Tag: fantasy horror

Review: Deadly Night (Ageless Mysteries Book 1) by Vanessa Nelson

Rating: 4.75⭐️

 “Can she serve justice in an unjust world?”

Vanessa Nelson, a prolific writer, was an unknown author to me before this book.  But by the time I was done, at 3:33 am this morning, after reading through nonstop, she’s now gone directly to the front of my list of TBR authors.

What an incredible story and woman character Nelson serves up in Deadly Night, the first book in her Ageless Mysteries.

It’s been described as fantasy horror, or perhaps dark fantasy mystery, and it’s all that.  

From page one, the writer drops us into a magical world of swords, carriages, and a very stratified society  where a group of beings, the magical, flighted Ageless, rule over the world with the same sort of perception of a god looking upon lesser creatures.  Then there’s the Ageless born, who have mixed human-Ageless heritage, who live in fear of being discovered and brought to The Citadel, the Ageless city, where they will be conscripted by the Ageless Society for whatever reason they want. 

Then there’s the rest of the population, the humans and the other species, considered oddities by the Ageless.  Most of the people leave their lives in abject poverty or in survival conditions. 

Each small village has a Town Watch , a weapon-less law enforcement branch, to help police the community.  Watch Officer Thea March has been newly promoted and sent to a new location and given a murder mystery to solve. The brutal slaughter of a young woman. 

Nelson is laying down all her foundation while subtly building up her the world for her series, as Thea and her group of colleagues investigate the murder and move around the countryside and surrounding towns. We travel by carriage, move by foot to the docks, as each person does solid research into each case and their investigation.  And while we are throughly invested in this aspect of the story, and we are because it’s suspense filled, tension laden, and compelling, there’s so much more happening. 

Tiny personal moments and deep mysteries are appearing, mostly focused on Thea, but not all. And they look like tragic scenes and traumatic moments from her family’s past. This thread is likely one that will be continued throughout the series. 

There’s no romance or hint of one. At least not in this novel. Too many other storylines and elements to introduce (and extremely well) and areas to explore. Even Thea’s difficulties with her bullying boss in her new job, how she manages to handle it realistically without making her feel weak but turning it into a positive experience for her job feels believable and very true. 

It was extremely hard for me not to start on the second book right after this one. Even as an adult, I had to tell myself to wait for a couple of hours of sleep. Sigh. 

Yes, it’s incredible. Yes, I’m absolutely recommending this. And best of all? It’s completely finished.  You know I’m already binging it. My shelves are groaning.

Ageless Mysteries (6 book series):

 Deadly Night #1

False Dawn #2

Morning Trap #3

Assassin’s Noon #4

Flightless Afternoon #5

Ascension Day #6

Buy link 

 Book 1 of 6: Ageless Mysteries 

Blurb 

Can she serve justice in an unjust world?

Newly-promoted Watch Officer Thea March is assigned her very first death investigation. Someone has brutally killed a young woman and dumped her body in an empty warehouse. The only real clue left at the scene points to one of the elite – the Ageless – as being involved.

The Watch might ignore one anonymous woman’s death, but when more bodies appear, killed in the same way, the deaths attract the attention of the ruling elite, and Mage Niath is assigned to work with Thea to hunt down the killer.

Having spent most of her life trying to avoid attracting the attention of the elite, the last thing that Thea wants is a prominent mage shadowing her every move.

But they will have to depend on each other, and all the skills at their disposal, to hunt down and stop the killer.

Deadly Night is the first book in the now-complete Ageless Mysteries series by Vanessa Nelson.

If you like your fantasy full of mystery and magic, then you will love this series. Get your copy now to start Thea’s story.

May 13, 2021

Edition

2nd

Language

‎English

Print length

271 pages

Book 1 of 6

Ageless Mysteries

Review:  Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Selena ,with her dog, Copper, has fled an abusive relationship after the death of her mother. Broken and desperate with dollars to her name, she’s bought a train ticket and traveled days to a small desert town of Quartz Creek in search of an aunt she barely knows. 

Kingfisher’s novel pulls us immediately into the character of Selena, as it’s her voice that’s telling her story.  Quietly contained, tense, and worried as we watch through her eyes, her journey to a town so dry , so small that there’s nothing to see when she’s deposited at her final destination with her few belongings and gentle old lab, Copper. 

We’ve no idea exactly how broken Selena is or how horrific a relationship and past she’s fled. That is slowly revealed throughout the narrative as she starts to find her own way and new foundation in this quirky community. 

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher is a richly woven, beautifully written tale of a broken woman who finds in small dusty desert town full of secrets, small Gods both frightening and dangerous and some benign a refuge and home, along with a found family. People who are ready to support her, give her comfort and the space she needs to recover and develop her own strengths. 

It’s a remarkable journey. Full of humor, compassion, joy and yes, horror.  

All the characters are remarkable in their design and detail, human and otherwise.  The mythology and mystical elements are incredible. 

And I appreciate that even in the “horror “ aspect of this tale, there is a grey area attached to the “villain” here. Yes, its actions now are wrong but all the characters can see their origin came from a very different place.  I really like having a broader perspective on subjects like this. Nothing is ever black and white. 

T. Kingfisher  or author Ursula Vernon is a writer whose work is quietly thoughtful and insightful. Her love for this desert and its beauty is apparent here, it flows through the landscape of the narrative in every sentence. 

As does her approach to life and wildlife. Roadrunners are indeed far more than the cartoon characters would have you believe. Authors notes are a delight. Check them out. 

Highly recommended. Both author and book. 

Exquisite cover that carries major themes of the story.

Cover design by Logan Matthews Cover illustration by Tristan Elwell

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comSnake-Eater: Kingfisher, T.: 9781662525094

Blurb 

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award–winning author T. Kingfisher comes an enthralling contemporary fantasy seeped in horror about a woman trying to escape her past by moving to the remote US desert—only to find herself beholden to the wrath of a vengeful god.

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.

Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.

Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.