A Short e Read From Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller tackles the Pygmalion tale with her latest, "Galatea," an e short due out from Ecco on August 13.

In the story, told from the perspective of Galatea herself and set ten years after her creation, we discover that all is not well with Galatea and her husband. She has been imprisoned and is under the careful watch of a doctor and his nurse assistants, none of whom believe she was created from stone. Her health is supposed to be fragile (a ruse of sorts meant to keep her captive). But Galatea longs for freedom and the company of her daughter. How does one escape a man who has become a monster, though?

I must admit this is one tale that I don't have much familiarity with. I know of the various adaptations and plays but have never seen any of them to date, so Miller's tale was not only a fresh perspective but something of an introduction to this story for me.

I loved Galatea as a character in Miller's version of the story. Not only do you get a vivid description of how she experiences the world - as a person brought to life from stone - but her internal dialogue, the thoughts she keeps safely hidden away from others while manipulating them outwardly, is especially entertaining.

I would say that I look forward to more of this kind of thing from Miller, but that means that I have to admit (ashamedly) that I've not yet had the pleasure of reading Miller's award-winning debut, The Song of Achilles! In the wake of reading "Galatea," The Song of Achilles has become a must for my TBR. (There's an excerpt of The Song of Achilles included with "Galatea" to give you a taste of what to expect.)

Rating: 4/5

The Army of 3:59

It's time! The Army of Ten has been taken over. It's now The Army of 3:59!

Here's the info:

Attention!

The Army of Ten blog has been commandeered. It is now the Army of 3:59.

For reasons you will soon understand, we have kidnapped author Gretchen McNeil and replaced her with and alternate universe version of her – a doppelgänger. The real Gretchen McNeil is being held in our universe, a world similar to your own, yet very different.

In order to secure the release of your Gretchen McNeil, we have set up a series of ransom demands where you can earn prizes, as well as points toward the release of the real Gretchen McNeil.

http://armyoften.blogspot.com/

All ransom points must be submitted by Friday, November 1st along with a local book store of the ransomer's choice. The two ransomers with the highest accumulation of points will have the real Gretchen McNeil reprimanded to their custody.

Let us repeat: Gretchen McNeil will appear at a book signing in your home town. 

Two winners will be chosen for this prize, continental U.S. only.

One international winner will receive a Skype visit with the real Gretchen McNeil.

Don't delay. Gretchen McNeil's time is running out…

Head over to the Army of Ten page above to start and mark your calendars, 3:59 hits shelves on September 19.

Box Office Poison by Phillipa Bornikova + a Giveaway

This second book in Phillipa Bornikova's urban fantasy/legal thriller series brings Linnet Ellery to Hollywood!

Since coming out to humans, vampires, werewolves, and the Alfar have become part of every facet of the human world. The Alfar, with their insanely good looks and their incredibly slow aging, are particularly popular in the film industry. Some would argue, though, that the Alfar are no more talented than their human counterparts but that they have an unfair advantage in that they can glamour themselves into the job. Unfortunately, rumblings along those lines are creating a bad scene in the industry and the Screen Actors Guild. Human actor and heartthrob Jeffery Montolbano has called for arbitration between all the interested parties in hopes they can come to some agreement before things get too out of control. Ishmael, McGillary, and Gold are assigned case and although they do have a local office, firm partner David Sullivan and Linnet are sent out from New York to handle it instead - their overall distance from Hollywood and the industry means no party should have an unfair advantage in the case. But when they arrive, Linnet notices an odd trend beginning with the Alfar. The added wrinkle of a group calling themselves Humans First leads Linnet to wonder if there's something more going on under the glitz and glamor of Hollywood than a dispute between actors. 

This series is seriously fun! I adored This Case is Gonna Kill Me and couldn't wait to get back to Linnet and this world with Box Office Poison. I was immediately impressed that Bornikova took the characters out of New York and to Cali for this second installment. It shows she's made a real effort to keep things fresh and new in the series even at this early stage.

We do also get to know more about Fey - the world the Alfar inhabit. I won't go into any detail there thanks to possible spoilers (read book one!) but this was something I was definitely looking forward to in this book.

Rating: 5/5

Readers unfamiliar with the series can - if they really want to - start with this second book. It's a completely different case and there's enough of the backstory on the world and Linnet that you're not necessarily missing anything from This Case is Gonna Kill Me that would hinder the enjoyment of Box Office. There are, however, enough details about the happenings of the first book to make for pretty big spoilers should you start with this second and then work your way back to the first. Since the first is soooo darn good and out in paperback, I'd suggest springing for them both :)

(Bornikova, if you didn't know, is actually a pseudonym used by Melinda Snodgrass you can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.)

Now for the giveaway! Thanks to Tor I get to offer up one copy for giveaway. US only please (and no PO boxes). To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below before Sunday, August 18.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Three by Jay Posey

I get blown away pretty much every time I read one of Angry Robot's titles. They put out cool stuff, folks! Three by Jay Posey is no exception, it's got a four star average on Goodreads and it's getting great reviews online. Having just finished the book myself, I have to agree with everyone out there - Three is a must read!

I've struggled to put together a synopsis, in part because I love how perfect and brief Angry Robot's synopses tend to be. In light of that, I've just decided to go with theirs:

The world has collapsed, and there are no heroes any more.

But when a lone gunman reluctantly accepts the mantle of protector to a young boy and his dying mother against the forces that pursue them, a hero may yet arise.

File Under: Science Fiction [Three For All | Apocalyptic Wasteland | A Journey Home | Fear the Weir]

See that? Short, to the point, and damn enticing! I especially love their "File Under" tags.

Three is a loner, a man who makes a living off the land (and surviving the land). He is approached by a woman with a young child in desperate need of help. Of course Three turns them down cold - they're sure to be trouble and trouble is something he doesn't need. But Three soon becomes entangled with the pair and agrees to help them get out of town. Cass and Wren are on the run from some really bad folks but Three isn't quite clear as to why these baddies are tracking the mother and son. Things get much worse for all of them before Cass truly reveals their story.

The book starts with a pretty creepy prologue: a place called the Vault, a broken gate, and fear of the coming night. This prologue (as any good prologue should) perfectly sets the tone and tension for the book! I loved it. It drew me in, it made me curious about this world, it made me thirst for more!

As the prologue promises, the action of the book starts pretty immediately. We meet Three, we meet Cass and Wren, and then people start getting killed. I kid you not. The book is up and running and it never lets go.

With a book like this - and I know I've mentioned it before with regards to other titles - I find some authors choose to take the giant info dump approach to explain the world. Fortunately, Posey chose the other route, integrating details about the world into the story in a more smooth and natural way. It does mean that the reader is left in the dark a bit and has to piece together the information provided to get a clear understanding of the world (and there are plenty of questions left as to how this world ended up this way, exactly what the Weir are, etc) but it means that there's no hang up in the progression of the story, which is common pitfall with the info dump.

Three is a fast read, both in terms of actual pacing and the fact that I just couldn't bear to put it down. In the beginning, I was reminded of the movie Screamers (the movie, 'cause - shame on me - I've never actually read PKD's story "Second Variety") and perhaps it's my fondness of that movie that gave Three immediate gold stars for me, but I really think that Posey has started something excellent with this book. It is the first in a projected series of I'm not sure how many books, but it as Legends of the Duskwalker book one, Three promises much more to come from Posey (more to add to my must hve list!).

Rating: 4.5/5

Don't forget to check out Monday's guest post from Jay and the rest of the official Three tour. The gals over at My Shelf Confessions are hosting a giveaway with two signed copies of Jay's debut up for grabs and there are just five days left to enter.

The Child Thief by Dan Smith

As big as my TBR is, you have to know that I'm adding to it all the time. New books are hitting shelves every week and I read your reviews. In June, Stacy (the Bookbitch), reviewed Dan Smith's The Child Thief, saying it was "Sure to appeal to fans of David Benioff and Tom Rob Smith." So of course I had to add it to my must read list!

The Child Thief was released in hardcover on June 1 from Pegasus and in e format from Open Road Media just a few days later. My recent lack of sleep offered up the perfect opportunity to jump into the e edition and so I joined Luka and his family in the Ukraine in the wee hours of the morning, instantly finding myself drawn into their story.

It is 1930 and the remote village of Vyriv waits in tense fear for the arrival of the Red Army. But it isn't one of Stalin's soldiers who breaks apart their town. It's a sick and dying man trudging through the snow. Luka and his son find the man, barely able to stand, dragging a leaden down sled. Upon examination, Luka discovers the man has been dragging the bodies of two children, one of which shows signs of unthinkable mutilation. The man is in such bad shape that there's no way for him to tell his own tale or come to his own defense so Luka, a parent and a former soldier, sets aside his suspicions for the meantime and takes the man into his own home to recover. The people of the village are not so willing to wait. When they get word of the man and the dead children, they demand immediate justice. In the wake of their actions it is discovered that one of their own has disappeared. For Luka and the people of Vyriv, the nightmare has just begun. 

There's a lot going on in The Child Thief. First and foremost is the cat and mouse game between the child thief and Luka. Then you have the town's fear of the Red Army who have been seeking out small villages like theirs and enacting punishment - whether deserved or not - for crimes against the country (crimes like providing food and shelter for your family before the collective). The setting is harsh both in terms of time and locale, which adds immensely to the tension of The Child Thief.

If you enjoy fast-paced and well-plotted thrillers (historical or not), I highly recommend adding Dan Smith to your to try lists. Benioff is in my TBR as we speak, but I can confirm that comparisons to Tom Rob Smith are definitely appropriate!

Rating: 4.5/5

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish Had Sequels

I've decided to jump on board with Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week the topic is: ten books I wish had sequels.

There are a lot of books I've truly enjoyed - worlds that I wanted to spend more time in and characters I wish were part of more stories. Here are ten:

1. Lori Andrews's Alexandra Blake books - this is a bit of a cheat. There were three books featuring this character who worked with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Sequence, Silent Assassin, and Immunity). I suspect there would have been more but that maybe the series wasn't as popular as everyone had hoped at the time. I loved them! They were a great blend of forensic thriller/mystery with a political thriller-ish twist.

2. The People Next Door by Christopher Ransom - while this was a complete story, I would love to see what happens next (though I can imagine).

3. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - I can't be sure but there might be more stories involving the Checquy (there's now a series heading on this title, so I'm assuming this is the case). I'm including it here simply because there isn't as yet another book in the series. Definitely an excellent set up, though. 

4. Graveminder by Melissa Marr - I loved everything about this book and would be pleased as punch to return to this world and these characters. It also felt like a story that had possibilities beyond this one book. 

5. The Broken Ones by Stephen M. Irwin - loved this combination of post apocalyptic scenario and paranormal mystery. I would definitely be interested in reading more in this world.

6. 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad - this would have been a fun one to continue with a what happens next story.

7. The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi - this book was so dark and freaky! Plus, it's basically a detective novel, which is pretty easy to extend into a series if you really want to (not like there's any limit to the cases that can be investigated).

8. Petty Magic by Camille DeAngelis - so this is an example of a book with a character I so completely adored that I did not want to say goodbye to her :)

9. The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist - I did really enjoy this book as is. The narrator offers a very limited view, though, and a lot of the details of the world are left pretty open ended. It is definitely a world I would love to explore further and find out more about. 

10. Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino - oh, the world building! This is gothically toned dark fantasy at its very best and I really, really want more!

Three Blog Tour + Giveaway: Guest Post by Jay Posey

Today I'm happy to be taking part in the blog tour for Jay Posey's Three. Down at the bottom of this post, you'll find everything you need to enter the tour giveaway, but first, I'm happy to welcome Mr. Posey himself to the blog! Jay has prepared a post for us today to help us survive the possible coming apocalypse. Take it away, Jay!

The Ultimate Post-Apocalyptic Currency 

At some point long, long ago, someone figured out that if he had a spare pointy stick lying around, he might be able to trade it for someone else’s extra flinty rock, and a moment later some other someone became the first economist, because it was a whole lot easier to talk about the theory of pointy sticks and flinty rocks than it was to produce or procure either. And we’ve been trading things for other things ever since. Even after the total collapse of the world as we know it, it’s a safe bet that trade will continue to be an important aspect of whatever remains of our tattered society. 

There are many different opinions out there about what you should horde ahead of time so that you’ll have something to exchange for the goods or services you need but can’t provide for yourself. Gold is popular in some circles, for example, with the thinking being that regardless of what happens with cash, everyone will still agree that precious metals are, you know, precious. But it turns out that you can’t eat or drink gold, and it’s not great for making tools or keeping warm, so in a truly post-apocalyptic situation, your gold might only be good for reminding yourself of the good old days when people actually had time to care about shiny things. 

In other circles, some folks break it down into the Tangibles and Intangibles categories. Tangibles are, of course, physical goods that have immediate and obvious use in a crisis situation with a barter economy; clothing, blankets, alcohol, bullets, fishing gear, medical supplies, long-shelf-life foods, batteries, bottle caps, you get the idea. Intangibles are often listed as skills you can provide or experience you can leverage. You’re an EMT, you can provide emergency aid. You’re a general contractor, you can help repair or build shelters. Any number of skills might come in handy in a post-apocalyptic situation, like farming, hunting, construction, or radio operations. Some that are likely to be less in demand include novel writing and making snarky comments on Twitter. 

But of all the many ideas and thoughts about post-apocalyptic currency, one that I think will be worth the most seems to be rarely mentioned. And that is trust. 

It can be hard to think of trust as a currency, but in reality, we already use it as one in our everyday lives. When we’re looking for a mechanic, we ask people we trust for their opinions. We freely refer others to the dentist we’ve come to love. We’ll loan our neighbors our lawnmowers or our ladders because we trust they’ll take care of them and return them, and we also trust that sometime in the future they’ll be willing to help us in our hour of need. Building trust and transferring it amongst various parties is a healthy function of any resilient community. 

The good news is, trust is something you can start hoarding right now by living a generous life and being a positive influence within your own community. And while it’s most certainly a good idea to be prepared with everything you need for the first 72 hours of a crisis (you can find many excellent lists for what you should have on hand for that very scenario), it’s worth thinking about how you can strengthen your own community so that when trouble does come, you’ll have a pocket of mutual security and safety and a built-in tribe you can trust. 

Huge thanks to Jay for being here today and equally huge thanks to the folks over at Angry Robot for putting this tour together!

Now for the giveaway dets: The ladies over at My Shelf Confessions have put together a tour wide giveaway. Each stop on the tour has been assigned a unique question. Be sure to read the book excerpt, which can be found here on Angry Robot's Three page. Then head over to My Shelf Confessions to  enter your answer in the rafflecopter widget. You can answer as many or as few as you like - each answered question gets you an extra entry! There's a full list of the tour links on the contest page.

Here's the questions for my stop:

Question #20 - What is the name of Jay Posey's protagonist? (Found in the excerpt)

Good luck!