The Damned Lies Project

Sharon Shinn’s novel Archangel takes place on the planet Samaria, a world colonized by humans.  People are separated into two types: regular humans and a very small ruling class of angels, modified to have real wings and be able to fly great distances.  The angels have one other duty, they can sing to Jovah and bring down rain, winds, floods, and lightning.

Rulership of the planet is in the care of the archangel, a position which rotates every twenty years.  Each year the Archangel and his wife, the angelica, must sing a mass to Jovah called the Gloria.  Failure to do so will start a chain of events which will lead to Jovah destroying the planet. Read the rest of this entry »

Wherein there are police, flowers, and a shock.

“You didn’t blow up the Circle Line,” said Bruce.

He had come to see me again in the hospital.  I had invited him to read over what I had written and this was his first response after he finished reading my dealings with my clones.

“That sort of thing is so hard to confirm,” I said. Read the rest of this entry »

Felix Castor is an exorcist.  He is no Catholic priest, arcane sorcerer, necromancer, or eastern shaman.  He does not use arcane rituals, the power of God, indiscernible incantations, or psychic powers.  He is just someone who found from a very early age that he could see ghosts, something he couldn’t avoid.  He uses a tin whistle to exorcise ghosts, using the sound and melody to draw them out.

The Devil You Know is the first novel following Felix Castor.  For years he has not practiced his powers of exorcism, after one experience in the past where his mistake hurt an old friend.  This friend, possessed by a demon and incarcerated in a sanatorium, sends Felix a message at the beginning of this novel, warning him his next case will end in his death.  Felix balks, saying he’s out of that business, but a financial crisis of his friend and landlady Pen has him taking a case to help keep her from losing her house. Read the rest of this entry »

Wherein the clone saga comes to a conclusion… on a boat.

The Circle Line is a ferry that operates out of South Street Seaport in Manhattan.  Long time New Yorkers will tell you how it is the main way to get to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Long time New Yorkers will also likely tell you that they’ve never actually been on it or to see the Statue of Liberty unless they were required to because of a school trip.  You’d be amazed at how many of the touristy things that locals have never done.  Empire State building? Nope.  Statue of Liberty? Nope.  Carnegie Hall?  Nope, not even with practice. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t be fooled.  The Knife of Never Letting Go is a science fiction novel masquerading as a young adult novel.  The basic setup and major world events are something you’d see in an older era of science fiction, something of a Philip Dick or an early Ursula K. Leguin.  Twenty years ago, Earth settlers came to a new planet.  While Earth-like, there were strange differences on this new world like pseudo-psychic abilities, talking animals, and of course an inevitable war with the native aliens.

This all would make it almost vintage science fiction, however, it is still a young adult novel.  Instead of focusing the story on the obvious movers & shakers such as town leaders, heroic men, or wise women, the story focuses on two children that are thirteen years old.  Also unlike vintage scifi, the story moves and rolls with the zest and readability of YA fiction, making this far more smooth and an enjoyable ride than most of the adult scifi of similar themes. Read the rest of this entry »

Wherein a death ray is discussed and WHAT THE HELL ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? A GODDAMN DEATH RAY, PEOPLE!

When a man decides to kill his clone, he needs to be properly armed.

“The next thing I think I’ll need is some sort of death ray,” I said, putting the package into my backpack.  “We have Plan B covered,” I said, tapping the backpack, “but I really want something more subtle for Plan A.  So I’m thinking death ray.”

“Death ray?” scoffed Victor.  “Death ray?  Everyone thinks that inventors just have death rays just sitting around.  ‘Oh you’re an inventor?  Have you made a death ray yet?’  ‘How’s the inventing going?  What’s your death ray like?’  I’m sick of it.”

I was over at Bruce’s house, hitting up Victor for a solution to my clone problem.  Bruce was not home, and I was realizing that Victor was very different without Bruce around.

“Do they think I’m made of money?” continued Victor.  “I’m only in the 9^th grade.  Of course I would have a death ray if I could afford it.  Read the rest of this entry »

It is hard not to think of A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin as an urban fantasy version of Kill Bill.  This happens to be a very good thing. Read the rest of this entry »