Survivors, by Holly Chism, is a collection of short stories that deal with  loss, betrayal, abuse, and redemption.  Ms. Chism uses each vignette to paint a picture of a human being in pain, and while there is rarely a happy ending, there is almost always hope or redemption.  The overall message that I drew from this work was that if you are willing to look the horrors of life in the face, you will find that they are surmountable, no matter how difficult that may be, and that you are rarely alone if you seek others.

While this book deals with adult concepts, it does so in a way that did not discourage me from sharing it with Girlie Bear.  My teenage daughter absolutely consumed this book, finishing it in an afternoon.  She understood most of the underlying themes, and I hope that the lessons are remembered.  I expect that this will go into her “read again” rotation.

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a little hope, or who has survived the worst that life can throw at them, or who just enjoys a well-written short story. Ms. Chism leaves off the very end of the stories in a few times, but this works more toward getting you to sit back and think about how the character will continue the story line rather than feeling like the plotline just ended.  This isn’t a sugary, cheery, turn-that-frown-upside-down kind of book.  Rather, it’s a put-on-your-big-girl-pants kind of book.  If you try it, I think that you will enjoy it.

“The Last Pendragon“, by Holly Chism,  is a well-written take on Arthurian fiction.  It twists the ancient legend a few degrees, then lets it progress to the present day.

Plot synopsis:

The main character, Sara Hawke, goes to the mountains to spend some time grieving and getting her mind right when she happens upon a pack of werewolves having their time of the month.  The werewolves chase her for sport over the countryside, and just as she’s about to become Purina Lupine Chow, she is saved by a mysterious stranger who faces down the entire pack.  Sara wakes up to find she is being confined by her savior, but she also wakes up to what and who she really is, and adventure ensues.

This tale grabbed my attention in the first few paragraphs, and I read it in pretty much one gulp.  It’s available in both paperback and ebook, and is another example of a talented writer putting their work out themselves using Amazon and a small printing company.  Mrs. Chism’s writing is descriptive without being flowery, and she does an excellent job setting scenes and describing how the universe of her story is just a few degrees off of plumb with ours.  There are several scenes set in an antique bookstore that I can still imagine in my mind.

This book is appropriate for young adults though senior citizens.   The action is exciting without being graphic, and while the story includes a couple of scenes where the female lead character is in a bath or getting dressed, there is no excess description that would keep me from giving a copy of this book to Girlie Bear.  There is a romantic angle to the story, but this isn’t at all a bodice ripper.

Overall, I’d give the book a score of four out of five.  There are a couple of scenes that I wish the author had been able to expand upon, but they don’t detract too much from the story.  The ending definitely points toward additional books, and I can’t wait to read them.  If you’re looking for a good book to read in an afternoon relaxing in the summer sun, this one is a good candidate.

While sitting in jury duty this week, I read through Larry Correia and Mike Kupari’s novel “Dead Six“.  This is a page-turner of a adventure/thriller, and if you enjoyed John le Carre or Tom Clancy, you will probably like this one.  It’s a bit more adult than Correia’s earlier novels in the Monster Hunter International and Grimnoire Chronicles universes, and it’s the first novel by Kupari.  I hope he keeps at it, because I found it hard sometimes to tell where Correia’s writing stopped and Kupari’s writing started, and that’s saying a lot when you consider that Correia has written several best selling books.

The story centers around Val, a mercenary who has taken a mission for a shadowy government agency after getting burned on his last job, and Lorenzo, a master thief and assassin who has been sent on a nearly impossible mission by ruthless underworld masters.  Their lives intersect when the targets of Val’s mission happen to be part of Lorenzo’s plan to accomplish his task.

The story is well plotted, and doesn’t drag into techno-babble the way Clancy does.  Seriously, if you thought reading the explanation of how an atomic bomb is constructed and how the explosion works in The Sum of All Fears was a long read, the little technical explanation that is woven into this book will be a breeze.  The authors do make pains to show the name brands and models of the equipment and weapons the characters use, but it’s not a distraction.  The action scenes of the book work out like missions from a video game, with Val or Lorenzo going out for a discreet objective with resistance and a defined goal.   This one could very easily be adapted to the screen starring the action heroes of the moment.  The switching between the the perspectives of Val and Lorenzo was reminiscent of old magazine serials, where each segment ended with a cliff-hanger.

The setting for the story is a world that is slowly tearing itself apart in a “decade after this one” kind of timeframe.  Think more “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” at modern speeds than “The Day After Tomorrow”.  China has apparently gone through some sort of civil war that included the use of nuclear weapons, Mexico has finally slipped over the edge in to official failed-state status, and the Mid-East and Africa are still bleeding sores.  This setting is perfect for the characters of a gun-for-hire with a conscience and an expert international thief.  The timeframe allows for a few pieces of “wonder gear” to show up amidst all of the things you can find in Walmart and the nearest gun store without distracting the reader from or becoming a crutch for the plot.

The supporting characters in this include the requisite beautiful women, the gruff soldiers, greasy government types, and underworld types so evil that your mental picture is more shark than man.  Add in a mysterious freedom fighting sect that is the one “Deus ex Machina” in the book.  There’s even an old secret agent type with a gruff manner and an eyepatch whose loyalties are to his men and not the corrupted agency that he works for.  What’s not to like about that?

As you can guess, I loved this book.  It was a fun read that I know I can come back in a few months and re-read.  There is a bit more violence and adult language in this book than in Correia’s other novels, so this one stays on the shelf as far as Girlie Bear is concerned.  While there are a couple of implied sex scenes, they’re not graphically described.  I won’t have a problem letting the kids read this book when they turn 15 or so.

So overall, I’d definitely recommend this one to anyone who’s old enough for the violence, language, and implied sex.  It was fun, it was interesting, and it’s definitely going on the “read again” shelf.