Review: Flaming Dove - Daniel Arenson

Outcast from Hell. Banished from Heaven. Lost on Earth. Laila--half angel, half demon. Laila--of tears and blood, of sins and of piety. Laila--alone, in darkness. This is her story.

Genre: Paranormal , post-apocalyptic

Pages: (print 292)

Published: 2010

Source: Freebie

My thoughts:

I am a bit torn really, I really liked the book, but the thing is, I hated the end. I am sure many will say, but the end was perfect! Just as it should be. Well not in this girl's book. It made me sad and angry.

The world was just, wow, so cool. Earth is almost destroyed, almost no humans around as they are all dead. Instead demons and angels fight each other in a war going on 27 years. I liked the world, the angels, the demons. All strength and weaknesses. 

The main character Laila is both and can neither go to heaven of hell. She is sad, angry and lonely and I loved her. I kind of just wanted to hug her. At least she has one friend, a wolf.

Then there is Michael who is the angel's leaders, and Belzebub who rules Hell. Both need her to win. A battle of epic proportions are about to begin.

I did not like her sister though, Bat El. She was tstl, but at the same time she was not. She was just pure, naive, a harp playing angel, but still I wanted to give her a smack over the head.

Conclusion:

And then there was the end who made me angry. But up to that, one cool book and Arenson a talented writer.

Cover:

Nice

Review: Etiquette for an Apocalypse - Anne Mendel

It’s the 2020 Apocalypse and Sophie Cohen, former social worker turned neighborly drug dealer, must keep her family alive amid those pesky end of the world issues: starvation, earthquakes, plagues, gang violence and alas more starvation.She investigates a serial killing and takes down the sinister emerging power structure while learning to use a pizza box solar oven, bond with her chickens and blast tin cans from the perimeter fence with a Ruger 9MM.

In order to accomplish all this she must find a way to love her mother, accept her daughter’s adulthood and reignite her moribund marriage.

She might discover that a decentralized, consensus driven life—without fossil fuels, iPhones and chocolate éclairs—isn’t the end of the world, after all.

My thoughts:

That which  made me want to try this book was the cover, I mean look at it! So cool and weird, I love it.

It's the end of the world but some are struggling to survive (it helps having a genius for a brother who can make painkillers:) It's a new world where those with a skill has survived. Sophie sells drugs, but even in this bleak bleak world the book itself does not feel overly bleak. Because the book is so much more than just another dystopic apocalyptic story. It's a story about a mother trying to do right by her daughter, a girl becoming a teenager in this kind of world. Oh yes she is not happy. About a marriage that is not as passionate as it used to be. And it's not easy to be loving when you have nothing to eat and people die around you left and right. And last, dealing with a mother who does not want to accept that the world has changed.

But the family drama and issues aside the book is also a bit of a mystery as women are being murdered and Sophie wants to find out who is doing it. Because no one else care. And by digging around in things she should not more happens, I can't go into details but it gets exciting.

A bleak world about a family trying to cope. It has this certain feel to it, bleak yet so normal. Many apocalyptic books are awesome, but in the end they are just so freaking big. So much happened, the world has changed too much. Here it feels like this could happen. A supervolcano would just have to explode and that would send ripples through out the world. This is how people would try to get by.

Conclusion:

I have said it before, but a different sort of end of the world book, one that I enjoyed and one that felt like it was happening right now.

Cover:

Cool!

Genre: Apocalyptic
Pages: 276
Published: April 2012 by Bracket Press
Source: For review

Review: Deacon's Ark - A.E.Stanton

Series: The New West #2
Genre: Western, Apocalyptic wasteland
Pages: 64, ebook
Published: December 8th, 2011
Publisher; Musa Publishing
Source. For review

Josie and Deacon have left Horsetown and are back in search of The City. Joined by Josie’s youngest sister, Sadie, they decide to travel on the riverboat The Green Goddess to save travel time.

My thoughts:

Josie, Deacon and Sadie are looking for a mystical city. Most of the book takes ship in a ship and they will face some pretty bad things. And since this is a short one I will not say what those bad things are. I want to leave something as a surprise even if you get an idea from the longer blurb that can be found. 

This land is sure going to hell, I have a hard time seeing a future for them. Well it does not take many to start anew but still, as long as they survive what is coming. It's a nice apocalyptic western series. Hope is not something you find here (well except when talking to Josie and Deacon), and I do like that it is dark.

The book ends with somewhat of a cliffie. I fear what they will see next, and I am hoping for some good news.

Review: A plague of Angels - Sheri S.Tepper

Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi/ post-apocalyptic

Pages: 576

Published: Oct 13, 2011 (1994)

Publisher: Gollancz

Source: For review

Atop a twisting, canyon-climbing road, a witch lurks in a fortress built strong enough to keep out dragons and ogres. In an enchanted village, a young orphan is maturing into a beautiful woman. A young man seeks adventure in the big city after running away from his family and their small farm. Now a strange and terrible prophecy will set off a chain of events that will bring these three together, in a tale of heroism, romance and an age-old battle. But this is not the fantasy world you expect. The Place of Power is manned by strange, robotic creatures who leak radiation. The Archetypal Village knows what is expected of it, as do the inhabitants. In the city, gangs battle with guns and bombs. And the prophecy may lead to death for all.

My thoughts;

It is hard to describe this book, honestly it is just one of those books you have to read to understand. I have read a Tepper book before, and she does have a way to build a story. It's filled with marvelous things.

This book starts as fantasy, but nothing is as it seems. No it is this strange mix of fantasy and sci-fi and Tepper does it so well. She mixes things up and little by little I get to understand this world. Is it Earth? Is it a new planet? Is it a fantasy world? Well, I will not tell you that, read and see. What I can tell you is that it is a world that got destroyed by war, by stupidity, by humans. Some left for another planet and those left behind struggled to get by. In the countryside there are villages and farmers. In the cities gangs rule with weapons. In Archetypal villages archetypes live; oracles, prophets, heroes, princesses, witches. Why? To save the rest from those who might cause trouble. There are also Edgers who live behinds walls and have technology, and the place of power where Families rule and use androids. But there are also ogres and dragons in the forest. Like I said, nothing is what it seems. 

There you go, a world so strange, but still very real. There are reasons for everything and we get to know why things are like they are. Books are burned if they are older than 50 years, because if you can’t read about the past, you can’t remember it and you can’t go to war over silly things. There are people out there trying to save nature. And while I read I kept wondering what, and how. The clues are there and it was so fun finding out more. I love a well created world and that it sure is. 

About the story then. Well a young man leaves for the city and becomes a ganger. And orphan is taken to an archetypal village and at the place of power a woman wants just that, power, and to go to the stars. These stories are all connected. I liked Abasio, the boy who leaves for the city. He knows the cities are bad, his own mum had been a gangers concubine and fled. But still he leaves. Orphan is a mystery, and someone is out after her. But she is just a sweet girl. And then there are others that they meet, good people, and bad people. 

I liked it, it was a freaky book, in a good way. I love fantasy so of course I was all over that angle, and sci-fi is fun too. This mix here, more fantasy than sci-fi is another great mix. There is technology, just not much, or used that much. Therefore it makes it the more interesting. She also has a way to keep you interested, because you can’t see anything coming. 

What to call this book then? Post-apocalyptic, dystopia, fantasy, sci-fi, your call. Whatever suits you. And that is also its strong side, it can be something for everyone.

Conclusion:

I do recommend it if you want to try something different. Tepper is a master storyteller and she will keep on surprising you. 

Rating:

Interesting and good