Review: Working for Bigfoot by Jim Butcher

Working for Bigfoot is a small anthology of three short stories previously published in other anthologies which chronicles Harry Dresden working on behalf of Strength of a River in his Shoulders (a bigfoot, River Shoulders for short) to protect his half-human son Irwin. River Shoulders has never met Irwin having decided not to burden him with his heritage.

B is for Bigfoot: Harry poses as a middle-school janitor and discovers that Irwin is being picked on by two brothers who have a supernatural connection of their own. Problem is Harry can't interfere directly as the brothers have their own super-powered guardian . Although it is told from Harry's perspective I enjoyed how Butcher was able to make Irwin the focus of the story. 8/10.

I was a Teenage Bigfoot: River Shoulders contracts Harry again after learning that Irwin has taken ill, something his heritage should protect him from. Armed with the power of attorney Harry enters the exclusive private high school to get to the bottom of it. The weakest of the three for me. It just felt really small-scale and not much of an effort for Harry to solve the case. 6.75/10.

Bigfoot on Campus: River Shoulders has had a dream that the Irwin is in danger again. This time however Harry has a different price for his help; River Shoulders must agree to meet his son or Harry won't get involved. Harry travels to Irwin's college and finds that his girlfriend, Connie, is a vampire of the white court. Only Connie doesn't know about her heritage either. Her father sent her to college so she would feed and kill her first lover, however Irwin's nature lead him to survive the encounter, something her father is not too thrilled about. The strongest of the three. It has well-developed secondary characters, delves into River Shoulder's personality and nature for the first time really, has a decent action sequence and the best humorous moments. 9/10.

The thread which ties these books together is River Shoulder's reluctance to impose himself in his son's life which clashes with Harry's experience of not growing up with parents and knowing what that can do. It gives this little collection a lot of soul.

Overall a solid little collection which will please existing Dresden fans and those new to his universe alike. 8.5/10,    

Review: Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson

In the future the majority of humanity are disembodied brains housed in jars. Linked to a matrix-like network each individual is the most important person in their own virtual world (of which they are fully aware), populated by millions of AI individuals the majority of which are unaware of the situation. Kairominas is a god emperor of a fantasy medieval setting world. The wode (caretakers of humanity who exist in the real world) require Kairominas to meet with another liveborn and procreate. Something he is not happy with as it interferes with the illusion of his existence. Meanwhile another liveborn Melhi  Kairominas's rival has plans of her own.


There is not much new to the concepts employed here and they are fully standardized trope for science-fiction. However the story is fast paced and has a well executed twist.

I was impressed that the relationship between Melhi (who doesn't even really appear on screen) and Kairominas is actually the crux of this story and is cleverly done.

Overall a concept that's been done often but a clever twist makes this a worthwhile read. 7/10.

Review: Touch by Claire North

"Kepler" is a "ghost", a conscious that can choose to jump from body to with the slightest physical contact, shutting down the existing conscious in the body until the "ghost" departs. "Kepler" has found himself/herself in this state for quite some time and now tries to make deals with people in order to borrow their body, for example a certain amount of money for say three months use. It is during one such arrangement with a woman named Josephine Cebula that "Kepler" finds himself/herself in trouble. Josephine is gunned down by a stranger."Kepler" has experienced people or groups trying to destroy  himself/herself before but what makes this occurrence strange is that the gunman kills Josephine even after he knows "Kepler" has fled her body. "Kepler" is able to grab control of the gunman and begins a quest for answers.

The central premise of the "ghosts" is an interesting and very well thought out one. I enjoyed the way North linked it towards real events such as bouts of amnesia which made it very credible.

North is able to flesh out the concept with well timed flashbacks which works extremely well throughout the narrative and does not negatively effect the pacing.

North (in her other incarnation of kate Griffin) has always had a knack of describing urban areas and their unique characters which brings them to life and this novel is no exception.

The biggest plus for me is the very human aspect of this tale and very adult way the moral implications are considered.

Overall Touch is a beautifully written and clever story with a highly original concept. 9/10.

Review: The Hollow Queen by Elizabeth Haydon

Having given up part of her true name to protect her infant son Rhapsody has been able to join the war against the merchant emperor Talquist , though very important aspects of her personality and memories are now lost to her. Achmed has decided to try and assassinate Talquist himself, though this may not be enough to stop the war even if he is successful. Ashe has left the continent in an effort to gain the sea mages aid in the war and Grunthor stands guard over the sleeping child as a demon housed in an elemental stone body seeks to use the child to open the vault to the underworld.

The main problem with this novel is very uneven pacing and stems from several issues. The first 50 pages or so are spent recapping which is highly frustrating and prevents any early momentum in the story. I could understand doing that in the previous book with the almost decade long wait between that but it makes little sense now and these pages could have been utilized.

After that everything feels like its in a rush. On a few occasions we are brought to the beginning of a battle only to then be taken to the aftermath. Thus actually trying to visualize the war and how it is being fought is almost impossible.

Some very big moments that have been built up for several books are over in a few pages and makes many of the antagonists seem incompetent to an extreme.

Having said all that the lifeblood of this series, the wonderfully realized cast of characters and the relationships that have grown between them are very much intact and does act as a saving grace. Ashe in particular had some of his most memorable moments in the series and his confrontation with his uncle and the sea mages is truly memorable.

Overall this still remains a very good book but severe pacing issues prevent it being the great one (or two) that it should have been. 7/10.