No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid by Will Chesney

From the publisher: No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life.
Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is Cairo's story, and that of his handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL Team Operator whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo's.

No Ordinary Dog details the relationship between SEAL Team Operator Will Chesney and a Belgian Malinois Military Working Dog (MWD) named Cairo. The first 100 pages or so touch briefly on Will’s childhood and adolescence, and then focus on his enrollment in the US Navy, where he is determined to become a SEAL. The grueling details of preparation, training, and the infamous Hell Week are covered in painful detail. As his career progresses, Will is introduced to MWDs and begins the process of training to become a dog handler. 

After being partnered with Cairo, the focus shifts to training the handler (the dog already has thousands of dollars and years of experience by this point) and making sure both are prepared to ship out to Afghanistan. The book details the roles and duties that both handler and dog play, from bomb detection to taking down enemy combatants. It’s here and up through the latter bin Laden raid that the book tends to be a little repetitious, as over and over it describes the sheer force and power of MWDs. This was already touched upon in the fascinating section describing the training and procurement of said dogs, and it starts to wear a little, especially if read in one sitting (if, for instance, your flight is delayed….). New York Times bestselling author Joe Layden is listed on the cover as well as Will, and this is really the only part of the book that stands out as a negative. A separate section of photos would be nice as well; one can hope that it may make an appearance in the final edition. 

After the raid, Cairo returns to a less active military role, and Will is injured by a grenade blast. While his visible wounds heal, brain injuries and PTSD begin to make their devastating effects known, and Cairo transitions to a position of healer.
Overall, I found this to be a good book on a subject that the general public has had little chance to know about. As one might infer from the last line of the back cover (‘-and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most.’), this is a tear jerker, so beware if you’re easily affected and reading in public.

SPOILER ALERT... 

...Cairo does pass away at the end of the book. It’s a rough last twenty pages, but obviously written with love and dedication.

I read an advance reader copy of No Ordinary Dog. It will be published in April 2020 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd

A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd is an unusual and fascinating romance novel. It was inspired by the true story of a British sailor marrying a Hawaiian princess in the late 1700s. The author is a descendant of John Harbottle and Papapaunauapu, who had eight children. Ilima Todd grew up on the island of Oahu.

The author weaves together some historical facts that occurred at different times to make the novel tighter and more informative. For example, Captain James Cook is present in the book, but he visited the Pacific islands at a different time than John Harbottle. She also used her imagination to detail the courtship of her ancestors. The novel focuses on two people from two different cultures learning to understand each other.

Although A Song for the Stars is part of Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance series, it is more of a historical novel than a traditional romance. While the couple do end up together, their courtship is an unusual one. Only at the very end does it even become possible for them to marry. Not only must the princess and the sailor learn to work together, so must the Hawaiians and the British. The author uses Hawaiian words to help set the scene, and a helpful glossary is included at the end.

If you enjoy learning about other cultures and watching as two people come to know, respect, and love each other, you may enjoy A Song for the Stars. It will be released in April 2019 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

In the Shadow of Croft Towers by Abigail Wilson

From the publisher: from debut author Abigail Wilson comes a shadowy Regency tale of secrets and spies, love and treachery.

In the Shadow of Croft Towers is an atmospheric historical novel set in England in the early 1800s. Orphaned Sybil has been educated by an unknown benefactor and receives a mysterious letter that leads her to accept a position at the secluded manor known as Croft Towers. On the way there the coach is stopped by highwaymen, who seem less interested in the riches of the passengers than in the passengers themselves.

Upon arrival, Sybil meets the other inhabitants of Croft Towers and realizes one of them, her new employer's godson, was one  of the highwaymen. She keeps his secret and is slowly pulled into the intrigue that surrounds Croft Towers and those who live there.

In the Shadow of Croft Towers is predictable but a fun read, with secrets upon secrets and lies upon lies. If you are a fan of books like Rebecca and The Woman in White, you may enjoy this novel.

I read an advanced reader copy of this book from Netgalley. The book is scheduled to be published on January 15, 2019 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library as a print book and as an ebook.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

From the publisher: Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle. But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims. 

“Any given innovation that empowers the individual will inevitably come to empower the powerful much, much more.” (p. 493)

Foundryside is engrossing, inventive, and fun. The characters have depth and much room to be explored in later books, and the plot caught me by surprise a number of times. Not everyone is what they seem, and there are many gray areas to their personalities.

Although set in a fantasy world, Foundryside has things to say about life in our world. I particularly liked this quote:

You have to understand, kid, that you’re wading into the depths of a war that has raged for time beyond memory – a war between those who make and that which is made, between those who own and those who are owned. (p. 484)

One of the things I liked is that the author has more original ways than using and overusing the F word to show that his characters often swear and can be coarse. I also liked that when he sets up a surprise twist, he doesn’t hide that something is happening. Although I didn’t guess what was coming the author made it possible for me to do so. (I hate it when authors keep knowledge from the reader just so they can create a surprise twist.) Also, at least so far, there aren’t any ancient texts or prophecies proclaiming Sancia to be a chosen one.

There is a bit of insta-love – meh – but at least there is no love triangle. Although the ending is wide open for sequels, this particular book also wraps up neatly. I’ll be looking forward to book 2.

Foundryside reminded me a little of the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, although I found it easier to follow. If you enjoy thought-provoking fantasy with a lot of action and interesting characters, you might want to read Foundryside. I read an advance reader copy of Foundryside; it is due out on August 21 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library as a book and an ebook.

Windcatcher by A.J. Norfield.

I love fantasy novels involving dragons and enjoyed Windcatcher, the first book in the Stone War Chronicles, by A.J. Norfield. Windcatcher is an old-fashioned (in the best sense) traditional fantasy dragon novel. A small squad of soldiers travels deep into enemy territory in an attempt to retrieve a treasure stolen from their kingdom’s ally. The treasure turns out to be something thought to exist only in legends – a dragon egg. He hatches, bonds with one of the soldiers, and becomes an ally in their fight against the enemy.

First person narrators are all the rage these days, and I’m tired of them. I’m especially tired of unreliable first person narrators. Give me a good old omniscient third person narrator any day. It was refreshing to read Windcatcher from that standpoint – it reads like a throwback fantasy novel. 

Windcatcher starts slowly, but I recognize that one has to take the time to do some world building in a long fantasy series. Once the dragon, Galirras, hatches and joins the cast of characters, things really take off.

The author is also a fan of traditional fantasy, and it shows. Sometimes the story is derivative. For example, on page 300 I could hear the Wilhelm scream used in many blockbusters, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, in this sentence: “The soldier disappeared from sight with a high-pitched scream.” But since the book is well written and well plotted, I can forgive the occasional lapse into cliché.

One way in which the book is not quite traditional is that the author does attempt to work in some diversity. For example, there is a “same gender” couple in the small troop, and the human tells the dragon, “Unfortunately, same gender lovers are heavily frowned upon by some. You often hear about such people being ridiculed, beaten up, or worse. They’re ignorant and small-minded people that do those things. I mean, who gave them the right to judge how others should feel?” (p. 159 of the ebook)

I do wish the Evil Bad Guy had a little more depth. He is pretty much a stereotypical, one dimensional fantasy villain. I’d like some explanation as to why he is evil and what motivates him. I was surprised by a violent episode that occurred at the end of chapter 13. It seemed extreme compared to the tone of the rest of the book, and its only point seemed to be “hey, this guy is really evil!” Perhaps we will learn more in the second book. 

Book one definitely does not stand alone. It stops in the middle of the story, and I’m ready for book two. If you like immersive traditional fantasy novels, especially those involving dragons, I recommend Windcatcher. It will be available in print at the Galesburg Public Library within the next month.

I was given a free digital copy of Windcatcher by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

The Tale of Shikanoko: Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn

From the publisher: In the first book of the four-volume Tale of Shikanoko, an epic adventure begins in the mythical, medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's imagination: a world of warriors and warlords, of fallen emperors, lost princesses, and demonic assassins; a world bound by tradition and colored by unpredictable magic. All four volumes of the Tale of Shikanoko will be published in 2016. 

Emperor of the Eight Islands is an amazing story. I felt fully immersed in the author's mythical Japan of the past. Shikanoko's father is killed in a game of Go with clever and cruel mountain goblins. His uncle promises to bring him up as his own child, but soon the uncle wants his nephew's title and estates. Shikanoko accompanies his uncle on a hunting trip and knows he is not expected to survive the trip and return. When his uncle aims an arrow at him, the uncle hits a stag instead. Shikanoko tumbles down a cliff with the dying animal and is presumed killed. He takes the deer's antlers and assumes a new identity, the deer's child, under the influence of a sorcerer.

And thus we are pulled into a magical world. The flow of the plot, the character development, the mysticism, and the action is amazing. I've never read anything by the author before but am impressed.

I did have problems keeping the characters straight, as I am not knowledgeable about Japanese names and many of them sounded quite similar to me. It didn't help that many of the characters have nicknames, and the names of places often sounded similar to the names of people. I think anyone who enjoys mythology, especially lovers of Japanese mythology and culture, will be intrigued by Emperor of the Eight Islands.

I read an advance reader copy of Emperor of the Eight Islands. It will be published on April 16 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

The narrative of An Inheritance of Ashes grabbed me right away. It is hard to figure out what’s going on, but still I wanted to know. Hallie is 16. She and her older sister Marthe are trying to hold on to the family farm. Marthe is pregnant with her first child, and her husband has not returned from the far-off war he travelled to fight. Marthe and Hallie have an angry, uncommunicative relationship. Their father forced his own younger brother off the farm years ago, and now Hallie is afraid her sister will do the same to her.

The world building is, frankly, odd. It’s dystopian, but whatever returned civilization to a more primitive time happened decades ago. Now, strange, “twisted” creatures that burn whatever they touch have come into our world from another. A hero named John Balsam ended the war against them by tearing a hole through the other world, but the twisted things are still showing up on the farm.

Hallie, her neighbors, and a mysterious veteran who arrived at the farm seeking work and shelter for the winter must band together to figure out what is happening and save not only the farm but their entire community.

I found the twisted creatures on top of the dystopia a bit much. It seems unlikely that both scenarios would happen – the twisted things are never connected to whatever events crashed civilization in the first place. It might have been more effective to set the story in an unnamed primitive society rather than a fallen civilization. It just really didn’t make sense to me, but it  also didn’t bother me *that* much. I still enjoyed the story.

I liked some of the overwritten but unusual language, such as “Heron stood before me, stiff and unshaken, his peculiar grace bleeding into the very air. It wasn’t just northern manner, it was his sense of calling: the way a person held themselves high when they were devoted, without compromise, to something greater than themselves.” (p. 45 of the advance reader copy) There is some cringe-worthy dialog, especially between Hallie and the young man who wants to court her, to balance out the nice stuff.

The relentless negative relationship between Marthe and Hallie was hard to take at times, and the identity of the mysterious veteran is likely to be obvious to every reader even though it is not to the characters in the book. But I raced through this book and recommend it to readers who like dystopian coming-of-age stories. (Also, it has a gorgeous cover!)

I read an advance reader copy of An Inheritance of Ashes from netgalley.com. It will be published on October 6 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Hundreds of years in the future, Earth is run by an artificial intelligence. Originally human, turned into an AI in a quest for immortality, Talis took advantage of access given to him by people at the UN and forced the people of Earth to stop fighting wars. First, he blew up cities to get their attention. Then he took the children of all the leaders – the Children of Peace – to hold hostage against their good behavior. If there is war, the children of the leaders die.

Greta, the narrator of Erin Bow’s book The Scorpion Rules, is one of those children. Canada is now the Pan Polar Confederacy, and she is the daughter of their Queen. If the Children make it to the age of 18, they are sent home and new hostages are taken. If their countries go to war, the Children disappear to some unspeakable end.

We see Greta and the other Children her age studying in their classroom and doing chores on the farm. The characters are not particularly well drawn or memorable. Greta takes great pride in maintaining calm and control. The new boy, Elian, does not. He takes pride in defiance and anger, no matter how he is punished. There is much punishment in this book, and torture. The torture is not graphic but it is extremely evocative, and I found it hard to read.

For the most part, the narrative engaged me. Despite my intense dislike of torture scenes, I did feel compelled to keep reading. I often enjoyed the author’s way with words, like in this passage: “Elian reached up and took one of my wrists, stopping the motion, looking me up and down. I’m sure he was trying for as a man looks at a woman, but it came off rather more as an engineer looks at a bridge pylon.” (p. 63 of the advance reader copy). At other times, the language was a bit overwrought ("I closed my fingers around the gun, and rose to my feet like the Lady of the Lake." (p. 173))

The ending of The Scorpion Rules surprised me, and the plot took a few turns I did not expect. There is a love triangle of sorts. Granted, it is an unusual triangle – a girl with feelings for a boy and a girl – but still, can’t we be done with love triangles? That aspect of the plot was so, so tired. Greta also develops strong feelings of some sort for Elian almost immediately – not quite insta-love, but insta-something.

Some cultural references fell flat, like a bad football joke and mentions of the Road Runner.  In his Utterances, Talis actually says, “Resistance is futile.” (p. 26). Also, some scenes were a little too reminiscent of The Hunger Games series. For example, Greta is to be tortured, with coverage sent to her mother by video. The producer, Burr, paces about checking camera angles and noting things on a clipboard. He wants the other Children nearby for reaction shots. This scene reminded me very strongly of The Hunger Games (as did the repeated use of the words “Tick Tock Clock Drop”). But I guess it is hard to write a dystopian teen novel and not be compared to The Hunger Games.

The Scorpion Rules is a first book in a series. It does not stand alone. This is a good thing if you really enjoy it and want more. The ending really left a lot of room for exploration in the next book. I would recommend The Scorpion Rules for readers of young adult literature who aren’t yet tired of dystopian works and also for questioning teens, as Greta is also questioning.

I read an advance reader copy of The Scorpion Rules. It is scheduled to be published on September 22 and will be available in the Young Adult section of the Galesburg Public Library.