THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING reads like fine fiction
583717
In the midst of a treacherous storm 23 years ago, three-year-old Jody Linder's father was murdered and her mother went missing. Billy Crosby, the man convicted of the crimes, simply had to be the killer. No other explanation made sense. Billy had worked on the Linder ranch up until the day of the murder, when Jody's grandfather fired him following a heated argument. He made threats and vowed they'd be sorry. Now Billy's sentence has been cut short, due to some legal issues, and he is coming back to his hometown of Rose, Kansas.

Nearly the entire population of Rose is stunned at first. Then their shock turns to anger. Why would he come back where he's not wanted? They sure don't want him back and will see that he is run out of town. He never was much good, always drunk or spoiling for a fight or beating up on his wife and son. No doubt, the chip on his shoulder has grown bigger in prison. The time he served has turned him into a mean and vengeful man. He always claimed he's not guilty, but then what inmate doesn't?

The Linders are an influential family in Rose, much admired and highly regarded. Raised by her grandparents, Jody has always been proud of her family. Their opinions matter in this town, as do their values. She can think of very little that they ever did wrong. So when she begins hearing arguments among some of the townspeople over Billy's guilt, she can hardly believe her ears. Of course he's guilty; everybody knows that! Unfortunately, those who hold a different opinion are people Jody trusts and respects. What follows for her is an intense emotional struggle. As the doubts start to creep in, thoughts turn to who, if not Billy.

Whether Billy Crosby deserved to be in prison for Jody's father's murder becomes less important than how he got there. Did Billy do it, or did the sheriff zero in on him and ignore anything that didn't fit his assumptions? How good was the evidence? Did the Linder family have a hand in rushing the town to judgment? These questions and many more bothered Jody, and they will start to bother you, too. After all, when we see a violent, evil man go to prison, do we really care if he did what he was accused of? It just feels good to put him away, if for no other reason than because he scares us. But there may be worse things to be afraid of, and that's what the Linders are about to find out.

THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING reads like fine fiction. It carries the reader forward with a desire to uncover its secrets, revelations and compelling mystery. Nancy Pickard will pull at your heartstrings when the murdered man's mother discovers his body and as his daughter fights to understand events that changed her life forever. This is a story that will change every reader's life, too, even if in just a small way.
909248
THE NEON RAIN is James Lee Burke's introduction to the Dave Robicheaux hard boiled detective novels. Burke creates a fascinating character with a lyrical prose style of a literary novel.
This is crime fiction at its best and stories not to be missed in the world of south Louisiana as seen through the eyes of a master.
I'm a long time fan who will not miss a novel in any series by this fine author.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.
1944077
After several years of reading endless 'save the world' stories from WoTC, this novel isn't just a breath of fresh air, it's more like a hurricane sweeping bad memories away. A story about low-level but important to the characters goals, that properly uses the world it's in and has decidedly imperfect yet still actually heroic characters doing the right thing (not always without some prompting, but...), and all of it done with some very competent prose? Pure gold!

I also liked the use of non-standard characters in Lord Varian Jeggare, a failed wizard turned investigator, basically a Golarion version of Sherlock Holmes, and his devil-blooded bodyguard Radovan, with the latter becoming part of a love triangle involving a female gypsy werewolf and a mute priestess (very well done, and quite funny); the aformentioned werewolf and her pack, who aren't insanely evil even if they're nowhere near 'good', and priestess (how many well-done mute characters do you see in fiction?), and so many more.

It's a great story and I eagerly wait more.
4197512
"Rain" by Kirsty Gunn is a beautifully written and very intriquing.  You almost feel like you're reading a poem.  The language and word choice is very special and I found myself very captured by main  character Janey.  The connection between older Janey (the narrator) and  young Janey is very strong and powerful.  It's a wonderful tale of a  dangerous childhood and certainly grips it's reader into Janey's world.  It's full of emotions and feelings that very few people can fully identify  with.  A brilliant first novel.
511029
A fine work.  Beautifully written, colorful characters, interesting and unusual setting, this new book by Denis Johnson is certain to be in the running for literary awards.  A fascinating insight into the political and social upheavals which plague many African countries and the dealings and doings of the mysterious underworld of foreign agents and mercenaries.  I must admit the story is not one of my favourite themes and had me rather confused at times but I admire the author for producing a fine work of literature.
363564
Dont let the title fool you: this story is packed with action and drama: The arrows came out of nowhere, showering down on the clearing like an early rain, making people gasp and scatter, darting for cover. Now that peace is finally hereor is it, really?Tekeni could relax and enjoy it. But he suspects that the devious Tadodaho, who has been appointed the Head of the Great Council, is up to no good. Still, Two Rivers does not believe it.

Zoe Saadia has a profound passion for the lost culture of the pre-Columbian Americas, and she uses her research into it to enrich The Peacemaker series, weaving fact into fiction, which is evident in the fourth volume, The Peacemaker. Not only does it explore intrigue and politics, but it follows the characters she created so we can see them change grow. We witness how they handle testing situations, such as the threat of a bloody confrontation with the savages from across the Great Sparkling Water who attack a hunting party.

I love the names chosen for places and characters, because they are both pictorial and symbolic of them. The descriptions are symbolic too, lyrically so: The river spread ahead, racing angrily, high in this first summer moon. The rapids were not far away, roaring, relaying displeasure. They were part of the deceit, but unlike her, they were an unwilling participant.

Five stars.

This book was sent to me gratis for an unbiased review.
1555258
Flashes of War is a terrifically well-paced, well-told collection of short fictional vignettes about the toll war takes on soldiers and civilians. Schultz's characters are believable, and are either effectively-rendered portraits in the shorter stories, or comprehensible expositions on various emotional states. The fiction works best when Schultz focuses on the "who" of her characters, rather than the "what" - as a combat veteran of Afghanistan, the landscapes and actions were not always accurately portrayed, but the characters always came across to me as essentially true. Schultz's most impressive abilities as an author are her pitch-perfect endings, and her uncanny, haunting knack for magical realism. Furthermore, the book is short enough, and segmented enough, that if you're busy, and only have time to read a short while during (for example) a commute, this book will suit your reading habits.
4603741
As I was reading Rain Dragon, I often wondered what the story was about.  It begins as an account of a couple trying to drift into a better life, then evolves into a description of a corporate counter-culture, then hints at a failed (or failing) relationship before turning into a disquisition on advertising and marketing strategies.  Large chunks of the novel read like a primer for progressive business management -- enlightening, but not really the stuff of a successful novel.  Finally, right at the end, Rain Dragon turns into a human drama, but by then it's too late for the novel to establish an identity.

Damon and Amy decide to leave behind the trendy world of LA to "go north" in the hope of remaking their lives in the alt-trendy environs of Oregon.  They want to work at the Rain Dragon farm, an organic operation that makes yogurt, grows flowers, produces its own honey, and allows its people to indulge the belief that they are contributing to "an alternative society based on principles of sustainability and justice, counteracting all the self-destructive drives that humanity had blindly adopted since the industrial era and the onset of the consumer society."  Rain Dragon's CEO, Peter Hawk, also does some motivational training and consulting in business development and management.  To become paid employees at Rain Dragon, Damon and Amy will have to serve a volunteer apprenticeship for an undefined time, until they can prove their value to the organization.  Amy takes to the place naturally, fitting in well as an assistant beekeeper, but Damon can't find a niche.  The role he finally adopts brings him closer to Hawk but seems to drive him away from Amy.

The story is told in the first person from Damon's perspective.  Amy eventually falls into the background with the other secondary characters.  That didn't bother me because Amy is incredibly annoying -- the kind of nightmare who manufactures turmoil because she isn't comfortable with a serene relationship -- although in that sense she is a realistic character.  In fact, all the characters in Rain Dragon seemed real to me, although none were particularly appealing.  I don't need to like the characters in order to enjoy a novel, but I do need to be interested in them.  Rain Dragon's characters love to natter on about the nature of the world but their personalities are just too colorless to compel attention.

Jon Raymond's writing is of such a high quality that I feel I should have liked Rain Dragon more than I did.  The discussion that Peter Hawk has with the CEO of a paper company about different business models -- Hawk wants employees to self-actualize, the CEO just wants them to work a little harder -- is fascinating, but it doesn't create the kind of dramatic tension that makes a novel memorable.  When the drama finally arrives, the novel is nearly over, and so was my interest.  The big moment toward which the story builds is utterly predictable.  More troubling is that when it finally arrived, I just didn't care.  Rain Dragon has its moments, but not enough moments to earn a strong recommendation.  I would give Rain Dragon 3 1/2 stars if I could.
141007
This well-written historical fiction places you in the middle of a volcanic eruption. Descriptions are realistic. The destruction is frightening. The romance is poignant. Emilie is engaged to a wealthy, unfaithful man. In the island society, breaking the engagement would disgrace her family. She soon finds herself in a more dire situation and turns to island occult practices for a solution. The books setting is as powerful as its drama.
1730098
I'll be honest, I don't read very much fiction anymore because it tends to be simplistic and trite and can't manage to elicit an emotional response in me anymore.  Tears in Rain fixed that.  It was one gripping read.  A very complex plot line where you had to deal with significant mystery, it had the advantage of not being part of a series of books where you know the main characters are safe.  Simply put, with 40 pages remaining, this book could have gone absolutely anywhere -- every character's life was on the line, every character's motivations still enshrouded, the story could have fallen toward a happy ending or a very evil one, or more likely a muddy mix of the two.  This is how real life works.  This is compelling fiction.  Any turn of the page can throw a "wow" moment at you in a read like this.  Montero had a wide open field and I had no confidence whatsoever that I'd be smiling at the end.  This book had me on the edge of my seat in the midst of a very complex storyline.  Simply magnificent reading.

Then something happened.  Ms. Montero fell back on something she likely learned in a Freshman Literature class, using a trick I associate with cheesy TV dramas that play out in an hour.  The story suddenly became goofy and unrealistic, the cast of characters incredibly small and incredibly flat.  What followed was a quick finish that didn't do the story justice and walked through a set of scenes designed to tie up every loose end.  I left with a "they all lived happily ever after" feeling, something that has no business in this kind of literature.  In short, it just looks like Ms. Montero either lost her nerve or banged up against a deadline.  The high level of quality she had dedicated to the beginning of the text just fell away, and she went through the motions to close the deal.

Given the genre and the characters involved I was expecting a pretty muddy ending regardless of its outcome, with all kinds of opportunity to second-guess and reconsider characters long after I had finished reading.  That's what good fiction does.  It keeps you thinking about it.  But instead I found the same kind of ending as the film this book is based upon, a noir, dark distopia that suddenly becomes a shiny happy place.  So close to a life-affecting read.

Ah well.  Back to non-fiction.  Thank you for writing three quarters of a fantastic book Ms. Montero!

J.
1604110
On the face of it, this novel seems like little more than a rousing tale of swords and sorcery with a faux-historical sheen. But it's more, and better, than that simple description would indicate.

David Gemmell's Rigante series (at least in the first two volumes) seems akin to the (excellent) fantasy of Guy Gavriel Kay - places from real-life history, re-named and fictionalized, become the settings for epic adventures rich in intrigue, magic, and derring-do.  In this case, we have the Keltoi, a loose confederation of tribal peoples patterned after the Celts, complete with god-like nature spirits called the Seidh (Sidhe), and the city and ever-expanding empire of Stone, patterned after the Roman Republic/Empire. For good measure, he throws in the tree cult, a persecuted religion that meets in secret and preaches peace, love, and harmony, very much like first- and second-century Christians.

And that's where "Midnight Falcon" becomes so gripping and enjoyable. As the Keltoi culture clashes with the culture of Stone, and subcultures within each of those societies clash with each other, Gemmell is able to portray in a fascinating light the eternal struggle between man's innate nature of venality and violence and selfishness, and our ever-present impulse towards something better, more generous and peaceful. The conflict between our nature and our BETTER nature is played out in an oh-so-satisfying manner in the political maneuvering, bloody death bouts, and emotional batterings (intentional and otherwise) in which Gemmell's oh-so-human characters are engaged here.

And there are so many wonderful and important characters. Despite the somewhat misleading description on the book's back-cover, the hot-tempered Bane (the son of "Sword in the Storm"'s main character Connavar) is but one part of this story. We also meet young Banouin, torn between two cultural identities and living too much inside his own head; Rage, a famed gladiator whose nature belies his deadly skills; the surprisingly sweet and funny Persis Albitane and his snarky servant Norwin; the darkly inscrutable Seidh goddess called the Morrigu; and scores of other significant supporting characters.

"Midnight Falcon" is not just some random blood-and-thunder Conan knockoff. It is a layered and infinitely effective portrayal of cultures at war, peopled with memorable and believable characters who live through the crucible in which their characters, and the ideas we all must contemplate but ultimately never can fully resolve, are tested to the fullest. A thoughtful and immersive read, highly recommended.

(I would, however, also highly recommend reading the first Rigante book, "Sword in the Storm," first. While not quite the equal of this second volume, it is definitely enjoyable in its own right, and also provides a valuable introduction to both the Keltoi and Stone without which I think this story would suffer.)
177851
And, for the most part, succeeds.  If Burke doesn't twist and torture and then so beautifully reassemble passages in McCarthy's unique version of the English language, he is certainly no rookie when it comes to spinning his own brand of moody, atmospheric prose never too far a field from Faulkner's steamy bayous and weighty themes - but decidedly more readable.  In the spellbinding "Rain Gods", Burke moves west from Louisiana's delta and Dave Robicheaux's perpetual but lovable gloom to a Texas southern border town where Korean War veteran Hackberry Holland is sheriff.  "Hack" stumbles upon the shallow churchyard grave of nine illegal alien women, setting off a deliciously convoluted mystery/thriller featuring a rich field - rich even by Burke's lofty standards - of characters ranging from the mildly flawed to the unrepentantly deranged.  Like Robicheaux, Sheriff Holland is haunted by ghosts from his past - hefting a trunk full of baggage that carries the nightmares of North Korean POW camps, the guilt from days of alcoholism and debauchery, and sorrow over the loss of his second wife.  Holland pursues his own brand of justice battling these internal demons as well as a host of those in real flesh and blood - from the serial-killing psycho "Preacher" to three-letter government agencies not afraid to sacrifice the mostly innocent to bag the bigger game.

Like McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men", "Rain Gods" deals with the drug trade across the border, and like "No Country", it is brutal, violent, and realistic.  Burke, always the champion of the poor working class and never afraid to proselytize, lays it on thick here, though without Bush in the White House to cast as the villain, the targets of his righteous but sincere venom is a bit confused.  Where McCarthy wraps "No Country" around simple, apolitical despair, Burke shades "Rain Gods" with a heavy hand of morality.  But it works.  Hackberry is a complex but likable protagonist - the stoic and troubled loner cast perfectly for the Clint Eastwood of "Gran Torino" - with a Texas accent.  Hack's deputy Pam Tibbs adds color and sexual tension, and Iraq War vet Pete Flores and his talented girlfriend Vikki Gaddis make credible fugitives.  But most fascinating is the almost mystical "preacher", a complex and unpredictable villain, already an urban legend among those who pursue him on both sides of the border.

In the final analysis, despite some minor flaws, this is a powerful novel - entertaining while sobering, beautifully written, the uncommon and intelligent page-turner one would expect from James Lee Burke, who is without any doubt is back in full "Jolie Blon's Bounce" or "Last Car to Elysian Fields"-form.  Hackberry Holland will no doubt fill pages of subsequent Burke novels, which I'll be anxiously awaiting. Well done, Mr. Burke, and good to have you back.
4702569
This book, though written for children, can encompass all ages in the way of fairy tales of yore. A magical time when things are not what they seem. Well-written to keep anticipation coming, and flows with mystery and curiosity. An old shopkeeper dies and the village farms of Finkleton are instantly inundated with rain. At the same time a home in another village is struck by lightning and burned. What is happening with the weather?

The home that was destroyed happened to belong to the heir to the old shopkeeper's store and property, and therein lies this delicious story. The displaced family of five arrive in Finkleton and very soon the youngest child makes a mysterious discovery. He keeps it secret but before long his sister, who reads everything readable, learns the secret. But when the weather gets out of control, they must let their older brother know what is happening. Should they tell their parents what they have found? Are there more secrets hidden in the old shop? Is Mother Nature really in charge of the weather?

KC Hilton creates an entire world, not on a different planet, not even in an enchanted forest. No, this is a village surrounded by farms, some very famous and lush farms, in fact the most productive farms and best-tasting produce in the world. But even in such a perfect location, danger can rear its ugly head. I was charmed by this magical adventure and I can tell the next will be exciting, too.
4531430
This book is a marriage between fantasy and fiction, narrated by a precocious "soon-to-be-eight" superchild.  This is one of the best books I have read this year.
66304
I couldn't put it down.  Read it over 2 rainy days.  I liked the way the author wove the characters, plot, theme, history, and spiritualism together.
2833515
Robert Lytle has a wonderful way of interweaving historical fact with fiction.  His descriptions of soldiers walking in unending rain in wool uniforms, or being in the heat makes you feel like you are there experiencing what they did.  I can almost feel the "boom" of the artillary.  I can't recommend this book enough!
2977970
This is a gripping novel of a boy and his first friend, the man who finds the newborn infant in a leaf pile in the woods. All with just the right realism to sound more like a news  story than a work of fiction, but enough interior monologues to illuminate the characters' souls. Good stuff.