Two Minute Review: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Title: The Aeronaut's Windlass
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: fantasy, steampunk
Series: The Cinder Spires #1
Pages: 630
Published: September 2015
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5

Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…

Jim Butcher and I have had an uneven relationship for years. Up until this novel, I could love (Codex Alera series) or leave (Harry Dresden) his work. And then I read The Aeronaut's Windlass and I didn't (and still don't, months later) know quite what to make of it or how I feel about it. I mean, I should love it. It should have worked for me in so many ways on so many levels. And yet.... I didn't. It didn't. There were some bright spots and characters, but on the whole, it's not the author's best work.

Don't get me wrong. I mean, I liked the novel okay --- I finished it and I wouldn't finish a 630 page novel I did not like. I just kept waiting for the worldbuilding to hit the sweet spot, the characters to gel and connect, or a favorite to emerge, or the plot to engage on a more than superficial level --- something to coalesce into the awesome I'd seen before in the author's world of Codex Alera. And for me? It just never happened. Sink or swim fantasy worldbuilding is often my favorite -- but this was a sink or swin fantasy without learning how to hold your breath. Butcher just LAUNCHES into this mad world and I couldn't grasp the cultures or the interpersonal relationships, which means he was trying too hard and it was too convoluted. 

There are good bones here and I think I can get where Butcher wants me to go, if I give the inevitable sequel a try. It's a large commitment and while book one wasn't what I had hoped to find or what the author is capable of, I do think Butcher can pull together a more coherent sequel with The Olympian Affair.  This one started out strong, but loses steam midway (and it's just soooooo long). On the plus side, it's undeniably full of ideas, creative applications of steampunk, and some very memorable characters.

 

Post-Christmas Book Haul!

Hola! Happy New Year! Did you enjoy Danielle and I trying to answer all those questions for the End of Year survey? 

If you remember my Pre-Christmas Book Haul, there were some fun books in there. Well for Christmas, I was only actually given one book by my family (Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher) and $80 in Barnes and Noble giftcards. (Well $55 in B&N giftcards and $25 in a Visa giftcard, which come on now, we all know where that is going.)

Here is what I was given, and sent (both by friends and by publishers for tours):

Given: 
Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #3)

Sent:
Isabella: Baveheart of France by Colin Falconer (thank you TLC Book Tours!)

And Penny is a creep and wanted in the picture.

This is a super pretty ARC of Laurie Halse Anderson's soon-to-be-out The Impossible Knife of Memory. Bekka from Pretty Deadly Reviews sent this to me and she wrapped it like a present because she is the best.

 

 pictured: joy

This is what I came home to the day after Christmas.That is what is known as a YAY pile to me. In there were several tour books, and a lovely Christmas package from my coblogger.

Isn't it pretty?! It's a cute note, the first Legends anthology, homemade/delicious cookies that to my boyfriend never existed, and a mystery book! 

The mystery book ends up being Two Boys Kissing, which I have wanted but have refused to buy in hardcover. Danielle is the best.

 

From Danielle:

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Legends edited by Robert Silverberg (She sent this to me so I could read the first Dunk & Egg story from ASOIAF. Bless her. I am a huge fan of the series and somehow have never read any of them.)

From TLC Book Tours:

Netherwood by Jane Sanderson - this is described as for fans of Downton Abbey so I am curious. I've never watched the show, though. I also have the sequel, Ravenscliffe, coming for review later this month.
The Kept by James Scott - honestly this sounds brutal, but I have to know how it all works out in the end from the synopsis alone.

Remember that $80 of giftcard money I mentioned earlier? I had it less than 48 hours. Here is where $75 of it went:

 

Deadline and Blackout by Mira Grant (Newsflesh 2 & 3). I've already read Deadline as I own it on Nook, but I decided to get the series in paperback as well.

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross. I read this as an ARC two years ago and have always wanted a physical copy. 

The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham (The Dagger and Coin #2). Another second in a series I haven't started. But I plan to get to this particular series in 2014.

The Mage's Blood by David Hair (The Moontide Quartet #1). I would've had more cash to spend if not for this behemoth. It's huge and costly but it sounded like precisely my kind of fantasy. And I would never send spend $27 on one book so giftcards were perfect.


eBook Buys:

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingstone (Wondrous Strange #1)

17 year-old Kelley Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what she thinks... 

In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelley's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.

This was a Free Friday download, so I figured: why not?

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani 

 The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in villages just a few miles apart. At the turn of the last century, when Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is banished from his village and sent to hide in America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy. Without explanation, he leaves a bereft Enza behind. Soon, Enza's family faces disaster and she, too, is forced to go to America with her father to secure their future.

Unbeknownst to one another, they both build fledgling lives in America, Ciro masters shoemaking and Enza takes a factory job in Hoboken until fate intervenes and reunites them. But it is too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I and Enza, determined to forge a life without him, begins her impressive career as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House that will sweep her into the glamorous salons of Manhattan and into the life of the international singing sensation, Enrico Caruso.

From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, these star-crossed lovers meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever.

Lush and evocative, told in tantalizing detail and enriched with lovable, unforgettable characters, The Shoemaker's Wife is a portrait of the times, the places and the people who defined the immigrant experience, claiming their portion of the American dream with ambition and resolve, cutting it to fit their needs like the finest Italian silk.

This riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write, one inspired by her own family history and the love of tradition that has propelled her body of bestselling novels to international acclaim. Like Lucia, Lucia, The Shoemaker's Wife defines an era with clarity and splendor, with operatic scope and a vivid cast of characters who will live on in the imaginations of readers for years to come.

I read and loooved The Supreme Macaroni Company back in early December so this was a steal at $1.99.

All in all, I would say I had a very good Christmas and I am sincerely grateful to be here and to talk to all of you in 2014!

Three Weeks of Book Hauls!

It's been a while since I've had one of these, so like Christina's, this one is going to be big and somewhat obscene. But in a bookish and awesome kind of way. Totally.

 Bought:

Eric by Terry Pratchett - Discworld #9. I've wanted this for a while but it's so SHORT (148 pages) that I wouldn't pay the $7.99 it's always listed at. ANYWAY thanks to Black Friday 30%, it is finally mine.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games #2. I already own the entire series on Nook, but the paperbacks for Mockingjay are out in a few months so I bought the pb for CF.

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund - Killer Unicorns #2. Black Friday buy #2 -- only $5 for the hardcover!

Gifted:

The Outside by Laura Bickle - The Hallowed Ones #2. So this showed up and I assumed it was a late birthday gift. Nope, for some reason Amazon shipped the lovely Lyn's book to me and she let me keep it because she is too nice.

Sent: 

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini -- thanks, Dutton! I just read the author's other historical fiction novel about the Lincolns so this should be easy to get into!

Bought While Christmas Shopping Because:

a. I can't resist a deal

b. I have zero self control

Four of these were bought because they were marked down to $2 and 3/4 were hardcover. 

The Boy Book by E. Lockhart is in great condition and I have heard amazing things.

I am the last person not to read The Help so a mint $2 copy was irresistible.

Well Wished by Franny Billingsley I got because Chime is one of the best books I've ever read. How could I not want to read her debut?

Banner of the Damned by Sherwood Smith is freaking huge and sounded terrific.

Furies of Calderon/Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher (#1 and #2 in the Codex Alera)

The Twitter Queen of all Things Geek (Ewa) told me this was fantastic. It looks like an interesting idea/world and I like Butcher's other novels.

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach. I bought this because Christina at Reader of Fictions loved it and that speaks highly. Also, it kinda sounds like Ann Aguirre's Sirantha Jax series and that would be THE BEST THING EVER.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick slipped by me last year so I grabbed the paperback! I started this one last night and I already have major feels about it.

Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes. I read Falling Kingdoms last year and it was alright. I wouldn't've picked this up if I didn't get it for less than $10.

I know Daria is not a book, but IT'S THE COMPLETE SERIES. This is just... beyond.

From Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours:

Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb - I love historical fiction and I love Napoleon.

From TLC Book Tours:

Last Train to Paris by Michele Zackheim. I don't know too much about this one, but Paris in WWII and I am so there.

Bought: 

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler. My third and final Black Friday buy. I had just been waitinig for it to come out in paperback since I'd read and loved it as an ARC.

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan. I ignored this for a while so my hopes and expectations could shrink. I really loved the first...and I am still pissed about the series cover change.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. FINALLY IT IS HERE I WANT TO READ IT THIS SECOND. Needless to say, I better love this freaking book.

eBooks:

Scorch and Rogue by Gina Damico

The Thief and The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

(everyone is talking about it and it was only $1.99!)

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

(because Christina loved it!)

House of Sand and Secrets by Cat Hellisen

(It was an ebook deal and I loveeeeed When the Sea is Rising Red.)

Shadows of Asphodel by Karen Kincy

(I don't know much about it but a friend thought I would like it and it was cheap on Kindle!)

So. Yeah. That is a lot of books, but it was spread out over a period of time. Any new books on your shelves that you are particularly enthused for?