Brimstone by Cherie Priest and My November Fails

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  I love Cherie Priest novels. She's a fantasy writer with a touch of paranormal creepiness that is just right for someone like me.  I don't care much for horror novels, and her writing comes right up to the edge but doesn't tip over.  I think she's hitting her stride, and more readers are discovering her novels in the science fiction/fantasy sections of their libraries and bookstores. 

In Brimstone, Cherie takes us to 1920 Cassadaga, Florida.  There are two main characters:  Alice Dartle, a young woman from Virginia who has come to Cassadaga to share her clairvoyant talents, and Tomas Cordero, a World War I vet who lives in Ybor City, Florida.  He is haunted by the task he was given as a solider:  to be part of a small force of men who used a flamethrower to kill enemy soldiers.  He returns home to find his wife has died of influenza while he was gone, and he's a broken man. He is desperate to communicate with her. But something strange is happening:  small fires are appearing out of nowhere, and the local police are suspicious that Tomas is setting them himself.  But he's not.  

Cassadaga is a small community built to welcome people who have a variety of talents: mediums, clairvoyants, tarot readers; anyone who has a legitimate talent to see to the other side.  Folks travel to Cassadaga from all over the United States and the world to stay at the hotel, attend lectures, and have readings.  It's one place people like Alice can come to live and feel welcome and develop their talents with like minded people.  At her first outing to conduct live readings, she zeros in on something dark, hulking, and evil.  It calls itself The Hammer.  Not understanding what it is, and overwhelmed by the ferocity of this malignant "thing", Alice is shaken and takes awhile to recover.  She's also dreaming about a solider wearing a strange mask, and surrounded by flames and a battlefield. 

Tomas, meanwhile, has increasingly frightening episodes of fires erupting at his home, but also tragically elsewhere in his neighborhood and business.  People are starting to die in these fires, which are horribly fierce and leave nothing standing.  He has written to Alice (after seeing her profiled in a newspaper) and decides after the worst fire to flee Ybor City and travel to Cassadaga for help. 

Alice and Tomas finally meet in Cassadaga, but Tomas has brought something terribly dark, evil, and bent on destruction with him.  Now the evil has set its sights on Cassadaga and all who live there.  Will Alice be able to figure out what The Hammer is, and stop it before it destroys Cassadaga?

It took me awhile to get through this novel; not because it wasn't interesting, but just because I was easily distracted this month.  When I finally dialed in and focused, I was sucked in and soon I could smell the smoke, feel the heat, and taste the soot.  I could feel myself becoming a little paranoid about smelling fire, too.  As the tension ramped up, I felt myself urging Alice and Tomas to figure it out, quickly!  When the identity of The Hammer is revealed; well, I thought heck, that was a pretty cool plot twist.  Cherie Priest also explores grief, and how sometimes we so desperately want to hear from our loved ones that we'll accept anything as a sign they are near, even if it is so clearly not a good sign-and perhaps even a deadly sign.  Maybe it's not your loved one, but something dark from the other side...

If you haven't tried a Cherie Priest novel, give her a try.  She's written a few stand alone, but also a few series and they are all very different.  There is sure to be something there to interest you! Here's a link to her list of books on her blog: http://www.cheriepriest.com .  

Rating:  4/6 for an unusual plot and a fascinating look at Cassadaga (which does exist!), grief, and what haunts us.  Available in paperback and ebook. 


My November fails.  There were a few, I'm sad to say.  Time got away from me, and I didn't get to read nearly enough of what I'd planned.  Tomorrow is December 1st, and I've already started on my pile of Christmas reads.  I'm ready for the comfort and entertainment they will bring me.  Here's what I started, but didn't finish in November:

I thought I would be able to read this YA novel based on the amazing life of Dita Kraus, and her time spent at Auschwitz as a teenager.  I was wrong.  I made it to about 100 pages, and then just couldn't read anymore.  It was a fascinating story, but the horrible, palpable evil of Auschwitz and the suffering that occurred there is still too much for me to read.  Maybe someday I'll try again.  The evil people are capable of inflicting on other people is something I will never be able to understand. 

Dang it, I was so excited about this novel!  I'll be frank:  it is a big, hefty tome.  It is full of all sorts of bits of journals, history lessons, and other interesting tidbits.  It deserves a lot of time and energy, and those were lacking this month.  It's not a straightforward tale.  I'll have to return it to the library, but I will try again.  I think there's something very interesting here. 

 I have heard so much buzz about this, that I finally decided to try it and checked it out of the library.  I started it late, but within the first few pages, I was hooked.  Unfortunately, I ran out of time, and it's due back to the library for the next person on the holds list--darn it!  I may end up buying this one, because I really, really want to read it.  

One reason I was less than my usual reading self this month was because I decided to attempt NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month.  It runs from midnight of November 1 through midnight of November 30th.  Your goal: write a 50,000 word novel in that time.  If you stick to a plan and write every day, you'll easily achieve your goal before the deadline.  No editing, no rewriting: just get your idea down on paper.  The rewriting and editing comes in January, or in my case, never.  For me it's all about getting the creative juices flowing, and trying something just to see if I can do it.  So, I started out doing well, and keeping up with the pace.  But then life happened, and there were a few days where I wrote nothing at all.  Yikes.  I fell behind, and thought I'd catch up over Thanksgiving weekend.  Well, plans changed, and I ended up not being home for most of the four days of the holiday weekend.  No writing done. I did some fancy early morning and late evening work, drinking lots of coffee and listening to classical music to help my brain work.  And I'm happy to say, I did finish two days before the deadline.  I got my 50,000 words (and 89 pages) in and verified on Tuesday night.  Now I won't be looking at what I wrote for a very long time, if ever.  I'm just happy I set a goal and achieved it.  

So now, onto December.  Yay!  Baking cookies and breads, decorating the house, and spending my evenings reading holiday books.  I can't wait.  Egg nog is on the grocery list for this weekend. 

What are you reading in December to combat holiday stress? Share it in the comments!

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Brimstone by Cherie Priest and My November Fails

Ghost Walkers by Mary Robinette Kowal

I definitely have seasons for different genres of books.  I love to read science fiction/fantasy and paranormal novels when the seasons change from summer to fall;  it starts getting darker out earlier and the cool air makes me think about chili and apple crisp.  It's also the season when all of my favorite ghost shows start new episodes on TV.  When I saw Ghost Talkers on Twitter, I had to check it out. 

Ghost Talkers has a very interesting plot, and I have to give high marks to Mary Robinette Kowal for coming up with this storyline.  The novel is set in World War I Le Havre, a French village occupied by English troops.  Ginger Stuyvesant is a young American heiress working for the English military in an unusual capacity:  she is a medium that communicates with soldiers who have died in battle and can bring news about German troop movements and artillery back to British army headquarters .  There's a secret group of women known as the Spirit Corps who work in a vast warehouse called Potter's Field.   Every day and night, mediums sit in circles with people who ground their spirits while the women work with dead soldiers who have undergone a ritual that will compel their spirit to come back to Potter's Field and give their last report before they go into the light.  England's spiritual secret weapon may turn the war in their favor.  And if the Germans find out about it, it could mean the end of the program and danger for the mediums.  And it seems there may be a traitor to Britain working to expose the Spirit Corps to the Germans...

Ginger is engaged to Captain Ben Harford, a dashing English officer who is working with the Spirit Corps and sending coded letters back to Ginger when he is on the front battle lines.  The relationship between them undergoes some tremendous heartache and growth over the course of this novel.  I can't tell you much more about the plot because it would give it all away!  Needless to say, I was taken aback at the swiftness of major plot points, and they completely changed what I thought the story would be about.  But, I completely enjoyed this novel, even with the very dark and dismal background of World War I.  Ginger and Ben have a great chemistry and rapport, and fellow mediums who have smaller parts in the story add to an overall feeling of a united Britain working to win the war.  

I certainly hope and expect there to be more adventures for the Spirit Corps in future books.  I so want to know what happens next!  This was my first time reading Mary Robinette Kowal, and I'm happy to say her mix of fantasy/paranormal and history is something I like very much.  

Rating:  8/10 for an original plot with two main characters who came to life for me very vividly.  A good mix of history, paranormal, and just darn good writing.  
Available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook.  I checked it out from my local library.  

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Ghost Walkers by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt

I'm starting off 2016 with a novel that combines so many elements: ghosts, mothers, cults, foster kids, family, the starry sky.  You can't imagine that all of those elements can possibly come together into a story, but they do.  Wonderfully.  

Mr. Splitfoot  was a bit of a jolt for me in my reading habits, but it was a good jolt.  It begins in upstate New York, with Ruth and Nat, two teens who live together in a foster home.  This foster home, called The Love of Christ! Foster Home, Farm, and Mission is really a terrible place full of kids who aren't wanted by anyone. It's run by Father Arthur, a man who collects checks from the government and treats the foster kids horribly.  Full of fire and brimstone, he's completely dysfunctional and takes all the kids who are "damaged" into his care.  The unwanteds.  Ruth's mother threw bleach on her face when she was little, leaving scars that resemble the night sky.  Nat talks to the dead.  Or is it all an act?

Ruth and Nat fall into a relationship with a traveling con artist, Mr. Bell.  He takes them around to give readings to people who want contact with their dead relatives.  It's a way for Ruth and Nat to make money and get away from the foster home, where they will be kicked out as soon as they turn 18.  

An alternating story involves Ruth's niece, Cora.  Set in current day, Cora is a young woman who finds herself pregnant and living with Ruth's sister (and Cora's mother), El.  El and Ruth had both lived at Love of Christ! until El was taken away and left on the side of the road by Father Arthur on her 18th birthday.  Ruth waited for her sister to come back to get her, but she never did.  Cora wakes one night to find her Aunt Ruth standing in her bedroom.  Ruth takes Cora on a walking tour of New York state.  Where are they going?  Why doesn't Ruth talk? How does it connect to Ruth and Nat's past?  

There are so many elements to this novel.  It is quirky, sad, funny, mystical, magical, and sometimes just bizarre.  But at the core, it reflects on motherhood in all of its varied ways, family, love, and how we all affect one another through our actions, words, and emotions.  Mr. Splitfoot is certainly a book club worthy read, and was a great way to kick off my 2016 reading list.  

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a  review copy, and for being so enthusiastic about this novel.  

Rating:  8/10 for a very different, yet moving novel that combines what we want with what we've got (and how to work with it), and the absolute powerful pull of love in all its mysterious ways. 

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Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

Wendy Webb writes gothicky-ghosty-tales  that are thoroughly enjoyable fun reads for late nights when it's quiet outside and no one but you is awake.   All those little night noises will make you think twice about what's making the noise when you read this novel.

The Vanishing takes place in Minnesota's deep, dark woods.  Julia Bishop finds herself at Havenwood, an immense estate that sits on thousands of acres of woods and is quite isolated.  The original owner, Andrew McCullough built the estate after making his riches in the fur trade in the 1800's.  Julia's been asked to take care of the current owner, Amaris Sinclair--a famous horror writer who's presumed dead.  

Sounds complicated, right?  There's a lot going on in this novel.  Julia is recovering from a horrible scandal in Chicago.  Her husband, known as the Midwest Bernie Madoff, has killed himself and left her to deal with the anger and unending financial mess of his ex-clients.  She's losing everything when Adrian Sinclair knocks on her front door and invites her to leave it all behind and take the job of caretaker to his mother.  Julia takes him up on the offer and quickly finds herself feeling strangely at home at Havenwood.  Something, however, is not right.  In the darkened hallways and library, Julia hears a little girl singing, sees paintings move, and feels something evil in the air.

There is a big mystery here, and you have to read til the very end to find out what it is.  It all involves mediums, seances, and a horrible night 100 years before that changed Havenwood forever.  

Fans of Simone St. James and novels that feature an otherworldly plot will love this!  I've read all three of Wendy Webb's novels and have loved them all.  

Rating:  7/10 for a just-creepy-enough story with elements of local lore and a great gothic feel.  

Available in paperback and ebook.

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The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman

Sometimes I just can't believe my luck.  I was reading a book, and at the end there was an interview with the author.  She mentioned Carol Goodman as someone she likes to read.  Since the book I read was a ghosty story, I quickly got on the computer at work,  looked up Carol Goodman and bought a few of her titles. How could I have missed her all these years?!


Happy day for me!  The Ghost Orchid is fantastic and has made me a Carol Goodman fan.  It takes place at Bosco, an estate that has been turned into an artist's retreat in upstate New York.  Ellis is the main character.  She's come to finish a novel about Corinth Blackwell, a medium who visited Bosco in 1893 and disappeared, along with the only surviving child of the owners, Milo and Aurora Latham.  


This story moves between Ellis' experiences at Bosco in contemporary times, and Corinth arriving at Bosco, where she has been hired by Milo Latham to conduct a seance for his wife, hoping to contact their three children, who died from diptheria the year before.  Corinth's secret is that she really does have a gift, but it so frightened her as a child, she uses tricks to make believers  out of her customers without actually contacting spirits.


The other main character in this story is the garden.  It's no ordinary garden. Aurora has decided to recreate the gardens of Italy at her estate, and has hired Italian gardeners to put in fountains, paths, and statues everywhere.  It's an enormous garden--one that has hidden paths, a secret grotto, and a statue of an indian maiden tied to a local legend.


This book was awesome!   An intelligent ghost story.  Ellis sees and hears all sorts of mysterious things, and begins to unwind the story of Corinth and Bosco.  Something there needs to tell it's story, and Ellis, who also has the gift of sight,  becomes the unwilling storyteller.  


So many secrets, so many relationships twisting around this story!  The atmosphere is wonderful, the writing fantastic, and the suspense keeps you glued to the pages.  What happens to Corinth?  Who is haunting the gardens, and why?  What does the local legend of Ne'Moss-i-Ne  have to do with Corinth and Ellis?  


Hurry to your local library or bookstore and pick this one up.  I have made a permanent spot on my bookshelves for Carol Goodman's novels.  I can't wait to dive into the rest of her novels.

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The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman