Banner stating: Book Review – Silver Stars by Michael Grant.
Following on from the first book of the series, Front Lines, this alternate history story continues the adventures of Rio Richlin, a small-town girl from California; Frangi Marr, a black girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Rainy Schulterman, a Jewish girl from New York City as they fight in World War II for the American army.
Whilst the first book follows how each joined and trained in the army along with going into battle for the first time, Silver Stars follows these girls as experienced soldiers as they take on the war’s next challenges.
Grant ups the stakes in this book as each character takes on missions which would be fairly branded as suicidal. Rainy, in particular, has a hard time of it, though this doesn’t mean the other characters have things easy. While this book is very much fictional, Grant clearly illustrates the horrifying nature of war and its effects through his characters – both the physical and psychological.
Grant uses his extensive research into World War II to create a world that is vivid and feels real. I loved the characters and their arcs throughout the two books make for an engaging read.
This book is as exciting and enjoyable as its previous, and I highly recommend for those who like stories with an epic historical backdrop.
Banner stating, “Book Review – Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud.”
I was annoyed when Netflix cancelled Lockwood & Co. after season one, so I needed to read the books to find out what happens next and I’m glad I did.
Stroud builds a world where London has a problem with ghosts. The Visitors manifest in different ways, but they are almost always demonic/monstrous like rather than just invisible, talking people. It makes for intense scenes where you fear for the safety of the main characters.
The story is told from the point of view of Lucy Carlyle, a sensitive who hears ghosts and objects which have been touched by ghosts or death. She joins Lockwood & Co. as an agent who investigates hauntings. There she meets its two other agents, Anthony Lockwood, the suave, intelligent teenager whom the agency is named after, and George Cubbins, the chubby researcher, both of whom have the sight – the ability to see ghosts, or ghost remanence.
Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud – book standing on a white bedside table. A grey lamp and white walls are in the background. Photo taken by Mark Kielty.
Stroud structures the magical system so that only children can sense the Visitors, hence why teenagers are the ones thrusted into life threatening situations fighting off ghosts. Most agencies are run under adult supervision except for Lockwood & Co. of course. As the children grow older, their talents fade until they can no longer sense ghosts. Stroud leverages this to make for an engaging and entertaining story.
This story, though packed with supernatural elements, is at its heart a mystery. I like how Stroud takes two different mysteries that seem unrelated and knits them together to make for a satisfying ending.
This book has likable, engaging characters; monstrous action; along with some spooky mysteries. I highly recommend this particularly if, like me, you’re still smarting about the cancellation of a great TV show.
Banner stating: Book Review – Front Lines by Michael Grant.
I don’t normally read alternate history books, but given how much I enjoyed the Gone series along with Messenger of Fear, I thought I’d give Front Lines a chance, and I am really glad I did.
Out of all the Michael Grant books I have read; this is possibly the best in terms of writing and storytelling. I really think Michael Grant has stepped it up a notch when I didn’t think there were any more notches for this guy to climb.
I believe this book has the potential to capture new audiences as it is a genre which Grant is not known for; however, I think fans of Grant’s other works will enjoy this book just as much. What makes this book such a good alternate history novel is its faithfulness to actual history.
The book follows the lives of three girls as they join the American army during World War II. Where this book alternates from history is a fictional court case decision which rules that women could be conscripted into the army, or could volunteer, along with men. This has opened-up the possibility of interesting plots and storytelling.
The three main characters of this book is Rio Richlin, a small town 16-year-old from California; Frangi Marr, a black girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Rainy Schulterman, a Jewish girl from New York City. They all lead captivating lives as their stories follow how they each end up serving in the American army.
What I loved about these books is that each character felt very real. You would swear they were actual people from the past. They were all extremely likable, and it was very easy to root for them to succeed.
The amount of detail in this book is commendable. Grant certainly did his research, and while some may feel he got too detailed in places; I really enjoyed it. For me, learning things the characters learned, such as Enfilade and Defilade, made it feel like you were right there with them as they completed basic training.
One aspect where this book mirrors Grant’s other works is that Grant doesn’t shy away from gory details, so be warned. (It is a book about war, to be fair) I found the imagery to be clear and concise, which makes remembering this story all the easier.
This book is admittedly longer than Grant’s others, and longer than the average YA book with around 460ish pages, but it honestly didn’t feel like it. Despite the book being about war, Grant’s writing style means you can glide through the book with ease.
Banner stating: “Good Morning, Citizen! A short story by Mark Kielty”
“Worker-bots can do no wrong!”
That’s what management said when they laid us off. Thirty years working as an electrician for the City and they replaced me with one of these tin cans? It wasn’t right.
Man, I hated them. With their digital smiles and friendly waves. “Good morning, citizen!” they called from their ladders as people walked by. If you asked me, they would’ve fixed those streetlights a lot quicker without the chit-chat.
“But it puts people at ease when the worker-bots greet them,” they said. “It improves community spirit.”
I can’t say my ass-crack on show while rewiring lampposts improved community spirit. But at least I was a member of the community and having a job sure put me at ease.
Taking them on was stupid, I know. They were robots after all. But losing your job, worrying about supporting your family, counting your dwindling pennies – that made you do crazy things.
“You sure about this, Eddie? Seems a bit risky,” Tim said, a fresh faced twenty-one-year-old who just completed his apprenticeship – all the good it did him.
“Come on, what’re they gonna do if they catch us?” I replied. “Breaking and entering isn’t a death penalty offence. And even if it was, we’d have those fancy-pants virtu-homes to look forward to.”
Virtu-homes – the only perk we had left after getting laid off. When you died, your mind was uploaded onto a server where you spent the rest of your afterlife in a virtual, five-star hotel. Easier for the cheapskate City to fund than an actual healthcare plan.
Tim and I, along with a dozen others, stood inside a dimly lit warehouse, holding cans of kerosine. We could see rows upon rows of standing robots, sleeping in their charging docks. Breaking in was easy. We knew all the security codes and the City was too cheap to hire a security guard – or so we thought.
We each doused the robots with kerosene. Some of us even spat at them for good measure.
Once our cans were empty, I lit a match.
“Okay everyone, time you all got out of here. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“You not coming with us?” Tim asked.
“I will, I just wanna make sure the fire catches first,” I replied.
As soon as they were gone, I threw the match.
As the worker-bots burst into flames and the fire spread, my veins pumped with adrenaline. I laughed like a maniac, yelling, “Burn, you fuckers!”
But then, one of them woke up.
As the fire burned its kerosene covered body, its eyes glowed an angry red. I felt like I was standing in front of Satan himself.
Then, other flaming bots began to wake too. Eyes also red, they were like an army of demons rising to join their devil master.
I then realised why there were no security guards. The robots were the security guards.
I tried to escape but couldn’t. Wherever I ran, a worker-bot appeared, blocking my path. As I struggled to breathe, I fell on my knees, clutching my burning chest, coughing, and spluttering.
One of the bots grabbed my forearm. I screamed in agony as its red-hot fingers burned through my flesh like scalding knives.
The pain was too much; my body gave up. I blacked out, collapsing onto the concrete floor.
….
“So, Mr. Gilmore, as your contract states, you’re entitled to spend the rest of your afterlife in a virtu-home. The City managed to upload your mind after the fire.”
I sat at a wooden desk opposite the City’s lawyer. Of course, it wasn’t a real desk. I was in a computer-generated office, my mind transformed into code. The lawyer though, she was real. She would’ve had to log in with a special headset, but she was very much alive.
“However,” she continued, “there are a few legal issues to be ironed out. You did set the worker-bot warehouse on fire after all, costing the City hundreds of thousands of dollars. That will need to be repaid.”
“Well, what can I say?” I said. “I was broke when I was alive and you guys firing me didn’t help.”
“Yes, we figured,” the lawyer replied. “That’s why you will need to work it off.”
She conjured a holographic image of a worker-bot. It stood on the desk and was about the size of an action figure.
“This will be you for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Once we upload you into your new body, you will be able to interact with the real world where you will work as an electrician. To ensure efficiency, however, you won’t be able to speak or act in any way outside of your duties. We don’t want to have another ‘incident’”
“Wait, what? You’re imprisoning me in one of those… things?” I said. “For how long?”
“Until your debt is paid off,” she said, taking out a calculator. “So, we take your hourly rate and then factor in how much is owed… ah! One-hundred and forty-two years.”
“But why upload anyone to a bot?” I asked, “they’re programmed to do the job anyway?”
“Bots are cheaper to run for sure,” the lawyer replied. “But having a worker-bot with human problem-solving skills is a bonus.”
….
Once again, I fixed streetlights for the City except this time, I was stuck inside this robot prison. The only time I could speak was when a member of the public passed by. “Good morning, citizen!” I called from my ladder. I tried to cry for help, desperate to say anything else, but my programming wouldn’t let me.
Decades rolled by and my wife and kids passed away. I wished I could’ve told them how sorry I was for letting them down – to say how much I loved them. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t even able to cry and believe me, I tried.
“Worker-bots can do no wrong,” they said. And now, neither can I.
MARK KIELTY 