October Read: Starling House by Alex E. Harrow

 

I'm enjoying reading books that are equal parts fairy tale/gothic/slightly spooky/fantasy. It could be this time of year, when the night creeps in earlier, and the air is cool enough at night you just want to huddle on the couch and be cozy.

Starling House fit the bill, and while I wasn't quite sure what to expect, I was willing to take the ride. There's a lot going on here.

Opal lives in Eden, Kentucky-a small town limping along and prone to bad luck. Opal and her teenage brother Jasper live in room twelve of the local hotel. It's the only home they've had for years. Opal struggles to make ends meet and her one desire is to get her brother out of Eden. She'll do anything--lie, steal--to keep him safe and his asthma under control. Their mother died tragically years before in a car accident, where Opal survived, but remains haunted by leaving her mother to die. 

Then there's Starling House, that oh so very strange mansion surrounded by woods and closed off by a big metal gate. Sometimes there's a light in the uppermost window, but no one is ever seen coming and going. Opal walks by the home frequently, and is a bit obsessed with it and the legend of the author who built it- E. Starling. 

One day Opal finds out who lives there, when Arthur makes an appearance at the gate, warning her to leave. He's a disheveled young man who looks like he's battling something ominous. Opal is intrigued. She wants in. Arthur reluctantly offers her a housekeeping position, and Opal can't resist.

Starling House is unlike anything she could have imagined-the house itself is alive. It shifts, it reacts; it is helpful and sometimes it's not. Opal and Arthur get to know each other, but very slowly. Arthur is fighting literal monsters in order to protect the town of Eden.  The house is sitting on a horrible, horrible secret that only Arthur, as the Warden of Starling House, can destroy. Unless it kills him first. 

Ooh, there are layers in this novel. Home is a huge theme--the hunger Opal has for a home of her own-a place to feel safe. Home also means someone to come home to, which Opal and Arthur both desperately need. The town's horrible history of bad luck and tragedy, directly linked to the Gravely family and their coal mining operations and greed. Poisoning the ground for profit. A young girl creating a world that will protect her and punish those who used her. The strength of friendship and a made family. 

I loved the mix of fairy tale and horror. Opal is one tough cookie who never gives up on her desire for a home and a place to keep Jasper safe. When evil arrives in the form of Elizabeth Baine she is torn between protecting Jasper or giving up the secret of Starling House and betraying Arthur. 

I don't want to say anymore because this is a book that needs to be experienced. I'd say there's plenty to discuss in a book club setting. 

Thank you to Tor for an advanced copy to read and review! 

Rating: 4/6 for an intriguing novel about dreams, monsters, home, and a haunted town. The monsters in your dreams can be real! 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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October Read: Starling House by Alex E. Harrow

Trail of Lightning: The Sixth World, Book One by Rebecca Roanhorse

I've been itching to read a good fantasy novel for a while. My book group meets tomorrow night, and we have chosen to read a book that is either written by a Native American author, or has a Native American theme. I took this as as opportunity to find a fantasy novel with a Native American theme, and found this very creative and well written first in a series by Rebecca Roanhorse. 

Set in the near future, the world as we know it has been destroyed by the Big Water, which pretty much wiped out much of the United States, caused an energy war, and has reborn the Navajo Nation, known as the Dinetah.  

Gods and heroes of the Dinetah are real, and so are monsters. Maggie is a monsterslayer. She's young, beyond tough, and has a huge ax to grind. And you can't blame her one bit for it. Surviving a horrific night of torture and the death of her beloved grandmother, her clan powers are ignited: she is one who kills. The power rushes into her, she sees just how she will kill and she does it with skill, strength, and some supernatural power. She's also feared, alone, and nursing a broken angry heart from her mentor and lover, Neizghani-a God himself. 

Maggie is called on to hunt down and rescue a little girl snatched from her home by a monster. This begins Maggie's journey to find out who is creating these monsters, and why. Visiting Tah, her medicine man "grandfather", she meets Kai Arviso, who is Tah's actual grandson, and someone who has clan powers of his own. What they are...well, you'll have to read to find out. Together Kai and Maggie venture out into a hostile land to stop the monsters from terrorizing and killing across Dinetah, and stop whomever or whatever is creating them. 

There's much more to this, of course. But I have to leave you plenty to discover on your own. I read this in stops and starts, and I wish I'd read it in bigger chunks and a shorter amount of time. I enjoyed it-it's pretty dark. The world is not a good place. I kept hearing the end music from Terminator in my head, as Sarah Connor is driving towards the mountains and the growing storm. Da da dada da. Da da dada da.  I found the Navajo culture and mythology fascinating, and the idea that clan powers are real and something that is handed down through the generations, and a gift to be honored, no matter what form it takes. 

I will read the second in the series, since book one leaves you wanting answers. Book two is Storm of Locusts, and more adventures for Maggie Hoskie await. I like Maggie. She's so tough, but inside there's an insecure young girl who wants peace and love, and is afraid she's not worthy of either of them. She both embraces her clan powers, and loathes them.  I'm really hoping her further adventures with Kai will lead her to a better place. 

Rating:  4/6 for a new series that centers on the Navajo people, a post-apocalyptic world where fuel and water are in short supply, and gods and monsters are very, very real. If you like mythology, you'll like this series. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.

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Trail of Lightning: The Sixth World, Book One by Rebecca Roanhorse

I Listened to an Audiobook: Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

I have avoided audio books for 20 years.  I tried one once, listening while I worked around the house.  It drove me nuts.  I half-listened, made mental lists in my head, and the narrator's voice annoyed me after so many hours. Having a commute that was literally 3 short right turns and 5 minutes meant I never was tempted to listen in my car.  It also helped that none of my vehicles had a tape or CD player.  

Now my commute is an hour each way, four days a week.  I have a CD player in my car.  I've got nothing to stare at but miles of road, corn and soybean fields.  So I thought I would give an audio book a try.  I shied away from my beloved historical fiction, and instead tried something that was peculiar, off-beat, and humorous.  

Welcome to Night Vale  by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor is a very popular podcast.  I listened to a few of the podcasts on my commute and enjoyed the completely oddball-ness of it.  Night Vale is a strange town where secret police listen in on everything, creatures roam day and night, and time has a peculiar way of morphing.  There is a forbidden dog park, a woman named Josie who has angels following her around (they are all named Erica), and a radio announcer who makes sure everyone knows just what is going on in Night Vale. You do not have to listen to the podcast to enjoy this book.  As a matter of fact, you don't even have to start with episode one of the podcast to get into the swing of things.  Just jump in and go.  All the podcasts are free, and there are over 70 of them.  Enough to keep you amused for quiet some time.  

The audio book is narrated by Cecil Baldwin, who is the narrator of the podcast (and the radio announcer).  In the novel, Jackie is the owner of the pawnshop in town.  She's 19, and has been 19 for as long as she can remember.  Everything in the pawnshop costs $11, and you die for just a short time when you bring something in to pawn and agree on the price.  One day, a man in a tan jacket, with a deerskin briefcase, comes into the pawnshop.  He gives Jackie a piece of paper that says King City on it and flees, off into the desert.  

Diane works at a boring job, and is a single mom to her son Josh.  Josh is a shapeshifter, and at 15 is restless to know who his father is, and why he's not around.  Diane works with Evan, but notices Evan hasn't been at work for a while.  A mysterious phone call from Evan starts her off on a journey of complete strangeness.  She's the only person at work who remembers Evan even working there.  Is she crazy?  Or is it just the usual in Night Vale?

Jackie and Diane are on the trail of the man in the tan jacket, as well as the blonde man who keeps popping up all over town.  Is the blond man Troy, Josh's father?  Why does he keep avoiding Jackie and Diane?  What the heck is King City, and why can't Jackie get rid of the piece of paper that's permanently stuck to her hand?  How is it all connected?  And what do pink flamingos have to do with any of it?  Oh, and the library is not to be missed.  Hilarious!!

 I did enjoy listening to this audio book.  Having listened to some podcasts, I immediately enjoyed hearing Cecil Baldwin's voice again.  I will admit I had a few "tune out" moments, but I got on track again fairly quickly.  This novel is full of just plain silly stuff.  I chuckled quite a few times.  I envy the writing talent behind this crazy town of Night Vale.  Nothing is off limits, especially in your imagination. Makes you wonder if there is a Night Vale out there somewhere...

I would recommend listening to the audio of this book, because Cecil's voice is what makes this novel come alive.  If you've listened to the podcasts, you know what I'm talking about.  I don't think I would have enjoyed reading the novel as much as I liked listening to it on my commute.  

So...am I sold on audio books?  Sorta.  I think for me, audio books will work if I listen to non-fiction or humorous fiction.  There are just some books that I prefer to hold in my hand and read instead of listen to someone tell me the story.  

Next audio will be Tina Fey.  I hope to incorporate audio books and maybe even some podcasts into my reviews every month.  Driving 400 miles a week will give me plenty of opportunity to listen!

Rating:  7/10 for my first audio book.  I enjoy the world of Night Vale--a perfect blend of paranormal, humor, and downright silliness backed by clever writing and the perfect voice of Cecil Baldwin.  

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audio book. 

 

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I Listened to an Audiobook: Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor