female protagonist

You Will Never Be Found by Tove Alsterdal – Book Review

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You Will Never Be Found by Tove Alsterdal – Book Cover

There are two main types of Scandinavian crime novels. First, there are the ones that try to bring joy to the reader through a protagonist who carries the weight of the world on their shoulders, endlessly depressed (see: Reykjavík Nights). Then, there are those that stand out with some extra twist, like the Harry Hole novels, where the added flavor comes from the brilliance (and alcoholism) of a detective specialized in serial killers (see: Killing Moon). Tove Alsterdal takes a different path. Her book You Will Never Be Found focuses primarily on authenticity.

Eira Sjödin Returns to Investigate

Alsterdal’s series debut, We Know You Remember, won the prestigious Glass Key Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. So, it’s no surprise that the Swedish author’s protagonist, patrol officer Eira Sjödin, is once again given the chance to prove her skills with a new case.

What starts off as the disappearance of an unemployed actor soon reveals itself to be much more serious. Eira, who has been involved in the investigation from the very start, gets the opportunity to participate in the homicide investigation as well.

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Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery – Book Review

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Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery – Book Cover

When the elderly siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, living in the Prince Edward Island village of Avonlea, request an orphan boy from the orphanage to help with the chores around their home, they are quite surprised to find they’ve received a girl instead. But who on earth needs a girl? Certainly not Marilla, the practical, down-to-earth spinster. So what will happen to Anne Shirley, the freckled, skinny, red-haired, plain-looking eleven-year-old girl? How will she ever become Anne of Green Gables?

Anne Shirley is unwanted by anyone

The girl’s only hope is Matthew, the slow-witted, odd, and shy old man who has a pathological fear of women. He doesn’t even look at them, let alone speak to them. (This is somewhat understandable, of course.) So, Anne Shirley’s chances, to put it mildly, are not very promising…

However, the reclusive Matthew, who sticks out like a sore thumb among his peers, is the first to realize—even before the reader—that the lonely and unwanted Anne needs them far more than they need her. (Understanding that the reverse is also true comes later.)

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The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Review

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Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Cover

Demons Never Give You a Moment of Peace

It’s as if Peter V. Brett keeps getting better as a writer with each successive book in the Demon Cycle series. You definitely get that feeling with The Daylight War. And it’s not just because the stakes dramatically increase in this installment, which is true, but rather because Brett uses his characters much more effectively.

At first, the demons that seep to the surface from the depths of the earth during the night seem quite elusive and faceless. However, as the series progresses, you get to know these hellish creatures better and better.

What starts as a seemingly conventional world in The Warded Man, becomes increasingly complex here. And the demons lurking below ground realize that their dinner is becoming tougher and tougher.

In the Demon Cycle, everything and everyone comes in pairs: day and night, humans and demons, the northern duchies of Thesa and Krasia located in the south, the Creator and Everam, Ahmann Jardir and Arlen Bales. This duality is even more pronounced in Krasia, where men and women are separated just as distinctly as the full-fledged Sharum and the lower, despised Khaffit caste.

However, The Daylight War is about unification. Humanity must unite under the banner of the Deliverer if they are to defeat their common enemy. The problem is that there are two Deliverers. And each one is convinced that he is the true one. And with good reason…

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Mad by Chloé Esposito – Book Review

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Mad by Chloé Esposito – Book Cover

Chloé Esposito’s book screams “girly nonsense” from a mile away. “Chick lit”— it gently implies that we’re not exactly dealing with the pinnacles of literary achievement here. So, what’s it doing on this SOPHISTICATED blog, you ask? That is mad! Fate must have had it in for me when the second volume of this esteemed trilogy landed in my hands. I skimmed through, and bam!—a line popped out at me: something, well, very sexual. Alas, I can’t remember a single word of it.

So, Mad promises an unusual and unpredictable adventure (since I don’t normally read this kind of nonsense) in my frenzied search for that lucky sentence—a quest that doubles as an opportunity to write a nice, snarky review. Let’s go!

Chloé Esposito: Grandmaster of Character Building!

Then, what happens? Right from the start of Mad, you’re face-to-face with a MASTERCLASS in character building! In the first two chapters, here’s what we learn about our heroine, the lovely Alvina: she’s lazy, messy, irresponsible, shallow, jealous, greedy, selfish, a drunk, and promiscuous. Oh, and she’s a pyromaniac too! On the other side of the scales? Just two lonely items: she likes to read and writes haikus. Truly a joy, this kind of protagonist.

One more surprise awaits you with Esposito’s book: humor. I’m not really the laugh-out-loud type, but I laughed out loud three times while reading the first two chapters. And twice more in the third. It’s all like a stand-up comedy mixed with a big dose of silliness.

A Romance Novel with a Sociopathic Heroine

That’s about where the good news ends. And where the intro of Mad wraps up. After that, I didn’t laugh anymore, and you probably won’t either, even though similar jokes pop up here and there. The main reason is that it becomes glaringly obvious that Alvina, besides her lovely attributes listed above, is also a sociopath, with the emotional intelligence of a nine-year-old. Armed with this mindset and a 28-centimeter vibrator, affectionately called “Mr. Dick,” she arrives in Taormina to see her rich, successful twin sister. Who promptly asks her to switch identities with her. Wow, never saw that twist coming!

From this point on, Mad is just another airy trifle. Longing for luxury items and charming Italian men. Obligatory sex scenes with partners’ growing penis sizes. (Thankfully, at least, there’s some restraint shown here—not in terms of sizes, but in that there are only about four or five of these scenes, and they’re not overwritten.)

Is Killing Fun? Sure Thing

Then another element enters the mix and takes over: the completely implausible thriller aspect (Cosa Nostra & murders), whose impact dissolves in seconds due to Alvina’s kindergarten-level approach to events. At one point in the plot, our noble heroine decides she wants to be a hitman because it sounds like fun.

And what do you think about a romantic novel whose main character is a sociopath? If you think sociopaths aren’t exactly the romantic type, you’d be spot-on! This is how you write a book that’s also an unintentionally bad parody of itself.

So why stick it out to the end?

1, Damned curiosity.

2, The author constantly tries to explain why Mad’s protagonist, Alvina is the way she is, and at the beginning, to your surprise, it sort of works, and you feel a bit of sympathy for her. But not for very long…

So, why did she turn out the way she did? Why?! Mostly because of that lousy baby formula!

Rating: 6/10

Mad (Mad Trilogy #1) by Chloé Esposito
336 pages, Hardcover
Published in 2017 by Dutton
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UPDATE:
Curiosity got the better of me, and I skimmed the second book, Bad, which immediately demolishes any trace of coherence left in the story with a twist that renders the previous book’s ending meaningless. The quality dips further (5/10), so I never did find out what that intriguing sentence was. If anyone has plowed through the sequel and still has usable brain cells, kindly post the book’s SEXIEST line here for me.

The Late Show by Michael Connelly – Book Review

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The Late Show by Michael Connelly – Book Cover

Reneé Ballard – The Appointed Successor of Harry Bosch

Good old Harry Bosch, our favorite detective (see The Concrete Blonde), and arguably the lead of the best crime series I’ve ever read, has retired. He’s gotten old, poor guy. Reneé Ballard, the protagonist of The Late Show, seems to be Connelly’s chosen successor for the Hollywood Division.

A quick Google search reveals that in the next Ballard story, the two crimefighters will team up. I don’t know, maybe Bosch, who has always had a soft spot for women, takes Ballard under his wing, or something like that—after all, he’s well into grandpa age now. But let’s leave that as a surprise. (Ah, I’m sure he’ll charm her.)

But fortunately, we won’t be left feeling Bosch’s absence for too long, because Ballard’s approach, dedication, and outsider status remind us a lot of Bosch. Plus, Ballard is pretty sexy too. (Sure, Bosch is sexy too, but just a bit less so.)

We overlook Ballard’s flaws just as we did Bosch’s, or rather, we overlook the author’s obsession with the same basic setup that he couldn’t quite let go of in The Late Show either: the lone wolf who follows their own path, constantly clashing with at least five superiors, with both sides making life difficult for each other at every opportunity.

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Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu – Sana Takeda – Comic Book Review

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Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu - Sana Takeda - Comic Book Cover

Stunningly Complex World

It’s rare to find a work where saving the world is at stake, yet it doesn’t quickly devolve into a predictable and monotonous clash between good and evil. Fortunately, that’s not the case in Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress series (and its second volume titled The Blood).

The world of Monstress is so intricately complex that, for now, you have no idea who needs saving from whom. Arcanics, humans, ancients, gods, and cats!—each has their own goals, and amidst this intricate web of relationships, Maika Halfwolf, with her ever-decreasing body mass, pushes forward, knee-deep in blood, seeking answers to many tormenting questions. Such as: Is it good for you if a ravenous monster is awakening inside you? Or: How beneficial is it for your mental health if you’ve been trained to be a killer since early childhood?

(In the long run, probably not at all, but if someone messes with you in a thyrrian ruin-pub, both can come in handy.)

All of this is covered in the continuation of the blog’s highest-rated (8.7/10) and most beautifully executed work to date (see Monstress – The Awakening, Vol. 1).

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Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Review

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Cari Mora by Thomas Harris – Book Cover

Cari Mora isn’t just tough, but sexy too

Thomas Harris’s protagonist, Cari Mora, a former child soldier from Colombia and current Miami Beach hottie, is the caretaker of Pablo Escobar’s old villa. The meticulous and careful Pablo once hid $25 million worth of gold in the mansion. The mafia and a despicable German psychopath, whose hobby is organ trafficking, are both vying for the gold. (Cari Mora has no such plans; she simply wants to be a veterinarian.)

Thomas Harris has returned with a renewed style of novel – as you’ll gather from the blurb. As for why, only God knows, because there was nothing wrong with the old style: The Silence of the Lambs was almost as good in book form as the brilliant film made from it. This new style means the whole thing is a bit flatter and more superficial. And faster-paced – perhaps due to changing reader preferences or maybe because it’s much easier to write a book this way.

Thomas Harris seems to have forgotten how to write a good novel

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The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz – Book Review

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The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz – Book Cover

Dean Koontz and Jane Hawk Are Starting to Tire

In The Forbidden Door the fourth book in the series, Jane Hawk continues her battle against a conspiracy at the highest levels of American political and economic life. Our favorite vigilante starts from the unenviable position of being the USA’s number one public enemy. And she’s pretty exhausted.

The same can be said for the initial chapters of Dean Koontz’s book: the writing is undeniably sloppy. The text is dripping with pathos from the very first scene, overflowing with exaggerated positive descriptions of the protagonists.

Then, interestingly, the situation suddenly normalizes, and these anomalies mostly disappear. How did that happen? Who’s ever heard of a book’s beginning being thrown together? Whatever.

Dean Koontz Is Still Aiming for the Nobel Prize in Literature

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City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty – Book Review

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City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - Book cover

Cairo. The late 18th century. Nahri, a young girl who makes a living by swindling people and using her healing abilities, is struggling to make ends meet despite this combination. She doesn’t even believe in magic. Then, by accident, she summons a djinn! Of course, the djinn is furious. To calm him down, Nahri must accompany him to the City of Brass. The City of Brass is hidden in the middle of the desert, completely camouflaged—good luck finding it, even with Google Maps.

Nahri and Dara (the djinn) head eastward, bickering along the way. They quarrel, make up, and repeatedly sabotage their own journey—Nahri is particularly adept at this. They also face numerous threats trying to devour them. This adventure is framed by Eastern mythology and folklore, offering an unusual flavor to readers accustomed to Western-style fantasy. However, some creatures from Arabic lore appear almost laughably fairy-tale-like, such as the twelve-eyed, gluttonous giant pigeon (imagine how much stew you could make from that!).

Fairy-tale elements are fine within their own context, like in the Arabian Nights, but it’s disappointing when a story that starts as a fantasy devolves into a children’s tale. This uncomfortable feeling is compounded when characters magically conjure food and drink out of thin air, like in Harry Potter, including quality alcohol that they then get drunk on. Such things can make a story feel increasingly cheesy. S. A. Chakraborty’s City of Brass is no exception.

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