Tag: fantasy

Reviews of Notice (Notice #1) and The Dragon and the Mistletoe (Notice #2) by M. Raiya

Rating: 4.25 stars

Adrian Varian Kendall has always prided himself on his ability to keep his three lives separate from each other no matter how intense  his life got.  High school teacher, dragonshifter, and gay male, elements of himself kept partitioned due to necessity and security of those around him. Then he receives notice while teaching class, a clear message from a Knight to meet in battle but Varian doesn’t know which student left him the message.  Suddenly the walls between his separate lives collapse, as the Notice poses a threat not only to the dragon families Varian protects but to his human lover, Josh, as well.

Thousands of years ago as the Knights threatened all Dragonkind with extinction, Dragons hid by taking human form and vanishing into the human populations around them.  Now this one Notice threatens to bring all dragons out of hiding, expose them to the human world, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from groups of Knights determined to kill them once and forever. Varian’s lover, Josh, has no idea that he is living with a dragon and the stress of hiding his true nature from Josh is straining that relationship to the point of breaking.  Every part of his life is now under attack and Varian will do anything necessary to bring about a peace, even if he make sacrifice himself.

I have always loved dragons so a story about dragonshifters hits quite a few of my buttons. M. Raiya does a wonderful job of meshing dragon lore with contemporary reality to give us a really neat twist on the old Dragon and Knights  story.  Here the conflict between Knights and Dragons has carried through the ages even as both groups have undergone changes to adapt to the modern world.  In the past the Knights greatly outnumbered  the dragons and almost brought about their extinction, killing vast numbers.  To save their species, some dragons disappared,  and some took humans as thralls to help them exist only to disappear themselves too.  The rest took human form and quietly melded into human communities, dragon traditions and teachings fading as the centuries passed. Raiya gives us a wonderful backstory without taking away from the action adventure story being told.

I loved the characterizations as well especially Varian and Josh.  Varian is a complex character in love with a human whose background and personality exceeds his own in intensity and dimension.  Varian loves teaching and has a protective nurturing nature which is at odds at the fighter/killer the Knights force him to be.  He has kept his true form and identity from Josh and that has stifled his relationship.  He is still young and makes mistakes that comes from lack of experience in relationships and maturity. Josh is flamboyantly gay, from his makeup and glittery clothes to the sexual art forms he creates.  Josh is almost defiantly feminine which stems from an abusive background and parents determined to beat him straight.  I loved Josh who asks to be accepted for who he is even if he is not sure what exactly that is himself, just a great character  who provides both heart-wrenching angst and surprising abilities. Huntington is another person full of endearing qualities that just enlists the readers sympathy even when you aren’t sure he is deserving of it.  Only one character disappointed me  and that was due to not fully basing him in the plot as strongly as he should have been considering the impact his betrayal has on everyone later on.  His motive was never clear nor his backstory told so that his actions never made that much sense to me. I don’t want to be more specific so as to not give away spoilers for the plot.  But that was a hole I felt remained for the rest of the story.

I also had a few quibbles with some editing errors in the story, including a homonym that stopped me cold. Here Josh says “plaintively. “Can I be a terrible boar” instead of “bore”, something an editor should have caught. But overall, M. Raiya gives a fantasy story of dragons, Knights, and the enduring power of family and love.

The Dragon and the Mistletoe (Notice #2) by M. Raiya

Rating: 4.25 stars

This is a Holiday Sip from Torquere Press featuring Varian and Josh from Notice.  It is their first Christmas together and Varian realizes the importance of choosing just the right gift for Josh, one that will show Josh how much Varian loves and treasures their relationship.  Varian has grown tremendously since Notice and M. Raiya let’s us in on Varian’s thoughts on their time together and the current status they have worked so hard to achieve since the events in Notice.  It is a heartwarming tale, perfect for anytime of the year and an enjoyable visit with a couple I came to love in the first book.

The first cover is by Alessio Brio.  I had a problem seeing the black dragons flying on the cover due to all the darkness (or maybe just my poor eyesight).  I just wish there had been a little more contrast so the dragons would be easier to pick out.

Review of The Storyteller by Blaine Arden

The Storyteller

Rating:  4 stars

The Storyteller is an amazing short story now available as a free read from Storm Moon Press.  It is narrated by Oleg, a young man who has been banished to his family’s country estate because of his blindness.  “Sightless, useless, an abomination”, he is tended to by Neiam who has been hired by his Father to take care of both the estate and his son.  That’s the bare bones of the story that is remarkable in so many ways.

Using Oleg to narrate the story forces the reader to perceive life as he does. Oleg feels the sunlight on his naked body, he listens to the hitch in Neiam’s voice and hears the shuffling of his caretaker’s feet that marks the path he is to follow.  You learn only as much as Oleg does about the estate they are living on.

Neiam is not the typical caretaker/servant either.  Neiam is Oleg’s lover and the storyteller in the title.  As Neiam tells his stories, he forces Oleg to follow his voice and take steps through the house, helping Oleg gain independence and confidence.  Another layer added to this story is the D/s role in their relationship.  Neiam, the servant, is Dominant while Oleg, son of royalty, is happily submissive.  Their sexual relationship is sensual and oh so hot. The D/s here is gentle and loving as Neiam steers Oleg towards self sufficiency.

There is no mention of time and place.  It could be Russia in the 1700’s or a alternate universe.  It really doesn’t matter as the focus is on Oleg and Neiam. Their day is interrupted by “Father” and serves to underscore Oleg’s relationship with his family.

At 3,600 words, this story is short and sweet.  The Storyteller takes place on Valentine’s Day, a perfect time to read this wonderful story.

Cover: This cover is perfection.  Lush and romantic, it really suits the story.

 

Review of The Ronin and The Fox by Cornelia Grey

Reviewed for JoyfullyJay on 3/10/12

Rating: 3.75 stars

The Ronin And The Fox

Following a dispute with his lord, Samurai Hajime left his master’s realm to become ronin, a masterless samurai.  As he journeys through one village, the innkeeper begs him to stay and help drive away a kitsune or fox spirit that is bedeviling the village.  Lacking destination or purpose to his life, Hajime agrees to help.  A seductive encounter with Katsura, a gorgeous young man in his room at the inn leaves Hajime reeling and drained. Imagine Hajime’s surprise when upon capturing the kitsune, it turns out that the fox spirit is the same young man who seduced him that first night at the inn.

Being captured is the least of Katsura’s troubles.  The pearl containing his soul has been stolen by an unscrupulous healer who has forced him to do his bidding.  It is the yamabushi or religious healer, not Katsura, who is the real cause of the village’s problems.

Hajime feels sorry for the kitsune and is honorbound to help Katsura retrieve his soul and save the village from further harm.  But their partnership is not without obstacles, including former samarai, spells, encounters with water spirits, and issues of trust.  Will they obtain the pearl and save the village and Katsura?  Or will the kitsune’s own nature bring disaster upon them both.

I will state right from the start that I liked the characters of Hajime and Katsura.  Hajime is a person who, having achieved his goal of being a samurai, finds himself a round peg trying to fit into a square hole.  He’s kind, a man of honor who doesn’t do well with authority and just wants to help people.  Definitely not samurai material.  Katsura is a long-lived kitsune but still retains his impulsiveness and folly of youth.  It is due to his own stupidity and gluttony that his pearl was stolen.  How can you not love a spirit who is his own worst enemy?  They are the best part of this story.

I wish the author had taken her story and placed it in modern Japan.  I would have loved to see how Katsura dealt with today’s Japan.  Instead she set it in Shogun era Japan and all the problems with this novel tumble forth.

First the dialog and the phrasing.  Cornelia Grey tries for dialog as it might have been spoken in feudal Japan, using the titles of  “samurai dono” when the innkeeper is speaking to Hajime.  This is an old form of “sir” not used today.  But then phrases such as “he was in his early twenties”, “I could have timed that better”, or Katsura saying being a fox spirit “has got to have it’s perks” brings the story to a jarring halt and dispels any idea that these are men/beings of antiquity.  Further references to Katsura’s “alien gold eyes”, “stroke of genius”, “where on Earth” and “throw his life away” left me reading in disbelief.

The author also tells us repeatedly that Katsura is wearing an orange yukata but never informs the reader that it is a summer kimono.  Most people are aware of what a kimono looks like and had she used that term instead, it would have clarified what he was wearing. Yet, later on, Cornelia Grey tells us that the healer is wearing “his tokin—a small black hat tied just above his forehead”.  Better editing leads to better continuity.

The Samurai era started about 646 ce and ends in 1868 with the Meiji Restoration.  Japan was an isolationist society with layer upon layer of rules and rituals that governed society and its castes.  Such phrases and words such as timing, aliens and perks are modern and mostly Western in origin let alone “where on Earth”.  Also samurai followed a code of conduct called “bushido” which  translates to the way of the warrior.  It is honor, courage, and freedom from the fear of death.  Yet, Hajime says he was “trying to be honorable and kind, as the bushido instructed”and that he “didn’t want to throw his life away”.   *Shakes head*  Well, no, bushido doesn’t instruct that, in fact, bushido even demanded that sepukko or ritual death be committed in certain situations.  So actually, yes, do throw that life away, bushido demands it.

I got the impression that much of this story has been drawn from Manga and not history.  Hajime is actually a boxing manga and anime series. Also the kitsune has some attributes  that come from yuri/yaoi manga fandoms and not Japanese folk tales.  The fox spirit is Japan’s answer to our own Coyote trickster.  It can change shape, possess people in some instances and loves to play tricks, especially on the arrogant and unworthy. Here the land is drained of its energy by the fox spirit and the kitsune drinks Hajime’s blood. The vampiric nature of Katsura seems to have its basis in Shouji Ai or lesbian manga as the Japanese folktales do not mention this.

Writing historical fiction, even one that has fantasy overtones, can be tricky, as mistakes with dialog, dates and culture are easily pinpointed and distract from the story.  Cornelia Grey had a wonderful novel here and she buried it under poor word choices, unintentionally funny dialog, and uneven editing.  And that is such a shame.  Hajime and Katsura deserve much better.

Cover.  The cover is lush and portrays a scene in the book beautifully.  I wish the book was as well done.