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Monthly Archives: September 2023

Black River Orchard: A Review

Dan Paxson’s apples are like nothing else the folks of his home town have ever seen.

His daughter Calla dubs them “Ruby Slipper” apples, because they make you feel like there’s no place like home. Or so most of the other folks around Bucks County, Pennsylvania say. Calla wouldn’t know. She hasn’t tried one, but damn near everyone else has. Free samples at the farmer’s market will get folks’ attention, after all. Dan says that he developed them himself, grown from scionwood grafted onto existing trees.

Maybe they’re a miracle. Maybe they’re something else. You see, no one in town really knows why the judge decided to change an old ruling and cede the land the orchard occupies back to Dan. No one alive, anyway. Still, the orchard that had been his father’s dream is now his reality. Calla isn’t a fan of apples, preferring to focus on her boyfriend Marco, his track career, their upcoming application to Princeton, and life anywhere outside of Bucks County. Still, if her dad’s weird hobby turns out to drive her social media follower numbers up, so be it. She’s a born influencer, after all.

The discovery of a corpse downstream from the Paxson’s orchard stirs things up, though. There’s a mystery lurking in Bucks County, and Calla is starting to get nervous. Could her dad be responsible for the man’s death? Who would kill someone over an apple tree? Why is her dad not sleeping? Why is everyone in town suddenly so addicted to the Ruby Slipper? Calla is having a difficult time knowing who to trust anymore.

There’s an evil lurking in Bucks County, and it may have just found a new outlet.

Chuck Wendig has knocked it out of the park with Black River Orchard. He’s had a knack for horror writing for years, as evidenced by the runaway success of Wanderers back in 2019. His latest book showcases his own love of heirloom apples and a frightening amount of research into the process of cultivating new varieties, as well as a deep understanding of the sheer horror potential of a rural area. I absolutely loved this book, and I hope you do too.

I don’t know that I can eat another apple any time soon, though.

Black River Orchard is available to purchase as of today, 9/26/23. My utmost thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for a fair review.

The Fragile Threads of Power: A Review

V.E. Schwab is back, and ready to take you on another rollicking ride.

It’s been seven years since the events of A Conjuring of Light. Seven years since King Maxim died, and Arnes’s capital of Red London was plunged into darkness. Seven years since Black London’s monstrous ruler, Osaron, tried to destroy everything that Kell, Lila, and Rhy held dear. In the wake of the battle to save the worlds, many things have changed. Rhy Maresh is now the king of Arnes, with Alucard Emery ever by his side as his lover and bodyguard. However, Rhy is seen as a target of ire for the people of Arnes as magic seems to be fading from their world. A group known as The Hand plots to kill him, hoping that removing the magicless king from the throne will restore their own dwindling power.

Meanwhile, Lila and Kell have begun a journey on board Lila’s ship. Sailing under no flag, they secretly aid King Rhy by observing and investigating things that might be of interest to him. Kell’s own access to magic is hampered by the lingering effects of the battle with Osaron years before. As such, he’s been forced to train his martial skills under Lila Bard’s watchful eye and serving as her lieutenant aboard the ship. Lila’s magic does not seem diminished, but with the shifts the world is undergoing, it may only be a matter of time. She’s had seven years to boost her own skills since then, and she’s only grown more comfortable with her Antari nature.

And then, in Red London, there is a young girl running a repair shop. She, like Alucard Emery, has the rare gift of seeing the lines of magic that swirl around and between things and people. She’s taken to using that skill to repair magic items, and she may be the unwitting key to The Hand’s plans for King Rhy.

V.E. Schwab promised us an eventual return to the world from the Shades of Magic trilogy, and that wait has paid off many times over. The Fragile Threads of Power skillfully introduces new players and reminds of why we loved the returning characters. The new threat to the Arnesian throne feels almost too believable in a kingdom already torn between people who can access magic and those who can’t. Prepare yourself for a journey as we launch into the first book of a sequel series that promises to be just as addictive of a read as its predecessor.

My utmost thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair review. The Fragile Threads of Power is available for purchase as of today, 9/26/23. As Travars.

Starter Villain: A Review

I’ve enjoyed quite a few of John Scalzi’s books over the last few years, so it was a definite treat to be asked to review a copy of his latest novel, Starter Villain.

Starter Villain introduces readers to Charlie, a former business writer and current substitute teacher. Charlie lives with his cat, Hera, in the house his dad left him and his half-siblings. He’s been trying to get back on his feet for a few years, and things have not been going well. He wants to buy the neighborhood pub and take over as operator, but his current financial situation doesn’t encourage the bank to loan him the several million dollars he’d need to make that happen. In short, he’s hit a dead end.

Then, his uncle Jake dies.

Uncle Jake had not been present in Charlie’s life for decades, barely a thought in Charlie’s mind since the wedding gift he sent contained a (painfully accurate) prediction of how long the marriage would last. But Jake was rich. Jake was rich, and Charlie is his last living relative. Soon, one of Jake’s business associates arrives to inform Charlie that he has inherited his uncle Jake’s business empire. No, not the parking garage empire, although technically that too. The real business.

Uncle Jake was a supervillain.

Before he really knows what’s happening, Charlie is whisked away to his uncle’s volcano hideout to learn the ins and outs of being a modern villain connected to an organization that inspired the creation of James Bond and SPECTRE. His uncle was deeply involved in a cutthroat world of anti-satellite weapons, superintelligent cats, and unionized dolphins, and now it’s up to Charlie to face down all of Jake’s rivals. It’s going to be a long week.

Starter Villain is a quick, fun read with all of Scalzi’s standard humor (and references to his own cats, the Scamperbeasts). It was highly enjoyable, and I’m very grateful to the folks at Tor Books and NetGalley for giving me an eARC in exchange for a fair review. It’s out in the world on Tuesday, September 19th.