3 and a half hours mostly outside in the heat waiting to get my books signed.  And after all that, I (along with the vast majority of the crowd of 1600 people) didn’t even get to make it inside to listen to George R. R. Martin talk.  I really wanted to listen to the talk, not just get signed books (although those are nice – I’ve wanted some signed copies of these books for a very long time and ended up getting a hardcover copy of A Game of Thrones signed in addition to A Dance With Dragons).

I think it is fantastic that so many people showed up and were that excited about reading a book.  I’ve been a huge fan of the series for nearly 10 years (A Storm of Swords was still only available in hardcover when I first started reading the series) so I was especially glad to see that now a lot of other people are appreciating it as well.  It was also nice of George R. R. Martin to go to Massachusetts, talk to people, and cheerfully sign so many books for everyone.  It seems like a lot of authors don’t make it farther than New York City in the Northeast so I really appreciate the fact that he came this close to where I live.

To be completely honest, though, I felt that the Barnes and Noble was not an ideal location for an event of this size nor were their staff prepared to handle it (and it’s not likely they didn’t realize they were going to have this many people since they still had plenty of books left an hour and a half after the signing started when I left).  I saw on the tour list that there are several events being held at town halls or locations other than the bookstore that is sponsoring it, and I think this may have been a good option for this event as well.

Only a very small percentage of the crowd actually got to hear George R. R. Martin talk so the vast majority of the people who showed up had to wait in line outside the entire time other people were inside getting to listen to him.  Not only that, but those of us that weren’t there were completely left out of the loop.  I learned later from a thread on Westeros about what was said and that even though they were trying to keep the line moving quickly, George R. R. Martin had encouraged people to talk to him briefly or ask him a question while signing books.  Nobody told the rest of us that, and nobody was saying much to him when they got their books signed, so I thought that talking to him had been discouraged and didn’t say anything more than “Hi” and “Thank you for signing my books.”  I had wanted to tell him I had been a fan of the series for a long time and had come all the way from Maine for this event but had gotten the impression that might not be ok by the time I got my chance. I suspect other people did as well and that’s why none of the other people ahead of me tried to say much to him, either.  As my husband told me when we learned this, he probably wondered why everybody was being rude and not saying much to him.

Also, the staff were very insistent that everyone around us get rid of their backpacks and chairs around 5:30 because they were going to try to get as many people as possible inside to listen to George R. R. Martin speak.  That would have been great if these people hadn’t had to wait outside the whole time he talked, starting at 7, and beyond.  But none of these people near me was even close to getting in and could have really used those chairs.

There were a few other things that kind of bothered me about how it was run, too, but those were the major ones so we’ll try to stop this rant-fest before it gets too out of hand.  I don’t want to give the impression at all that I think any of it reflects badly on the author because he’s just a guest who kindly took the time to come all the way out here to talk to some fans and spend hours tirelessly signing books (all things said and done, I was fairly close to the front of the line when taking all the people who were there into account and I left around 8:30 – 9:00 so there was a lot of signing). But I was disappointed in how the event was organized.

So with new lessons learned and all that, I’d like to pass along some advice to any other readers who are planning to attend any events as part of the A Dance With Dragons tour.  Hopefully it will help make your experience better than mine!

  • Reserve books if possible. If you are buying books at the bookstore (for this particular event you were only guaranteed a signature if you bought books from the store or another Barnes and Noble), call them ahead of time to see if you can reserve books. I did this and am glad I did – it’s a long way to drive to come away with nothing and even aside from that it’s a long time to wait to come away with nothing!
  • Find out the rules for your particular tour location.  Find out if you need to buy the book at the store for your particular location, if you’re allowed to bring other books to sign and how many, etc. The basics of this information is available as part of the basic tour info.
  • If you’re not familiar with the location, find out just how limited the space available is. Don’t assume they’ll be able to accommodate everyone or even most of the attendees. Do they have space for lots of people to be able to listen to George R. R. Martin talk?  If it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be room for many and you don’t really want to go if you’re just going to wait around for signed books and miss the talk, you might just want to save your time and order a copy from The Signed Page.
  • Find out if there is a chance you will be waiting outside.  If there is the possibility there will not be room to wait inside at your location, you may want to bring sunscreen if it’s sunny or an umbrella if there’s a chance of rain. I also kind of wished I had brought a blanket or towel to sit on – something easy to fold back up and put away that will keep you from getting dirty.  There will be a lot of standing around and you will get tired enough to want to sit down at some point.
  • Get there as early as possible. This goes without saying, but it’s not always possible to get there really early which is why I suggest finding out just how much space is available and weighing just how much you want to go if there’s a chance not everyone will be accommodated for listening to the author’s talk.
  • Bring something to drink or snack on.  If you are waiting outside in the heat you will get thirsty!
  • If possible, go with a friend. That way they can hold your place in line if you do need to bring chairs back to your car, get a drink, use the restroom, or go back to buy an extra book to get signed.
  • Wear your most comfortable shoes.  I came straight from work in a rush, and I didn’t do this.  It’s not even that I wore very uncomfortable shoes; they’re shoes that aren’t really bad most of the time.  After standing on your feet for a couple of hours, though, you will want your most comfortable pair of shoes!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a certain book to read…

Giveaway: Signed Copy of A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin
Jul
12
2011

A little while ago I decided to actually go to the signing on the A Dance With Dragons tour nearest me even though it’s 4 hours away.  Before deciding to go down, I called the bookstore to make sure I could reserve a book. After all, it would just be sad to cancel my Amazon pre-order, get the time off work, and go all the way down there to come away with no signed book!  It turned out I was able to reserve books, so I actually reserved 2 copies of the book – 1 for John and me and 1 to give away here to someone who isn’t fortunate enough to be able to attend one of the signings on the tour (or crazy enough to do what I’m doing and drive two states away to go to one).

Although I’m sure it needs no introduction, here is some information on A Dance With Dragons:

A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin

Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his spellbinding landmark series–as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire.

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again–beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times three thousand enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

To the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone–a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all. . . .

Giveaway Rules: One entry per person.  This giveaway is open internationally and will run through the end of the day of Tuesday, July 19.  A winner will be selected using random.org on the following day.  If I do not hear from the winner by the end of the day on Friday, July 22, a new winner will be selected.  That winner will then have 48 hours to get back to me or a new winner will be selected.

To enter the giveaway, fill out the form below.  Please Note: Email addresses are only used for the purpose of notifying the winner.  All email addresses will be deleted once the giveaway is over and there is an address to send the book to.

Update: The form has been removed since the giveaway is now over.

Good luck!

The Leaning Pile of Books
Jul
10
2011

Due to a busy week, I haven’t had a chance to finish any of those reviews, but I’m hoping to at least finish the one I have started today so I can post it sometime next week.  However, next week is going to be busy as well since John and I decided to drive the 4 hours to go to one of George R. R. Martin’s signings on the A Dance With Dragons tour!  I’m very excited since this has been one of my favorite fantasy series since close to the beginning of my foray into reading fantasy books like an addict. And I may have reserved 2 copies so I can give away one to someone who will not be able to attend one of the book tour signings…

So, anyway, on to the books – 1 review copy, 1 bargain book bought, and 2 graphic novels received as gifts.

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel KayUnder Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while so when I found a hardcover copy for about $5 once shipping was added, I snatched it up.  It’s a stand alone fantasy inspired by Tang dynasty China, which sounds awesome enough on its own, but Guy Gavriel Kay also wrote Tigana, an excellent fantasy novel I absolutely loved.  (Here’s the review, but it’s a really early one so I’m hesitant to link to it).  I really must read more of his work.

Under Heaven came out in hardcover in 2010, and it was recently released in trade paperback. It is also available as an ebook.

In his latest innovative novel, the award-winning author evokes the dazzling Tang Dynasty of 8th-century China in a story of honor and power.

Inspired by the glory and power of Tang dynasty China, Guy Gavriel Kay has created a masterpiece.

It begins simply. Shen Tai, son of an illustrious general serving the Emperor of Kitai, has spent two years honoring the memory of his late father by burying the bones of the dead from both armies at the site of one of his father’s last great battles. In recognition of his labors and his filial piety, an unlikely source has sent him a dangerous gift: 250 Sardian horses.

You give a man one of the famed Sardian horses to reward him greatly. You give him four or five to exalt him above his fellows, propel him towards rank, and earn him jealousy, possibly mortal jealousy. Two hundred and fifty is an unthinkable gift, a gift to overwhelm an emperor.

Wisely, the gift comes with the stipulation that Tai must claim the horses in person. Otherwise he would probably be dead already…

Hard Spell by Justin GustainisHard Spell by Justin Gustainis

Hard Spell is the first book in a new urban fantasy series, an Occult Crimes Unit Investigation.  It will be released as a mass market paperback in the US and Canada on July 26th, but it is already available as an ebook.  It is also already available as a paperback in the UK.  There will be at least 3 books in this series with more to come if it sells well enough.  Justin Gustainis is also the author of the Morris/Chastain Investigations series (Evil Ways and Black Magic Woman with Sympathy for the Devil coming out soon).

Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.

Like the rest of America, Scranton’s got an uneasy ‘live and let unlive’ relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.

God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent AndersonX-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson

Ever since seeing X-Men: First Class in the theater recently (and becoming addicted to the movie soundtrack which I’ve now listened to about 80 times), I’ve been curious about learning more about the original source material.  I liked the movies and want to watch them again soon, and John and I have also been watching the TV show from the 1990s on Netflix streaming recently.  So I wasn’t surprised when a gift-giving occasion came up and John got me a couple of X-men graphic novels (with a third one that is out of print coming later).

The Uncanny X-Men. Magneto, master of magnetism. The bitterest of enemies for years. But now they must join forces against a new adversary who threatens them all and the entire world besides… in the name of God. One of Chris Claremont’s most powerful and influential stories, the partial basis for “X-Men 2,” is reprinted here for the first time in years.
Collects Marvel Graphic Novel #5: God Loves, Man Kills.

X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine di GiandomenicoX-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak and Carmine di Giandomenico

I especially like Magneto as a character so John got me his origin story, which is supposed to be more about growing up in Nazi Germany than it is superheroes/superpowers.  It sounds pretty interesting as well, and I’m looking forward to reading it. (And if anyone has X-Men recommendations, feel free to let me know which ones you like.  I can’t remember what the other one is I’m getting, but I’ve been told we also have House of M already.)

Today, the whole world knows him as Magneto, the most radical champion of mutant rights that mankind has ever seen. But in 1935, he was just another schoolboy – who happened to be Jewish in Nazi Germany. The definitive origin story of one of Marvel’s greatest icons begins with a silver chain and a crush on a girl – and quickly turns into a harrowing struggle for survival against the inexorable machinery of Hitler’s Final Solution From X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong writer Greg Pak and award-winning artist Carmine Di Giandomenico. Collects X-Men: Magneto Testament #1-5

Update on The Children of the Sky Review
Jul
06
2011

The Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge

Just a quick update to my review of Vernor Vinge’s The Children of the Sky that I posted about a month ago.  In the conclusion to my review, I said this:

 
The Children of the Sky is a a typically wonderful tale from a master storyteller in Vinge.  It is only in comparison to the iconic A Fire Upon the Deep that it fails to live up to expectations.  Even then, if a third book is forthcoming then all of the groundwork being laid in Children becomes truly brilliant, crafted with subtlety and providing exactly enough information to fire the imagination and plant questions for what is to come.  Since I don’t know if that book is ever going to be written, I’m giving a provisional rating to The Children of the Sky.  As a sequel only, it gets an 8/10, but if it is a bridge book…frankly, it is one of the best that I have ever read and worthy of a 10/10.  Since I believe Vinge is too good a storyteller to have done all of this setup by accident, I’m going on the assumption that book three will be coming and calling it 10/10.

After I posted the review, Kristen wrote to Tor to try to find out if another book was planned.  Kristen’s contact couldn’t confirm or deny another book (understandably).  While it’s not really word either way, I’ve decided to change my final rating of the book to an 8 rather than a 10 to reflect the facts on the table rather than my guess.

The Leaning Pile of Books
Jul
03
2011

I thought I was going to end up bookless this week, but then on Friday I came home to find 5 of them waiting for me.

Since this week was the third time I got a copy of Cold Magic by Kate Elliott (this time in mass market paperback), I’m not going to list it below again.  If you have been waiting for it in mass market paperback the wait is almost over, though.  It will be available in stores in that format on July 26th, and the cover is a little bit different from the trade paperback.  It’s the cover on the right since that’s what I’m reading now.

A quick update on reviews: The books I need to review at the moment are Naamah’s Blessing by Jacqueline Carey (now my favorite book in the Naamah trilogy), Embassytown by China Mieville, and The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein.

Now for the books.

Heartless by Gail CarrigerHeartless by Gail Carriger

This is the fourth book in the Parasol Protectorate series following Soulless (review), Changeless (review), and Blameless (review).  I liked the first book, and I really liked the next two books so I’m looking forward to reading this one as well.   They are just such FUN books, a humorous story set in a paranormally enhanced alternate Victorian London.  The main character, Alexia Tarabotti, is a rare person who has no soul and cancels out the effects of the supernatural (who have an excess of soul).  I love her as a character since she’s so strong-minded and fearless.

Heartless just came out as a mass market paperback and ebook, and the final book in the series, Timeless, will be released in March of next year.

Since it does contain big spoilers for the first three books, I’m not including the blurb here, but if you do want to read it it’s on Gail Carriger’s website.

Eye of the Tempest by Nicole PeelerEye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

The fourth book in the Jane True series will be released on July 26th (mass market paperback, ebook). The first three books in the series are Tempest Rising (review), Tracking the Tempest, and Tempest’s Legacy.  I read the first book around the time it first came out and was entertained by it overall even though it had a lot more focus on a sexual (not even really romantic) relationship than I normally like.  But it did have a lot of different mythological creatures involved (and I am a sucker for having all kinds of different myths) and I liked the main character, a half selkie woman living in my home state of Maine.  Oh, and I envied the fact that she didn’t get cold and wished I could do that during the Maine winters.

Nothing says “home” like being attacked by humans with very large guns, as Jane and Anyan discover when they arrive in Rockabill. These are professionals, brought into kill, and they bring Anyan down before either Jane or the barghest can react. Seeing Anyan fall awakens a terrible power within Jane, and she nearly destroys herself taking out their attackers.

Jane wakes, weeks later, to discover that she’s not the only thing that’s been stirring. Something underneath Rockabill is coming to life: something ancient, something powerful, and something that just might destroy the world.

Jane and her friends must act, striking out on a quest that only Jane can finish. For whatever lurks beneath the Old Sow must be stopped…and Jane’s just the halfling for the job.

Stormlord's Exile by Glenda LarkeStormlord’s Exile by Glenda Larke

The final book in the Stormlords trilogy (or Watergivers trilogy, depending on which country you are in) will be released on July 26th (mass market paperback, ebook). The first two books are The Last Stormlord (review) and Stormlord Rising.  This series is set in a desert setting in which everything revolved around water and the main magic-users were those who could manipulate water and bring it to the people.  This part of it was interesting, but I was never able to care about any of the characters and didn’t find the first book all that much fun to read myself (although it did seem to be one of those books that was setting up more to come so I wouldn’t be surprised if the next two were better, but I’m not planning to read them and find out with the huge towering book pile).

SHALE is finally free from his greatest enemy. But now, he is responsible for bringing life-giving rain to all the people of the Quartern. He must stretch his powers to the limit or his people will die-if they don’t meet a nomad’s blade first. And while Shale’s own highlords and waterpriests plot against him, his Reduner brother plots his revenge.

TERELLE is Shale’s secret weapon, covertly boosting his powers with her own mystical abilities. But she is compelled by the strange magic of her people and will one day have to leave Shale’s side. No one knows what waits for her across the desert, but her people gave the Quartern its first Stormlord and they may save Shale and his people once again-or lead them to their doom.

This is the final volume of the epic Stormlord series.

The Key to Creation by Kevin J. AndersonThe Key to Creation by Kevin J. Anderson

The third book in the Terra Incognita series will be released on July 20th (trade paperback, ebook).  The first two books in the series are The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things.  I haven’t read any of these books so unlike the first three I don’t have anything else to add about them.

Brave explorers and mortal enemies across the world clash at a mysterious lost continent. After long voyages, encountering hurricanes and sea monsters, Criston Vora and Saan race to Terravitae, the legendary promised land. Saan’s quest is to find the Key to Creation, a weapon that may defeat Uraba’s enemies, and Criston wants vengeance against the monstrous Leviathan that ruined his life long ago.

Back home, two opposing continents and religions clash for the remnants of a sacred city, unleashing their hatred in a war that could end both civilizations. Queen Anjine and Soldan-Shah Omra are driven by mutual hatred, heaping atrocity upon atrocity in an escalating conflict that only their gods can end.

Meanwhile, the secretive Saedrans. manipulating both sides, come ever closer to their ultimate goal: to complete the Map of All Things and bring about the return of God.