Sky Without Stars

Today's post is on Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. It is 579 pages long and is published by Simon Pulse. The cover is a world with different French landmarks on it. The intended reader is someone who likes young adult novels, romance, and reimagines of stories. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this novel. The story is told from three different perspectives of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A thief. An officer. A guardian.
Three strangers. One shared destiny . . .
When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.
Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…
Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spying on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.
Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a traitor. Groomed to command by his legendary grandfather, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when he discovers a cryptic message that only one person, a girl named Alouette, can read.
Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.
All three have roles to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.
Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables.

Review- A epic beginning to a trilogy that takes Les Misérables not only into space but into places never explored before. The story follows three very different characters with very different perceptions of life and their futures. Chatine only wants to get away from Laterre, Marcellus wants to be who his grandfather expects him to be, and Alouette wants to protect the hidden past without knowing her own. The three are on a collision course with planned revolution, old secrets, and murder. This was a good read with lots of world building, characters development, and fast pacing. The reader gets a handle on the world of Laterre and the people who live and die there. With the chapter heading telling the reader who perspective they are in, the reader sees Laterre from very different places and that adds so much to the world. I look forward to reading the next volume. 

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this novel from my local library.

Deer Creek Drive: A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta

Today's nonfiction post is on Deer Creek Drive: A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta by Beverly Lowry. It is 354 pages long and is published by Alfred A. Knopf. The is a street with a map of Mississippi and garden shears. The intended reader is someone who is interested in historical murders and southern history. There is some foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- The stunning true story of a murder that rocked the Mississippi Delta and forever shaped one author's life and perception of home.
In 1948, in the most stubbornly Dixiefied corner of the Jim Crow south, society matron Idella Thompson was viciously murdered in her own home: stabbed at least 150 times and left facedown in one of the bathrooms. Her daughter, Ruth Dickins, was the only other person in the house. She told authorities a Black man she didn't recognize had fled the scene, but no evidence of the man's presence was uncovered. When Dickins herself was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, the community exploded. Petitions pleading for her release were drafted, signed, and circulated, and after only six years, the governor of Mississippi granted Ruth Dickins an indefinite suspension of her sentence and she was set free.
In Deer Creek Drive, Beverly Lowry--who was ten at the time of the murder and lived mere miles from the Thompsons' home--tells a story of white privilege that still has ramifications today, and reflects on the brutal crime, its aftermath, and the ways it clarified her own upbringing in Mississippi.

Review- This is an interesting historical true crime and memoir of the author. She lived in the area when the murder happened and she remembers reading about it as a young teenager. The book starts after the murder then backs up to give content. The content is not just about the murder, the victim, or her family, but about the world of Delta Mississippi and how it worked. Lowry follows the case from beginning to end and adds in what was going on in her world as the same time. She discusses how being a white woman affected the case, from how long it took for her to be arrested, and how she was treated after. The writing was good, the research was good, and the examination of the southern Delta Mississippi at that particular time was very fascinating. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

The Dragon Knight's Beloved, vol 1

Today's post is on The Dragon Knight's Beloved, vol 1 by Asagi Orikawa. It is 195 pages long and is published by Seven Seas. The cover has the two main characters, Melissa and Hubert, with his white dragon behind them. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The intended reader is someone who likes high fantasy and shojo manga. The story is told from third person close of Melissa. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- A Girl Beloved by Dragons

Melissa is a maid-in-training at the royal castle, where her greatest joy is caring for the majestic steeds of the Dragon Knights. Her coming-of-age ceremony is fast approaching, and with it comes the need to decide what path her future will take. Melissa shares a special bond of friendship with Commander Hubert, the handsome knight who rides the mightiest of dragons, but their relationship is about to get complicated. Newly returned from a dangerous mission, Hubert makes a shocking request: Would Melissa pretend to be his lover, and move to his country estate, where wild dragons roam?

Review- A good start to a new series. Melissa is one of the few people that can be around dragon safely, they seem to like her., including the queen of dragon. So when her friend Hubert needs someone to pretend to be his lover, she is best choice. Of course, he has feelings for her and she doesn't know that, add in his older brother's fiancée, who is more than a little suspicious and that is the plot set up. The art is just amazing with so much detail and expression from all the character, including the dragons. The story is just getting started but there is more than just a love story going on. There is some political stuff happening in the back ground and neither of the main characters know about it. I like all the characters, the setting, and the plot so far, so I am interested in seeing where this goes. 

I give this manga a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Vampire Hunter D Volume 6: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane

Today's fiction post is on Vampire Hunter D Volume 6: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane by Hideyuki Kikuchi , and Yoshitaka Amano  (Illustrator). It is 178 pages long and is published by Dark Horse. The cover has D and his horse in the moonlight on it. The intended reader is someone who likes dark adventure stories with stoic characters and strange monsters. There is mild foul language, mild sexuality, and violence in this novel. The story is told from third person god narration. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The Cruel Desert between the Inner and Outer Frontiers has a mind, and heart, of its own.
Granny Viper is a "people finder," a searcher for lost souls along the roads of the forbidding wasteland of 12,090 A.D. Her latest mission: the safe return to her family of an "abductee," a young woman named Tae, kidnapped eight years ago by vampire Nobility and held in Castle Gradinia on the far border of the Frontiers. Rescuing Tae was only half the battle- Viper knows she can't make the rest of the journey with the across the formidable expanse to the town of Barnabas alone. But the wizened crone makes a fatal mistake in hiring the mercenary Bullow Brothers to help her, and when she turns to the legendary Vampire Hunter D for salvation the two women and D finds themselves in a race for their lives across the blinding desert sands.

Review- Another interesting adventure for D and the world that he lives in. In this novel he meets another dhampir and they have some very interesting interactions. The action is mostly about the characters just trying to survive the desert, which has a will and plans for all of them. The most interesting part of this novel is interactions between D and the other dhampir. They a lot in common and that makes their conversations very important and add depth to the world and world building. The art in this novel really add to the story and we get a good look at D's face in this volume. All in all this volume was a great read and added so much to the world building and to D's overall character. 

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this novel with my own money.

Banned Books: The World's Most Controversial Books, Past and Present

Today's nonfiction post is on Banned Books: The World's Most Controversial Books, Past and Present. It is 192 pages long and is published by DK Publishing. The cover is blue with a pile of books chained up in the center. The intended reader is someone who likes history and literature. There is some foul language, discussion of sex and sexuality, and discussion of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book- Which novel is claimed to have inspired an assassination? Why were Grimm's Fairy Tales once banned in German schools? Which book  about censorship has routinely fallen afoul of the censors? Banned Books brings together some of the world's most controversial written works, from Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary to J>D> Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Shocking, scandalous, offensive, and often surprising, these books offer a fascinating insight into censorship, culture, society, and politics. 

Review- An interesting look into banned books from around the world and why the books were banned. Each book is given at least a page to cover the basic plot and the controversy around it. The writing in this book takes a back sit to the books covered themselves. The point of this book is to educate the curious about the banned books and to encourage the reader to try one of the banned books for themselves and to make up their own minds. There is art accompanying the short essays and it adds a very nice touch to the book. I do recommend this book for everyone who wants to know what's the big deal?

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Canon, vol 4

 

Today's post is on Canon, vol 4 by Chika Shiomi. It is 194 pages long and was published by CMX Comics. As it is the fourth in the series, you need to have read the first three volumes to understand the story. The cover has Canon and Sakaki on it. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo manga and vampire love stories. The story is told from third person close of Canon. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Allegiances shift and the battle lines are drawn as Canon faces her true enemy. She's made a vow that she won't let one more person die... unless she takes the fall herself. The powerful Glenn is prepared to take her on, but Rod forbids him to kill her., leading to a fateful rift between the vampire allies. And is it possible that Canon still has a chance to regain her humanity?

Review- A interesting conclusion to a short series. Canon regains control of herself with help from her bird friend and she is sick of all the death around her. So she wants to save everyone is willing die trying. The story ends happily with Canon and Sakaki going to try and just be in love with no revenge or death handing around them. The last half of this volume is about Sakaki and his past from when his parents died to him being saved by another half-vampire. It added some good depth to his character and motives. The romance in very light in this series, so if you are looking for an intense love story then you will be disappointed with this series. But if like me, you are looking for a strong heroine, who grows and changes over the course of the story and influences those around her, then you should enjoy Canon. 

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Slayers: The Ghost of Sairaag Hajime Kanzaka (Writer) , Rui Araizumi (Illustrator)

Today's fiction post is on Slayers: The Ghosts of Sairaag by Hajime Kanzaka, and Rui Araizumi  (Illustrator). It is 226 pages long and is published by J-Novel Club. As it is the third novel in the Slayers series, you need to have the first two novels to understand the story. The cover has Lina on it looking pleased with herself. There is very mild foul language, no sex, and action violence in this novel. The story is told from first person perspective of Lina. There Be Spoiler Ahead.

From the back of the book- All me and Gourry wanted was a peaceful little road trip, but we can’t take one step without wannabe heroes showing up to “vanquish” us! You’d think there was a bounty on our heads or— Wait, there IS?! Ah, crap. Better head to Sairaag to get this whole mess sorted out! Sure hope it’s just a big misunderstanding and not some complex plot by an old enemy to lure us into a— Wait, WHO issued the bounty? Oh, boy...

Review- This is novel is very good, it is back to Lina and Gourry on the run from bad guys and trying to figure out what is really going on. They run into my favorite character again, Zelgadis, and he is a good addition to this novel. He is a very unique perspective and he is good with magic so Lina has someone to talk about magic with. The action is very fast in this novel, with every scene adding more to the plot and expanding the world for the readers. The villain is very good in this novel, nice and evil and very powerful, so our heroes have to think outside of Dragon Slave to stop him. Kanzaka is really warming up to his world and the characters in it. I am looking forward to the next novel and seeing what is going to happen next. 

I give this novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this novel with my own money.