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2014 December books: Moore and Shelby
Dec. 31st, 2014 03:17 pmI didn't get much reading done over the last month or so. Nothing really tickled my fancy. I finally decided to make a concentrated effort to finish Heroes' Reward by Moira J. Moore. This is the final book in her Heroes series which started with Resenting the Hero. I really enjoyed the first book in series and eagerly awaited the sequels. The series didn't perform that well, and the publisher went back and forth on publishing the latter entries. Ace did finally publish 6 novels in the series between 2006 and 2011.
Moore released the final book in 2012. The series is set on a lost colony world (the resident know that they were colonists). The world itself is tectonically and meteorologically active. People were born (possibly genegineered?) to be Sources or Shields. Sources can affect the disturbances while Shields can guard the minds of Sources while they're 'channeling' the forces.
Source Shintaro Karish and Shield Dunleavy Mallorough are paired up when they graduate from their respective Academies. Both are talented and not happy to find their matched up. Over time, they fall in love and discover that both have extraordinary talents.
Lee finds that she can 'cast' or perform spells. These abilities are outlawed, sort of, and casters keep well-hidden. Taro can heal and cause 'incidents' as well as stop them. Because Taro is also a member of the aristocracy, they get involved with the current Empress, political machinations among the landed gentry, uprisings, etc.
I was not that thrilled with the addition of the casting a few books ago, but I was still happy to see the threads tied up and everything ending as well as could be. Perhaps we'll see more of them in the future, but Moore has other books that she's been working on (one should be out soon).
I then read a trilogy by L. Shelby aka Michelle Bottorff, Across the Jade Sea. The three books are Serendipity's Tide, Treachery's Harbor, and Fealty's Shore. They're set in a modified Earth (geography is different, but there are "Tartars" northwest of a China/Japan analog). The technology level is late 19th/early 20th century. There are some undersea cables, telephones are just getting installed into private residences in the more technologically advanced countries, and guns and cars are available.
The first book is narrated by Batiya Latikov, an apprentice engineer on an ocean-going diesel ship. The ship rescues several Shanali (Changali) men from a shipwreck. It turns out that they were attacked by what appear to be pirates. After another attack that kills all but one of the Changali, Batiya and the survivor, Chunru, end up in one of the ship's boats.
Chunru is actually an imperial prince sent to re-open diplomatic and other ties with another country. Someone doesn't want that to happen. Because Batiya has been drawn into this mess, the two end up saving each other multiple times while trying to find somewhere safe.
It is a love story, but it's also a rip-roaring adventure, and Ms. Shelby and really move the story along. I really enjoyed these books and wish there were more set in this world. I'll definitely be getting Shelby's other books.
Note: They're available as ebooks only and self-published. Another round of copy-editing would have been useful as there are some it's rather than its, missing words, wrong words, etc. Not tons, but more than I usually see in a professionally published book. Normally, errors like these bug me, but the characters and story were too interesting.
Moore released the final book in 2012. The series is set on a lost colony world (the resident know that they were colonists). The world itself is tectonically and meteorologically active. People were born (possibly genegineered?) to be Sources or Shields. Sources can affect the disturbances while Shields can guard the minds of Sources while they're 'channeling' the forces.
Source Shintaro Karish and Shield Dunleavy Mallorough are paired up when they graduate from their respective Academies. Both are talented and not happy to find their matched up. Over time, they fall in love and discover that both have extraordinary talents.
Lee finds that she can 'cast' or perform spells. These abilities are outlawed, sort of, and casters keep well-hidden. Taro can heal and cause 'incidents' as well as stop them. Because Taro is also a member of the aristocracy, they get involved with the current Empress, political machinations among the landed gentry, uprisings, etc.
I was not that thrilled with the addition of the casting a few books ago, but I was still happy to see the threads tied up and everything ending as well as could be. Perhaps we'll see more of them in the future, but Moore has other books that she's been working on (one should be out soon).
I then read a trilogy by L. Shelby aka Michelle Bottorff, Across the Jade Sea. The three books are Serendipity's Tide, Treachery's Harbor, and Fealty's Shore. They're set in a modified Earth (geography is different, but there are "Tartars" northwest of a China/Japan analog). The technology level is late 19th/early 20th century. There are some undersea cables, telephones are just getting installed into private residences in the more technologically advanced countries, and guns and cars are available.
The first book is narrated by Batiya Latikov, an apprentice engineer on an ocean-going diesel ship. The ship rescues several Shanali (Changali) men from a shipwreck. It turns out that they were attacked by what appear to be pirates. After another attack that kills all but one of the Changali, Batiya and the survivor, Chunru, end up in one of the ship's boats.
Chunru is actually an imperial prince sent to re-open diplomatic and other ties with another country. Someone doesn't want that to happen. Because Batiya has been drawn into this mess, the two end up saving each other multiple times while trying to find somewhere safe.
It is a love story, but it's also a rip-roaring adventure, and Ms. Shelby and really move the story along. I really enjoyed these books and wish there were more set in this world. I'll definitely be getting Shelby's other books.
Note: They're available as ebooks only and self-published. Another round of copy-editing would have been useful as there are some it's rather than its, missing words, wrong words, etc. Not tons, but more than I usually see in a professionally published book. Normally, errors like these bug me, but the characters and story were too interesting.
