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A series of connected stories of family and a strange occurrence where people experience violin music combined with darkness under a large maple tree. We begin with a second son who leaves England to find himself in Canada to the future where time travelers go back to investigate the occurrence. Emily St. Mandel has a masterful way of connecting the dots drawing us into the characters and the strange event without losing their humanity. What is the meaning of all this and who is responsible for it? This author helps us feel better about the fact that we may be the last to know the answers. Fans of her other books and speculative fiction will find much to ponder. 4 1/2 stars 
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Written in a style equally brilliant and confusing THE CANDY HOUSE picks up with some of the characters found in A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD. I did not read the first novel so that may account for some of my confusion. Simply put, this is a free flowing multi-character story with multiple timelines written in various narrative styles. The invention of "Own Your Own Unconscious" allows people to buy a cube that captures all of their memories from their unconscious that can be accessed at any time. The good is that you can now settle family squabbles about who won the family football pool at a Thanksgiving 15 years ago. The bad is that when you give free access to your unconscious that data is collected and you become a guinea pig for others to track. Depending on your perspective this can be a very useful tool or the end of all creative thought. Some of the chapters are presented in unusual ways - free flowing thought and text messages as well as one character who must be on the spectrum and every thought feels like a mathematical equation. One thing becomes clear - taking a bite from a candy house never comes without a price and you may end up as a witch's dinner. 3 stars  Ikenna has a blood gift that allows her body to heal herself and others. This gift becomes a curse because she must keep it secret and that is not easy when she is fighting for her life at every few pages of this fantasy. She is trying out for a very select group of fighters and losing at one of the games or challenges could mean her death or that of her friends. Her war decorated Grandfather's name was enough to get her a spot but as she is fighting for her life she is also looking for his killers. This book does not take up a lot of pages building the world but instead is filled with gruesome battle scenes, a doomed from the start love interest and political pitfalls galore. This promising start to the series reminds me of the flight school of Brandon Sanderson's Skyward series and the political high jinks of Pierce Brown's Red Rising series. 4 stars  A very satisfying debut that straddles the line between something out of historical fiction from Henry VIII's court and Game of Thrones fantasy. When the Emperor dies he leaves his courtesan with a horrible task - find his killer and decide which one of his son's should take the throne. Lady Charm runs a pleasure palace where wealthy men satisfy their desires and dreams, even when those dreams are nightmares for Lady Charm's children. Whatever their desire even pain and death is satisfied and then it is up to Lady Charm to take the broken bodies and regrow them to serve another day. All the court politics, power plays and manipulations we love plus the brilliant mind of Lady Charm who must outwit and outplay the greatest game of her life. 4 1/2 stars  A love of mapmaking brings together a group of college graduates for a summer project that will change their lives forever. They have been friends forever with four of them becoming couples and one baby. It seemed like the idyllic time until an accident took a life and pulled them apart. Fast forward and the baby is grown following in her parent's footsteps with a career in cartography. When Nell discovers a secret map in her father's desk at the New York Public Library after his death she is pulled into a very dangerous hunt. With one step down the rabbit hole searching for the map's purpose she sets off a chain of events that will affect everyone she loves. A mastermind of Indiana Jones meets Brigadoon - this is one treasure hunt that will have you seeing maps in a whole new light. A must read for old school librarians, armchair adventurers and treasure hunters of all ages. 5 stars  Caribbean island mythology and culture is pit against the reality of real life violence in the city. Jobs are scarce and his mom's health isn't getting better so Emmanuel knows that cutting off his dreads and taking a gravedigger's job in the city is the only way he can help her. His mother cannot abide by his decision to give up his Rasta roots and taking a job with the dead. Once Emmanuel is in the city he begins to understand the ebb and flow of the giant old cemetery and his role in it. He begins to see ghosts real and imagined as he understands what he has been forced to participate in and the grave he has dug for himself. Yejide comes to understand the old stories shared by the women in the family and her legacy in carrying out those same traditions now that her mom has passed. When she meets Emmanuel at the cemetery their lives will change despite the past and the future others have chosen for them. Colorful verse as vibrant as the islands it represents, this is a love story to the culture and people. 4 stars  This allegory is the perfect way to understand political dictatorship and corruption in small nations. An original approach to sharing what happened in 1917 Zimbabwe when President Mugabe was thrown out of office told in an ANIMAL HOUSE setting. Picture the dictator upon his throne droning on about his greatness until he falls asleep - an old horse, his henchmen snarling dogs and his terrified audience made up of a variety of animals and birds. While the language and cadence of Bulawayo's voice is not an easy read, the wit and novelty of the animal characters make it worthwhile. If you are looking for an imaginative story of impossible dictators, corrupt government and the search for freedom you will find much to love here. 4 stars  A very secret society invites a very select few recent grad students from the New York University of Magical Arts. Six are selected, six accept but none of them have any idea of what they are getting into. Once initiated they will have access to the Library of Alexandria where all their questions will be answered, their magical skills honed and the power of the ancients at their disposal. For medians of their skill level to be included in such a society would be worth murdering someone for. Each candidate is the top of their class, each has very different personalities and one of them won't make it. It is hard to believe that this first book in a trilogy was first self-published and you will be pulled into the story from the first page. With just the right mix of magic, jealousy, attraction, politics and danger as well as the perfect mix of character personalities you will feel like I do that I hope book two is well under way. Fans of Lev Grossman's THE MAGICIANS, Donna Tartt's SECRET HISTORY or those who wonder how Harry Potter would have turned out if he went to grad school for the dark arts. 4 1/2 stars  The perfect gothic fantasy that young adults and adults alike will fall into with abandon. Olivia Pryor has grown up in a girl's school without family. She does not speak even when summoned by letter to come home to the estate Gallant where her mother lived. Olivia arrives at the estate only to find surprise at her summons and outright hatred from her cousin. She sees ghouls (ghosts) in the shadows and she quietly tries to solve the mystery of Gallant and her parents through her mother's journal. Shadows that whisper and a mirror estate on the other side of the wall lead Olivia on despite the warnings she has received. For fans of V.E. Schwabs other marvelous books as well as those by Neil Gaiman with a bit of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE thrown in for good measure. Billed as young adult but this will satisfy gothic lovers of all ages. 4 stars  A young girl is found encased in a solid wall of ice in remote Greenland. She is brought back to life incredibly and starts babbling in a language no one understands. This is the perfect opportunity for Val who is a linguist specializing in dead Nordic languages and gives her a chance to see the research location where her twin brother recently took his own life. As appealing as this opportunity is there is a downside - Val's crippling anxiety. It is a small research team that she is working with in Greenland and they have a very short window to complete their research and solve the mystery of the girl before months of winter set in. The girl's Frankenstein rebirth is fascinating but Val begins to suspect the group leader of something more sinister. While Val falls for frustrated and sad Sigrid and begins to find a way of communicating she also wants to figure out if her brother's suicide wasn't something else. The perfect taunt read for a cold winter's night and one that hits all the right thriller notes - a remote site, a strange mystery with a hint of ancient magic, a fragile yet super tough female protagonist fighting for her sanity and a mesmerizing alien landscape. Anyone who is curious of just what it takes to be an Arctic explorer/scientist or love the mysteries of doomed expeditions such as the Endurance will find much to love here. A big bonus are the vocabulary words found in other tribal languages that the author shares. 4 stars  |
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