Circuit of Heaven by Dennis Danvers

“Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are. And thou sayest, How doth God know? Can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.”pg 14

Humanity has created a computer program that can contain a person’s soul within its code. The programmers have made a new world — one without disease, violence or hunger, where those who leave their bodies behind and enter it, can live forever.

Prior to this breakthrough, programmers learned how to implant portions of people’s personalities into biological bodies, to work as laborers and earn money for the ultimate project of building the new paradise. They called these creations, “constructs”.

Not everyone, including some leftover constructs, have chosen to take advantage of this “heaven” and entered the program. Religious fundamentalists and those who have other objections to entering have remained behind. However, society has broken down without the leaders, who entered the program along with billions of other souls. Food is hard to come by and wild packs of dogs roam the streets.

Nemo, for reasons he can’t totally explain even to himself, has chosen not to enter the program (commonly called ‘the Bin’) to be with his parents. But on a recent visit, he meets a beautiful woman and his life will never be the same.

Justine is a recent arrival to the Bin. But her memories are confused and she can’t remember where she has been for the past few weeks. Is it a programming error or indicative of a bigger problem with the Bin itself?

There were scare stories about people going into the Bin and breaking up like a virtual in a thunderstorm, that there were flaws in the crystalline structure of the Bin, and you could find yourself in nightmarish worlds that made no sense, completely alone.” pgs 12-13

I enjoyed the science fiction portions of this story and contemplating the power that humanity could one day potentially wield over life and death. With computers advancing the way they are, it’s not too hard to imagine that someone someday will figure out how to code a personality or soul. And that raises a whole host of other questions, doesn’t it.

What about the psychological effects of everything you could ever want being available at the touch of a button? What does it mean when a mother can program herself to look younger than her children? And what about children in a world without death? Should babies be uploaded immediately into the Bin or programmed from pure code without ever having existed in the real world?

The dilemmas go on and on. Beyond considering the hypothetical moral questions, I had a few problems with this book.

The characterizations were weak. A few of the major plot twists were clear well before they happened. But there was one, a big one, that I didn’t expect and it was pretty messed up. Then, the characters just seemed to get over it and move on. They had a few conversations and that was that. To be honest, it took me awhile longer. (No spoilers, but if you read this one, I’m certain you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.)

Then the ending, when it came, was too rushed, which was rather a shame. So, that’s why I gave this a middling review. The premise was fantastic. Then it devolved into a so-so science fiction.

Thanks for reading!

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach

Dead Letters is a mystery and psychological thriller about a dysfunctional family and two unhealthily entwined twins. It is also about how relationships with those closest to us can be an unending source of unhappiness, if that is what we choose.

Ava has felt stifled by her family. Her mother has dementia, her father left them to start another family and conflict with her twin sister, Zelda, has dominated her existence. She now lives in Paris, when she receives an unexpected email from her mother… Zelda is dead.

The whole thing was so very Zelda. Too Zelda. When I finally reached my mother on the phone, she slurrily told me that the barn had caught fire with Zelda trapped inside. pg 8

From the very beginning, Ava has her doubts about Zelda’s “accidental” death. Then, when the police reveal evidence that points towards a murder, things begin to spiral out of control.

Adding to the confusion, Ava and Zelda are/were identical. The whole community confuses one sister for the other. Even their own mother, whose mind is slipping away, calls Ava by her dead sister’s name.

Alcohol contributes its own fog to this story as Ava deals with her childhood demons while tangling with some new ones.

Not wanting to acknowledge consciousness in that desperate, dry-mouthed morning-after horror, I’m eventually forced to crack open my eyes. Jolted awake in suddenly sober distress, I blink owlishly and struggle to open my exhausted, quivering eyes, which are agonizingly dry, filched of liquid. … I should quit drinking, I reflect. It’s not the first time I’ve had this thought. pg 170

And, of course, there’s the highschool sweetheart hanging around and the relationship that ended very badly, as if Ava doesn’t have enough going on.

The mystery of this story isn’t all that mysterious, but the characters and the slow unwinding of the past are superb. I read this book almost in one sitting the day before Thanksgiving and it made me appreciate my own fairly-functional family much more.

Our mother had started her mimosas somewhat earlier, and I knew from her glassy eyes and gingery steps that Nadine was approaching the danger zone, the state between mildly and mindlessly drunk wherein she could marshal enough sobriety to do real damage but was uninhibited enough to not care how much damage was inflicted. pg 116

We can’t control what’s happened to us in the past, but moving forward, our lives are what we make of them. Look at the stories you tell yourself and examine why you do the things you do. You wouldn’t want, like the characters in this tale, to be controlled by incessant competition, booze or your weight on a scale, would you?

Caite Dolan-Leach doesn’t turn over every stone, leaving some of the characters’ pasts foggy. But she leaves hints everywhere and allows readers to fill in the blanks.

A criticism: some of the twists in the story are too perfectly orchestrated, and I doubted that such things would be possible, even with intricate planning and if you knew someone as well as you know yourself.

I’ll certainly have plenty to talk about at book club tonight. It was a good pick and I’d recommend it for other groups who read psychological thrillers. There’s a lot to unpack: the family dynamic, mystery, thrills, romance, layered characters and alcohol, so much alcohol.

Thanks for reading!

Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) by Jim Butcher

Changes was, in my opinion, the best of The Dresden Files so far. We have Harry with his usual hang-ups but the problem is more thorny than anything he’s faced so far. Susan Rodriguez, an old flame who’s been turned into a half-vampire, kept a major secret. Now Harry’s enemies know it and they’re out for revenge.

… I could feel the emotions that were stirring somewhere deep inside me, gathering power like a storm far out to sea. I couldn’t see them. I could only feel their effects, but it was enough to know that whatever was rising inside me was potent. Violent. Dangerous. pg 19, ebook

Because of the nature of the secret, Harry is going to need to call in all the favors he’s owed. And, maybe, make a few bargains he’d rather not make.

The man once wrote: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. Tolkien had that one mostly right. I stepped forward, let the door bang closed, and snarled, “F*ck subtle.” pg 46

In the past few books, Harry has become more powerful but also has more responsibilities. What will happen to his apprentice Molly if he goes off the deep end? There’s also Mister, Mouse and Bob to consider.

So we do what a good wizard always does when the odds are stacked up against us: We cheat. pg 95, ebook

Readers are treated to more information about Harry’s murky past and a cliffhanger of an ending that will have you immediately reaching for the next book. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy. I loved it.

Thanks for reading!

Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, #11) by Jim Butcher

For once, Harry Dresden was minding his own business when trouble showed up at his doorstep. Morgan, one of the wardens of the White Council who has hounded Harry for nearly his entire life, needs saving… from the wardens of the White Council. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Why would Harry stick his neck out for one of the few men on the planet who has never liked him?

“Because Morgan wouldn’t break the Laws of Magic,” I said quietly. “Not even if it cost him his life.” pg 19, ebook.

Something strange is going on and, as usual, Harry’s going to get to the bottom of it. But, this time, the solution comes at great personal cost and Harry’s life may never be the same.

Excellent entry in the Dresden Files which, despite concerns that after 11 books it may have become repetitive or go off the rails, continues to impress. Jim Butcher seems to have found a sweet spot between bringing in old characters and plot lines while introducing new twists. It is an urban fantasy reader’s treat.

There are bad things in the world. There’s no getting away from that. But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done about them. You can’t abandon life just because it’s scary, and just because sometimes you get hurt.” pg 45, ebook.

The lines between good and evil are truly becoming blurred as the White Council continues to be assaulted from the outside. As a reader, I thought of the wizards of the highest council as unassailable gods, but in Turn Coat, they are revealed to be as human as the next person. They can be confused, manipulated and used for other ends.

Harry’s sardonic humor is in evidence throughout this tale, delivering his one-liners with his usual flair: “They always have good coffee here,” Ebenezar said a few moments later. “And they don’t call it funny names,” I said. “It’s just coffee. Not frappalattegrandechino.” pg 138

But as the story lines get darker, I can’t help but wonder how much more Harry can take before he snaps. Or the bad guys finally win the day.

“Everyone dies, honey,” I said, very quietly. “Everyone. There’s no ‘if.’ There’s only ‘when.’… When you die, do you want to feel ashamed of what you’ve done with your life? Feel ashamed of what your life meant?” pg 338, ebook.

Highly recommended for fantasy fans.

Thanks for reading!

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti Ekeopara Zuzu Dambu Kaipka of Namib is from a small tribe on Earth. They have the ability to use mathematics to create instruments called astrolabes that can read and interact with the energy of the universe. These astrolabes can be used for purposes ranging from a simple “phone call” to interpreting a person’s future.

Even among her people, Binti is extremely talented in this art. She is a mathematical genius who contemplates complex equations to enter a flow state. She is also the first from her tribe to be accepted at Oomza University.

I was the only Himba on the ship, out of nearly five hundred passengers. My tribe is obsessed with innovation and technology, but it is small and private, and, as I said, we don’t like to leave Earth. We prefer to explore the universe by traveling inward, as opposed to outward. pg 21

Can she leave everything and everyone she’s ever known or loved to go to the university?

Binti is a science fiction novella with an extraordinarily unique premise and world. But I felt it was complex enough that it would have been more enjoyable as a full length novel. I wanted to know more: about the Meduse, the astrolabes, the meditative “treeing” or mathematical contemplation.

“My people are the creators and builders of astrolabes,” I said. “We use math to create the currents within them. The best of us have the gift to bring harmony so delicious that we can make atoms caress each other like lovers.” pg 62

Perhaps that’s not fair of me, to expect more out of a novella rather than appreciate it for what it is. I mean, Binti is a Hugo and Nebula award winner. There is something almost magical about it. I could see this becoming an extraordinary science fiction series of books or even a television show.

Highly recommended for readers who appreciate science fiction short stories, which (apparently) isn’t my thing.

Thanks for reading!

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is an enjoyable coming-of-age tale about a young gentleman who loves his best friend and how the two of them, with his annoyingly competent sister, manage to have an extraordinary adventure on their Grand Tour.

Henry “Monty” Montague is easy to love and flashes his dimples at men and women, indiscriminately. He is also fond of heavy drinking and gambling, neither of which makes his father proud of him.

We must have drunk an extraordinary amount last night if it’s hanging this heavily over me. And here I was starting to feel rather smug about my ability to get foxed out of my mind most nights and then be a functioning human by the next afternoon, provided that the afternoon in question is a late one. pg 13, ebook.

But, secretly, Monty has loved Percy Newton, his closest friend, for years. That’s troublesome because Monty’s father expects him to knuckle down, get married (to a woman) and run the estate after his Grand Tour. Plus, Monty’s not at all certain that Percy reciprocates the feeling.

“When you and I next see each other,” he continues, “I expect you to be sober and stable and… discreet, at the very least.” pg 26, ebook.

It all leads to some of the cutest relationship moments I’ve ever read in a young adult book. I kept saying “awwwww” as I read, which was rather out of character for me to the point where my husband became amused and was teasing me about it. But seriously. I bet if you read it, you’ll have the same reaction.

Please do keep in mind that this is a young adult historical fiction, meant for that audience. I get that the plot is ridiculous and meandering, but I loved it anyway. I think the character of Monty, the narrator, is what made this book so appealing. He’s a hot mess, who knows he’s a hot mess, and I was cheering for him to get his act together the whole book.

“Aren’t you tired of this— aren’t you tired of being this person? You look like a drunken ass all the time, all the bloody time, and it’s getting…” “It’s getting what, Percy?” He’s not going to say it, so I offer the word up for him. “Embarrassing? Are you embarrassed of me?” pg 87, ebook.

He’s funny, borderline alcoholic and hopeless at sharing his feelings. Plus, he has some great internal monologue.

I understand less than half the words in that sentence, but God bless the book people for their boundless knowledge absorbed from having words instead of friends. pg 219, ebook.

That’s right, God bless the book people. And may we all have the courage to tell the people we love that we love them. No matter their gender or our abysmal timing or our level of inebriation.

Recommended for young adult readers and fans of meandering historical fiction.

If you’re looking for more young adult fiction with LGBTQ characters or themes, you may want to pick up Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan McGuire

Thanks for reading!

Small Favor (The Dresden Files, #10) by Jim Butcher

When Mab, the Winter Queen, comes to cash in on one of the favors Harry owes her, things go from bad to worse. And snow won’t stop falling on Chicago. Could the two possibly be related?

Instinct told me that reason had disappointed me more than once, and that it wasn’t thinking in the long term anyway. Over the years, my instincts and I have gotten cozy. pg 57, ebook.

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels.com

Memorable characters from the previous entries in The Dresden Files make a reappearance in this, the tenth book in the series. We get to enjoy the company of Toot-Toot (the pizza-loving pixie), “gentleman” Johnny Marcone and Mab, among others.

Our instincts were a long time in the making, though, and the threats that can come after us now have outpaced them. You can’t outrun a bullet, and you don’t go hand-to-hand with a gunman unless you’re certain you are about to die anyway. pg 79, ebook.

There’s also a major villain from Harry’s past, but I won’t go into details and spoil it for you.

At one time in my life, a shapeshifted, demonically possessed maniac crashing through a window and trying to rip my face off would have come as an enormous and nasty surprise. But that time was pretty much in the past. pg 143, ebook.

I have read a few reviews in which some readers believe The Dresden Files is ridiculous because Jim Butcher puts Harry into situations that he couldn’t possibly survive. But I beg to differ. As the stakes and bad guys increase, so do Harry’s friends and allies. Yes, perhaps the wizard from book one would have been crushed by the baddie in book ten, but they’re both at different places now.

Dare I say it… Harry has “learned” things? Through his nearly constant trials and tribulations, he’s become a stronger magic user, more adept and emphatic? But no, that may be going a bit too far.

The prime rule of combat wizardry is simple too: Be prepared. pg 143, ebook.

At least he’s nailed down his wardrobe game…

Going forth to do battle with the forces of darkness is one thing. Doing it in a pair of borrowed sweatpants and an ill-fitting T-shirt is something else entirely. pg 427, ebook.

One final thought, in the other books in this series, I felt like things were getting worse and worse for our intrepid hero. But, as readers discover in this entry, there may be a silver lining on all those clouds after all.

And all I have to say about that is: it’s about time!

I’ve been adding reviews as I’ve worked my way through this series. You can view the others here:

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) by Jim Butcher

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher

Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, #3) by Jim Butcher

Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher

Death Masks (The Dresden Files, #5) by Jim Butcher

Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6) by Jim Butcher

Dead Beat (The Dresden Files #7) by Jim Butcher

Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, #8) by Jim Butcher

White Night (The Dresden Files, #9) by Jim Butcher

And thanks for reading!

White Night (The Dresden Files, #9) by Jim Butcher

Someone is killing people in Chicago and leaving clues that only a person with magical ability, like a wizard named Harry Dresden, could see. Why would they do that?

Meanwhile, most everything else in Harry’s life is going spectacularly wrong. He has an unruly apprentice who had an unfortunate brush with dark magic awhile back. The White Council is still at war with the Red Vampire Court which was Harry’s fault to begin with, but we don’t need to go into all that.

He’s still got a fallen angel’s shadow in his head, trying to convince him to wield a coin that will give Harry unimaginable power but also consume his soul. Thomas, the vampire, has been acting really weird and he’s probably eating people again which, vampires do, but it’s kind of a problem because Harry is supposed to be protecting people.

And now this, a serial killer. Perfect.

The Dresden Files, as a series, is really starting to come together. I like how Jim Butcher starts to layer the books on top of each other, each plot line leading to more complications and depth.

Normally, Wardens existed to police wizards, to make sure that they didn’t use their power against the rest of humanity in violation of the Laws of Magic. Things weren’t normal.” pg 59, ebook.

Harry has to juggle the politics between the wizards, the vampires, humanity, the faeries… and also keep his sanity when someone from his past shows up and he has to rehash some old wounds.

Real fright isn’t like the movies. Real fear is an ugly, quiet, relentless thing. It’s a kind of pain, and I hated seeing it…” pg 129, ebook

And we can’t forget Bob the Skull, one of my favorite characters. He seems to always get a few good lines in, no matter how busy the plot is.

“What’s up, boss?” “Evil’s afoot.” “Well, sure,” Bob said, “because it refuses to learn the metric system. Otherwise it’d be up to a meter by now.” pg 154, ebook.

Though I had some difficulties with the way Harry behaved in the latter part of the last book, I feel like he’s more of the flawed character I’ve come to know in this entry. Yes, he still makes mistakes sometimes and can be an idiot, but it makes more sense. There are circumstances beyond his control that are acting on his mind in ways he may not be aware of yet. But he’s learning about that, and his friends won’t let him get too out of hand.

Or, at least, they’ll all go down together… probably spectacularly and in flames. Highly recommended for urban fantasy readers.

Here are more reviews I’ve written for this series:

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) by Jim Butcher

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher

Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, #3) by Jim Butcher

Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher

Death Masks (The Dresden Files, #5) by Jim Butcher

Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6) by Jim Butcher

Dead Beat (The Dresden Files #7) by Jim Butcher

Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, #8) by Jim Butcher

And thanks for reading!

Animosity, Vol. 1: The Wake by Marguerite Bennett

One day, animals obtained self awareness and the ability to speak. The world will never be the same.

They started thinking. They started talking. They started taking revenge.

There’s something profoundly disturbing when reading about animals embodying the worst of the human emotions. They’re angry, afraid, vengeful. Part of what draws humanity to the animals is that they’re not like that. They live in the moment. They operate from instinct. And the love they give is uncomplicated… the hate too.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

In Animosity, this paradigm is flipped on its head. Now animals can plan. They’re organized. They can make assumptions and mistakes.

When the animals changed, some pressing issues arose beyond the obvious problem of everybody hurting each other in the first panic and fear-filled moments following the change. How will the world feed itself? How will reproduction be controlled? Humanity had trouble providing for all even when not dealing with the quintillions of other lives on the planet.

And the love one dog has for his human can perhaps have some darkness in it that she doesn’t expect. There’s still loyalty. He’ll fight to protect her. But there’s some question to how much he’ll protect the rest of her family…

Animosity is a surprisingly deep graphic novel that makes the reader question the role of animals in our lives and how the world could be a very different place if everyone, literally all life, acted like humanity. And how that might be an awful development.

Here’s my review of another book that is set in the dystopian world of Animosity: Animosity: Evolution, Vol. 1: Lex Animata by Marguerite Bennett

And thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Tag: Fiction

Circuit of Heaven by Dennis Danvers

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach

Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) by Jim Butcher

Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, #11) by Jim Butcher

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Small Favor (The Dresden Files, #10) by Jim Butcher

White Night (The Dresden Files, #9) by Jim Butcher

Animosity, Vol. 1: The Wake by Marguerite Bennett

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