Bastard Reaction: Demonized by Naomi Clark

Ethan Banning is back and on the verge of a psychotic break. We first saw him as a side-character in Afterlife, reviewed here, first of the Shoregrave series. The Demonized novella can be considered a loose sequel, as it take place not long after the events of Afterlife and Ethan is now dealing with the aftermath of those events.

Hoping for a return to normalcy and leave the supernatural world behind, Ethan is back in his city doing his usual PI work. He's on a missing person case, when he stumbles into the person's dead body where he soon realizes something supernatural was involved. Together with police detective Anna Radcliffe, he tries to figure out what happened to the victim. Problem is that he's battling a demon possession who's trying to take control of his body and mind. Ethan's sanity is degenerating, filled with thoughts of rape, torture, and murder and it's taking every ounce of his will to keep himself from acting on his psychotic desires.

I found Demonized to be a quite a cool novella, and I just love Ethan Banning as a character. His psychosis aside, he really embodies what I imagine many private eyes to be. He comes off as a man's man hardboiled detective, nosy, rude, and completely politically incorrect. A bit of a sleaze bag too. But I found him quite likable; he has his charm I think.

Demonized suffered from some of the same problems I noticed in Afterlife, in particular that the mystery was predictable. The good thing in Demonized, is that all told the mystery is secondary to what is going inside Ethan Banning's head. His psychosis makes him a very unpredictable character, which I think balances out the predictability of the mystery. Also had a few problems with some character decisions towards the end that I thought were a bit out of character, but they were grounded on despair, impatience, and on the edge of sanity so in certain angles they make better sense.

The book is quite twisted, has plenty of disturbing scenes, some that I'm sure won't sit well with more sensitive readers. Some are just plain gross as we see Ethan feeding the demon with sick images in the hopes that it'll satisfy itself enough to not attack Ethan's mind. I thought it was very interesting ride.

I loved reading Demonized, though I'm not much for reading short stories and novellas. Enjoying a lot being inside a narrator's head who's a sociopath or has psychotic tendencies; characters like Dexter Morgan, John Cleaver, and Jorg Ancrath have become favorites. So glad I can add Ethan Banning to the mix. Looking forward to reading further adventures into his mind.

You can buy Demonized here.

Please visit Naomi Clark's website and blog for more information on this series and others.

Bastard Giveaway: Half-Past Dawn & Burned

Last week the @BastardBooks twitter account reached 300 followers, while the GFC reached 100 followers. As a thank you, we at Bastard Books decided to do a giveaway for a couple of thriller books which seem interesting. Hope they're to your liking.

The books are a hardcover copy of Half-Past Dawn by Richard Doetsch and a trade paperback copy of Burned by Thomas Enger.

Participants have to be 18 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited by law. Giveaway rules are subject to change. 

The giveaway is open for US mailing addresses only, and it will run from November 15, 2011 until 11:59pm ET on November 27, 2011.

How to participate:

• To enter the giveaway, just place a comment in this post declaring intention to participate.
• One entry per person, or face disqualification.
• Make sure to provide an email address to which I can contact you.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm ET on November 27, 2011
• Winners will be chosen by random sorting entries, and then using a random number generator.
• There will be two winners, one book per winner.
• The first winner will choose the book he prefers, and the second winner will take the remaining one.
• Will have to confirm email to be considered a winner within a week after November 27, 2011.

Additional entries may be had by doing the following:
This time I'm giving additional bonus entries to GFC and Twitter followers since this giveaway is a thanks to them.

• Follow me on my blog publicly so that you appear on Google Friend Connect to get 2 additional entries. Make sure to provide your GFC username.
• Follow me on twitter, @BastardBooks to get 2 additional entries. Make sure to provide your twitter username.

If you do the steps above, and only by doing those steps, you'd end up with the possibility of 5 total entries:
+1 Comment Entry
+2 Google Friend Connect (Mention your GFC username)
+2 Twitter Follower (Mention your twitter username)

Even though you don't get an additional entry, consider subscribing to my Facebook Bastard Books page.

For those who have trouble with posting comments, feel free to email me at bastardgiveaway @ gmail with all the information depicted above, and I'll manually make your comment entry for you personally.

Thanks, and good luck!

Bastard Reaction: Circle of Enemies by Harry Connolly

The Twenty Palaces series by Harry Connolly has been a favorite of mine for the past two years. It was with great anticipation that I was waiting for the third installment, Circle of Enemies. Then Borders went under, my pre-order got cancelled, and then it took me a while to find a copy for me. Finally managed to read the book a few weeks ago, and needless to say it didn't disappoint.

Ray Lilly is back, struggling with the events and horrors he has experienced and took part of in the previous two novels. Horrors that almost no one would be able to cope with, and even with his current instability it's to his credit and strength that he hasn't completely lost his mind yet. Early on he gets a visit from his past, an acquaintance and friend, who delivers a message to him which accuses him of killing her others from his previous gang. She disappears right after. Trying to make sense of what he just witnessed, he travels to California to confront his past, figure out what is happening and how exactly is he responsible for their deaths, and find out if they're dead at all.

Circle of Enemies is a novel in which we really get to learn who Ray is and who he used to be. He has to deal with former friends, some of who he no longer recognizes, and doesn't know who he can trust as he faces off against an enemy which might just be the most dangerous of any he might ever encounter. During this he's questioning his role with the Twenty Palaces Society, and questioning the role of the society itself on the world.

What has attracted me to this series, and what I've enjoyed the most, is how horrific and disturbing some of the events and situations are. They often feed off some of our inner most fears, and in Circle of Enemies it's no different, though a bit more toned down from the previous two novels. What Connolly also has done very well is create an atmosphere of helplessness, centered around these fears, and it's an interesting dynamic of how our heroes go about handling the situations.

Moral and ethical dilemmas are often in play, weighted against interests of both a micro and macro scale. It's interesting to see where our heroes draw the line because if children need to get killed to save the world, for example, our heroes may very well just go and kill these children. And it's never pretty. It's choices like this one which has Ray in a foul emotional state in this book, dealing with the aftermath of various horrific choices and actions he's had to take to solve problems by means he's not proud of. This time it's people form his past that are in the line of fire, so the personal stakes are even higher.

Ray Lilly is an interesting narrator, in many ways atypical to what I've usually read in urban fantasy. He's not a charismatic narrator. It reminds me in some ways of Connor Grey from Mark del Franco's series, but without the light humor. For the most part, never getting too high or too low emotionally. In many manners he comes off as indifferent, which is just an illustration of how he has insulated himself to protect his sanity and also a portrayal of how he has a new perspective of the world. He's had to re-prioritize the facets of his life.

Circle of Enemies addresses some concerns and complaints by some readers, which was nice to see. Ray Lilly gets a bit of a power-up which I'm looking forward to see how it works out. Also, we get a much better sense of direction and the picture is getting clear about where the journey is heading and how the world works. In many ways, this is a book about origins.

Harry Connolly writes another winning novel in the Twenty Palaces series, and I'm sure Circle of Enemies won't disappoint fans of said series. Sadly, as I was reading this book I got news that Del Rey had cancelled the series, which you can read about in Connolly's blog. This was a series that had pretty much exactly what I want to read in an urban fantasy, so I've taken the news a bit hard. Regardless, a series that I would recommend despite this because I think the way Circle of Enemies ended, though a bit open ended, it gives a clear and satisfying picture of where our characters are heading and on the series as a whole. Looking forward to future projects by Harry Connolly, and crossing my fingers on an eventual reunion with Ray Lilly and company.

You can buy Circle of Enemies from The Book Depository.

Make sure to visit Harry Connolly on his website and his blog.

Update on the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (by Mihir)

Originally the Kate Daniels series was going to be seven books long, however earlier this year the authors found that they would need the Andrea/Raphael spinoff novel to occur before the next book (Kate 6) for it to work, as detailed in this announcement over here. This was the original release schedule:

1) Andrea book—5/31/2012

2) Kate 6—2/2013

3) Jim/Dali book or Kate 7—Late 2013/2014

However due to a recent family emergency, the authors have revealed that the Andrea book will now be released somewhere in August 2012 and that way the next Kate Daniels book will also be release later than the planned release in February 2013. Their publishers have been very flexible with them and also helped them in this regard, so kudos to them.

Bastard and me would like to send our most sincere good wishes to both Ilona & Gordon and also their family members in this time of personal emergency, hoping that the emergency passes and they become well again. Hoping for the best, and we exhort people show patience and give their support to the Andrews in their time of need.

Bastard Giveaway: Winner Updates on Blog Hop, Den of Thieves, and The Iron Elves

Before getting to the winners, let me remind you guys that we have a giveaway that ends November 4 at 11:59pm ET. It's a great giveaway by an awesome author, one signed copy of both Mind Games and Double Cross by Carolyn Crane. Also a very fun author guest post:
Guest Post & Giveaway: Underutilized goblins, demons, spirits by Carolyn Crane

As for the winners of the giveaways, it's been a while coming, but everyone should have received their winnings. If you haven't, please contact me either by commenting here including your email address, or just send me an email. The delay for making this post was mainly due to the amount of winners I had on the Falling into Books Blog Hop giveaway, a bit of a pain in the ass to coordinate, but hopefully worth it for you guys as it was for me. Certainly was very appreciative of the feedback and the amount of participation.

Falling into Books Blog Hop Winners:

Remember, that everyone who participated in that giveaway won an e-copy of Resurrection by Tim Marquitz. If you didn't receive it, make sure to let me know.

Ten US winners, all received e-copies of Resurrection by Tim Marquitz and Afterlife by Naomi Clark, plus choice of one e-book from both:

• Julie won my personal copy of My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
• Melissa from Clearwater won signed copy of Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep, provided by author.
• Ed Nemo
• Mia
• scribblingpencil
• sablelexi
• kindle-aholic
• Jakiking
• KainsHottie
• intothenyght

Ten international winners, all received e-copies of Resurrection by Tim Marquitz and Afterlife by Naomi Clark, plus choice of one e-book from both authors:

• the-emily-boyd
• kara-karina
• ahz1
• Mel S
• Robi
• Komal
• Maja
• Ken
• Yto
• Pabkins

Two copies of Den of Thieves Winners:

Copies of Den of Thieves by David Chandler provided by HarperCollins Publishers.

• Melysah
• Sara M

A Darkness Forged in Fire and The Light of Burning Shadows Winner:

• One lucky winner for both books by Chris Evans, Melissa from Clearwater. Book provided by Simon & Schuster.

Congrats to all winners, hopefully we can keep doing this as I know we all like free books. See ya around!

Bastard Reaction: Blood Rights by Kristen Painter

Drinking blood has never been described in a more enticing and delicious manner than how Kristen Painter has portrayed in Blood Rights. First book in the House of Comarré series, in what has been described as a "Gothic Urban Fantasy". This was a book I was hesitant to try, on a first glance it seemed like the kind of book I wouldn't enjoy. A voice, one that I'm sure I'm not imagining, told me I was being an idiot and convinced me to read the book (maybe it was Justin from Staffer's Musings); glad I did because this was quite a cool read.

This is the story of Chrysabelle, a comarré, who's on the run from noble vampires on the suspicion that she murdered her patron, a noble vampire himself. She's pursued by Tatiana, a power hungry and sadistic noble vampire, seeking for an object of power that will forever change the status quo between humans and vampires. Lastly, there's Malkom a disgraced former noble vampire who is poised to be the only chance Chrysabelle has to survive; if he doesn't kill her first.

The book takes place in the year 2067, and the world is quite a different place as it regards world control and politics. Technology wise, there's not much advancement from what we know at the present, but there's room for introducing more advanced technology. The world is populated by a myriad of supernatural beings which humanity is ignorant to. Many of them are introduced, particularly of the fey and were variety, but only superficially. The comarré come off as geisha spymaster warriors, raised to a life of servitude to vampires by providing them the purest of bloods, and whatever benefits it might bring.

Blood Rights is a multi-POV third person narrative, featuring mainly the 3 characters already mentioned. I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with a description of the story, as I'm finding a lot of contradiction to my instincts. Gut check reaction tells me that there's quite a bit of "romance" in this book, but that's really not true at all. There's a weird lust filled and erotic scenario, without it really being either. There's just not a sexually charged motivation in this book, other than a great need to feed, sustain, survive. I think part of it is how Painter describes this particular need in a way that it's emotionally charged and desired which confuses; and it works.

It works because the characterization of the two heroes is excellent. We spend a lot of time in their heads, introspecting and we really start feeling their need as if it were our own, and plenty of good imagery to go with it. I'd be surprised if a reader doesn't come off after reading this book jonesing for a vein to slurp some blood. It also works because Chrysabelle and Malkom are both strong likable characters, in a way that reminds me a bit of Kate Daniels and Curran from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews; as a unit. On the sexual side, there's really one real sex scene which I recall, which in truth comes off as some weird willing torture rape...you'd have to read it to understand.

I have a couple of complaints, first in the beginning we get introduced to what could potentially be a very interesting political intrigue subplot, but it really doesn't get touched more throughout the rest of the book; maybe only in passing. I'm hoping we see more of it in the subsequent books. The other one is that two thirds into the book, the plot forward momentum stops. We pretty much get stuck in a ship setting, with our heroes dancing around each other playing the "I trust you, I trust you not" dance without really going anywhere as far as plot progress. The other side of it, is the time is well spent developing the characters and their psyche which will appeal to some, particularly if you enjoy the tension of the relationship, or lack of one. Once we get done with that, the plot moves in a rapid exciting pace.

These issues aside, the book is really action packed; even during the down moments there's soon to be an action sequence. I thought the world building was very good in many regards, but I look forward to exploring more of the world on a macro scale. Our heroes are quite kickass, and I'm sure they'll become favorites of many. It's also populated by some good side characters, some fun ones, which I very much look forward to reading more about. There's just a lot of aspects this series has the opportunity to explore, and more than anything I think it's what has me interested in the series.

The cover I think it's quite awesome, done by Nekro.

At the moment I'm highly recommending Blood Rights to any urban fantasy reader, even those that are romance averse, though I'm aware that many of the scenes have the potential of not being to your liking on that regard. I think the book has done a good job balancing the elements, and includes plenty of action that should appeal fans of the sub-genre mixed with a good dosage of emotional drama and self-exploration. For those worried about having to wait for the next book, the sequel just came out Flesh and Blood and the third book in the House of Comarré is due out at the end of the month, Bad Blood. Looking forward to what Kristen Painter has planned for the series.

You can buy all the books in the House of Comarré series here:
Blood Rights
Flesh and Blood
Bad Blood

Make sure to visit Kristen Painter's website and blog for more information on this and her other books.

Mihir on FBC August-October 2011

For those that don't know my other blog contributor and friend Mihir is also reviewer on the Fantasy Book Critic blog. Since you guys have enjoyed Mihir's contributions to this blog, I thought it would be beneficial to provide links to what Mihir has done, since I started this blog, on FBC. Will try to make this a monthly thing, but here are his posts from August to October:

Review: August 8, 2011 - A Shot in the Dark by K.A. Stewart
This is the 2nd book in the Jesse Dawson urban fantasy series, one that I've been enjoying. I also reviewed it myself.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/08/shot-in-dark-by-ka-stewart-reviewed-by.html

Review: August 15, 2011 - Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Latest installment on The Dresden Files, my favorite UF series. Though another good book by Jim Butcher, a bit of a disappointing one. I reviewed it too.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/08/ghost-story-by-jim-butcher-reviewed-by.html

Review & Interview: August 18, 2011 - First Frost by Jennifer Estep
Prequel short story in the Mythos Academy young adult series, I'm a fan of her Elemental Assassin series.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-frost-by-jennifer-estep-wbonus-q.html

Review: August 26, 2011 - Devil's Cape by Rob Rogers
This looks like an awesome superhero novel. I've been trying to find more superhero reads, so hopefully I'll give this a try soon. Mihir was impressed.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/08/devils-cape-by-rob-rogers-reviewed-by.html

Review: September 11, 2011 - Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
This is the first novel in the YA series, Mythos Academy. I got myself a copy, hopefully will read soon.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/09/touch-of-frost-by-jennifer-estep.html

Interview: September 15, 2011 - Barry Eisler
Very interesting and informative interview, with the author of the John Rain thriller series, which looks quite good. Mihir highly recommends it.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/09/interview-with-barry-eisler-interviewed.html

Review: September 18, 2011 - Awakenings by Edward Lazellari
Here's a book I'm very much looking forward to reading, it happens to be the book featured in my first giveaway. Already got my copy, so reading soon.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/09/awakenings-by-edward-lazellari-reviewed.html

Interview: September 21, 2011 - Matt Roeser
I had never heard of Matt Roeser before, but he's doing some very nice cover art worth paying attention to. Did some cool ones for A Song of Ice and Fire.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/09/interview-with-matt-roeser-interviewed.html

Interview: October 3, 2011 - Philippa Ballantine
Another cool interview, I've read two of her books and have really enjoyed them. Here's my review for Spectyr. Planning on checking out her other series.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-with-philippa-ballantine.html

Review: October 5, 2011 - Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews
Been a fan of their Kate Daniels series, very much planning reading this novella. Already read the novella Ascension by Meljean Brook in the Angels of Darkness anthology.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/alpha-origins-by-ilona-andrews-reviewed.html

Review: October 12, 2011 - Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews
This is a sequel novella to Silent Blade, part of the Kinsmen series. Romance sci-fi, quite good in my opinion. I also reviewed it.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/silver-shark-by-ilona-andrews-reviewed.html

Review: October 14, 2011 - The Detachment & The Lost Coast by Barry Eisler
The Detachment is the 7th book in the John Rain series, which has been highly praised. The Lost Coast is a short story set in the same world.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/detachment-by-barry-eisler-wbonus.html

Review: October 20, 2011 - The Infernals by John Connolly
This is the sequel to the YA book The Gates. John is better known for his thriller series Charlie Parker, a favorite of Mihir's. He let's me know on a daily basis.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/infernals-by-john-connolly-reviewed-by.html

Review & Interview: October 21, 2011 - A Dance of Death by David Dalglish
Ends the Shadowdance Trilogy, heavily recommended by Mihir. Takes place in the same world as his Half-Orc series.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/dance-of-death-by-david-dalglish-with.html

Review: October 24, 2011 - Zero Sight by B. Justin Shier
Urban fantasy debut series, which looks like a very good one. Really hope to give this a try soon.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/zero-sight-by-b-justin-shier-reviewed.html

Review: October 26, 2011 - The Hour of Dust and Ashes by Kelly Gay
Third in the Charlie Madigan series, a favorite UF series of mine. Mihir reviewed the first two books HERE and HERE. I also reviewed this book.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/hour-of-dust-and-ashes-by-kelly-gay.html

Review: October 31, 2011 - Song for a Naming Day by Sarah Ash
Had never heard of this author before, but this is a short story set in the same world as her Tears of Artamon trilogy.

fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/10/song-for-naming-day-by-sarah-ash-by.html