Dan Jolley

The Runemaster Homicide is a great blend of fantasy and mystery. The first book in a series, this one focuses on developing the characters and their relationships as well as building the world and its peoples so you get a sense of the political and religious systems that are creating conflict and how this impacts our heroes. While the opening scene was fascinating, I did think it took a while for the mystery itself to get going, but once it did, the story moved along quickly, throwing twists show more and turns along the reader's path that were interesting and significant to future books.

First of all, I thought the plot moved along rather quickly and was really engaging, even the slower section at the beginning. To be honest, I didn't fully understand what the earlier section had to do with what happened later other than to introduce a bit of Nysska's character into the story as well as introduce the way consequences work in this society, which was quite brutal. I thought the rune-based magic was interesting and liked the concept of how the runes were used in every day life as well as for solving crimes. But what I found particularly interesting in this story was the way the author used it to question belief systems that have been held for hundreds of years as Nysska's team members grappled with developments in the magic system they have never seen before, developments that were going to turn their entire worlds upside down. For so long, the rules were just the rules and people obeyed them through fear of the consequences, and even Nysska's team leader had difficulty grasping new concepts or new ways of investigating. I thought this was fascinating.

There were many themes in this book, but two the author began to explore, and ones I think will be explored in future books, are ageism and ableism. People who can't work have no use to society and are ostracized, living in squalor, setting up the perfect setting for revolution and resistance. Ignoring those who are disabled as well as devaluing the elderly as contributing members of a society can be any culture's downfall, and I look forward to exploring more of this. To be honest, I wasn't prepared for this in this book, and loved this development.

The characters were interesting although it was definitely Nysska who had the most development. She was strong and powerful, but definitely had a softer side to her which made her empathetic and relatable. I did think there was too much secrecy surrounding Nysska and while I don't object to some things kept hidden as it helps with plot development, I am not necessarily a fan of keeping everything a secret as I didn't feel as empathetic towards the characters as I should have, and began to dote on the two cats, Flax and Jax, instead. So, while I found the other characters interesting, I wasn't completely invested in them. However, I was invested in those cats!!!!

Verdict
The Runemaster Homicide was an interesting blend of fantasy and mystery, and the author created a tale that was suspenseful and fascinating. I like the world-building and thought the character development was good, but perhaps allowing the reader to know the characters a bit better would be beneficial. There were some good twists and turns, even a few that caught me off guard, and overall, I enjoyed the story tremendously. I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into book 2, The Black-Horned Grave. show less

Reminding a bit of The Secret Life of Pets but with alien flair, this is a quick-paced adventure with humor on every page.

Mack Moon loves everything surrounding space adventures and can't seem to get spaceship dreams out of his head...even when at school. The only other thing which wins his attention is his best friend (who also happens to be a scifi fan) and his pets. What he doesn't know is that his pets aren't nearly as ordinary as they seem. As secret agents stationed on Earth, it's show more their job to guard the planet against any malicious aliens because humans haven't figured out many things quite yet. But when a real threat appears, the pets mistake Mack as their commander (a pet agent in human disguise)...which he's not. With the world in danger, he's going to have to somehow pull the charade off because his pets seem convinced that humans aren't capable of anything.

All sorts of wonderful pet adventures flashed through my head as I started to read this one, and this tale manages to work the aspects together in a fun and grabbing way. The first pages introduce Mack Moon with his extreme love for space games and adventures. His enthusiasm is over-the-top, which gives him tons of personality, causes obvious problems in his school life, and makes him so easy to like. He's aware of the nay-sayers and wishes things were different, and yet, he stays true to himself. There's also a nice family dynamic, especially with his younger sister. The best friend is true, too, which leaves him free to launch into drama with the P.E.T.S. And these agents each pack personality and different attitudes.

It's non-stop adventure with the danger building on every page. There's a lot of silliness, too, to keep it light and fun. This especially comes across nicely in the graphics, which harmonize with the text while carrying just as much of the story as the written word. The text is fitting for the younger end of the middle grade audience or for chapter book readers, who are sure of their words.

This is only the beginning for Mack Moon and the P.E.T.S., and I'm looking forward to seeing what alien adventures are still to come. show less

Supernatural YA Adventure in the Louisiana Swamplands
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (Dec. 2019)

The oddly named House of Teeth has rambunctious Henry Lemarchand learning about his family's supernatural capabilities while on a trip to Louisiana to visit his uncle and cousin. Discussing the story's tooth or "root-crafting" magic here would be a spoiler, but suffice to say that it was a fun element. The overall story plays out in a fairly standard fashion. The narration by Josh show more Hurley in all voices was excellent without overdoing the Louisiana/French accents that were occasionally required.

House of Teeth was one of the free Audible Originals for members in the month of December 2019. It is now available to everyone for a standard price. show less

Second part of the series. Hitler is planning on deploying his new secret weapon, an Ubermensch that he is confident will bring him victory. But not all is at it seems. Will the heroes be able to stop him? And what is the Allied countermeasure? This one did not seem as immersive for the reader as the first part, but it was still entertaining and well paced.