Jennifer Estep: Spider’s Bite
978-1439147979 – Mass Market Paperback – Pocket Books – $7.99
Jennifer Estep has written three books before this one, in an edgy paranormal romance series she called Bigtime. Spider’s Bite kicks off a new series, this one she calls urban fantasy, and I think the description is apt. It’s gritty, violent, tough, but full of love and a kind of self-defined punk-inspired love that has a depth and strength that is really admirable.
I know the book business likes to categorize books, sometimes quite narrowly, and there are good reasons for that. So this book falls into a category that Publishers Weekly calls “urban fantasy.” While I am not quite sure I know what that means, this novel is certainly a full on fantasy novel set in a city, so I guess that label fits in a literal way. But all labels and categories aside, author Estep has fashioned a terrific set of characters, in particular our hero, Gin. The first line of the book makes clear what we readers are getting into: “My name is Gin, and I kill people.” And she does, she is an assassin after all.
I was very impressed with Estep’s writing and she has fashioned a terrific story line. Some of the characters run to type, but they fit the story so well, we don’t mind. The author has set her imagination loose on the southeastern city in which the story takes place, maybe in our future, or maybe in an alternate universe, it’s wild and never dull. I’m looking forward to reading the sequels too.
Jennifer and I had a fun interview talking about this book, how she started as a writer and where her ideas come from. She’s a dedicated reader turned writer, and her love for books, ideas and writing shines through her work and her words.
See an excerpt from the book at chptr1.com. Visit Jennifer’s well put together site to learn more about her and her books.
Steve Berry: The Paris Vendetta
978-0345505477 – Hardcover -Ballantine Books – $26.00
Steve Berry’s latest adventure. The Paris Vendetta, is a terrific read, grounded in some pretty riveting historical mysteries, with a powerful story that grabs you right away and just will not let go. I really enjoyed reading it. Steve’s own description of the book (his site is one of the best author sites I have visited) is the best way to summarize the story without giving too much away:
When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and Emperor, he had stolen uncountable riches from palaces, national treasuries, even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing and in his will he made no mention of his treasure.
Or did he?
Former-Justice Department operative Cotton Malone is about to find out after trouble comes knocking at his Copenhagen bookshop. Actually, it breaks and enters in the form of an American Secret Service agent with a pair of assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the anxious young man, but narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces him to follow his unexpected new ally.
Their first stop is the secluded estate of Malone’s good friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon has uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multi-millionaires bent on manipulating the global economy. Only by matching wits with a terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for Napoleon’s legendary lost treasure can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy.
But Thorvaldsen’s real objective is much more personal: a vendetta to avenge the murder of his son by the larcenous aristocrat at the heart of the conspiracy. Which places Malone in an impossible quandary-one that forces him to choose between friend and country, past and present. Starting in Denmark, moving to England, and ending up in the storied streets and cathedrals of Paris, Malone plays a breathless game of duplicity and death, all to claim a prize of untold value.
I really enjoyed talking to Steve about The Paris Vendetta. Even though it’s the latest in a series he’s done featuring Cotton Malone, you definitely do not need to start at the beginning of the series. This book has all the requisite elements for readers who enjoy intelligent, historically grounded adventure novels; it’s almost impossible not to compare Berry to Dan Brown, and in my opinion, Berry is clearly the better writer. And as an added bonus, Steve is an author who can talk incisively about his own work. This interview should be fun for his many current fans as well as those who have never read his books.
David Morrell – The Shimmer
978-1593155377 – Hardcover
Vanguard Press $25.95
David Morrell is one of the better action thriller novelists writing today. Not only does he write well, but his novels always have terrific characters, explore complex emotional relationships, and are driven by great story telling. When I picked up The Shimmer, I already had a number of other books on my plate and no real intention of reading it right away. But after the first few pages I could not put it down. This wonderful novel combines elements of the thriller novel with science fiction and fantasy, historical fiction, modern psychological horror stories. My interview with the interesting and voluble David Morrell gives readers a chance to get to know quite a bit about this novel, his 28th, and much more about his background as a writer, a teacher and storyteller. The Shimmer takes place in a town in Texas modeled closely on the real-life town of Marfa and includes a great deal of real history woven into a gripping modern tale. This book is a great example of Morrell’s work, and this interview was a lot of fun for me to do. — David Wilk
A World I Never Made by James LePore
A World I Never Made
ISBN# 978-0981608723
The Story Plant, Hardcover $24.95
The inaugural WritersCast podcast has host David Wilk interviewing author James LePore, whose first novel, a thriller entitled A WORLD I NEVER MADE will be published by The Story Plant in April, 2009. Wilk and LePore talk about the characters in the book, and LePore’s writing methods and other topics in a wide ranging interview. LePore is a former trial attorney who turned to writing fiction full time after selling his law practice.
