Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

It was the whole “busy life” thing that got in the way of my reading. No, really. It seemed like every time I sat down to read the first installment of the “Destroyermen” series, something always pulled me away.

Determined to finally finish it, I did over the past week.  I am certainly glad I did. Into the Storm was fantastic. I have a soft spot for anything involving United States Military, and Taylor certainly didn’t disappoint.

The book opens in World War II, with the USS Walker, a four-stacker WWI era destroyer, running from the Japanese. The sheer momentum under duress by her crew is anxiety inducing. Exactly what you’d feel if you were on lookout for enemy ships or suicidal fighters above.

Cut to mysterious squall, sickening colors and vertigo.

One surprise after another continues to rock the story as it moves along in the strange new world. Confronted with two new sentient species, we quickly find out, the strange raptor dinosaur looking creatures and a full human size lemurian species are at war with one another.

The crew of the Walker, doing their best to understand their current predicament are thrust into the middle of the conflict and are forced to choose a side in one climatic scene. If not only for their own survival and needed repairs, but ultimately for the sake of doing the right thing.

We meet very interesting characters as we travel along the unfamiliar rolling waves of this strange new Pacific,  which in turn, makes the story believable. Some handle the new pressures well, while others can’t seem to complete their faithful duty. Holding on to the only normalcy they have left, most of the men and women of the USS Walker cling to their roles as Destroyermen, if only for the slim sanity it provides in an unsafe reality.

For Taylor Anderson’s freshman effort, I was pleased by his well rounded and professional writing. I wish my first story had sounded nearly as good. Some writers are gifted out of the box, and I had to keep curbing my jealousy of his prose as I continued on with the story.

Having recently just signed another three book deal with Roc, Taylor is busily banging away at book four, while  I’m onto the second book in the series entitled, Crusade.

Taylor Anderson is definitely an author who is growing in popularity–and ultimately, I would love to read other stories as well from him. His attention to character detail and world building is excellent. Most of all, I had fun.

There is a fine line between wanting more from a story and craving more storytelling and I’m very happy to say that Into the Storm follows the latter category.

Available in paperback now – from Amazon.com

Originally published at Out of Sorts. Please leave any comments there.

Barring my untimely death from the J.K. Rowling camp, I’m going to come out and say it.The Graveyard Book from Neil Gaiman is better than Harry Potter. Any of the novels actually. I know, I said it. Dumbledore, please forgive me.

From the very opening scene of this young adult novel, I was entranced. Parents be warned, it will knot your stomach from the beginning sentence until the end of chapter one. Gaiman does his best however,to throw you biscuits of humor as not to shell shock early on.

What starts out as a terrifying tale best served with hot chocolate and roasted s’mores over a campfire, turns into one of the most beloved young adult stories. I can see why it won the Newberry and is up for a Hugo come August.

Without giving anything away, The Graveyard Book is a must read, or listen. I was content on reading the book until a friend had mentioned Gaiman’s narrating skills. As this is the field I hope to one day call my full-time career, I will tell you that there are narrators and there are master storytellers. Neil Gaiman is definitely in the latter category.

Character driven, creative and fun, this book deserves all they hype it’s getting. It is a rare story than can conjure true emotion from the reader and personally, I experienced everything from fear, mirth, and finally bittersweet closure.

This is YA fiction to which every adult must surrender. If not only for the ride, but for the deeper meaning of what it truly means to breathe…and live.

Available through Amazon.com

Also signed letered editions from Subterrean Press. (I wish I had known about this book when the limited edition still existed. I may have to save for the lettered.)

Originally published at Amnesia. Please leave any comments there.

Books - A Meme

Stolen from various members of the UCF. 

What was the last book you bought?
Backup by Jim Butcher (Haha! I got a LE 1st Print HC - Neeneer)

Name a book you have read MORE than once
I don’t read books more than once. It’s a pet peeve actually. I can usually remember the gist of the story if it’s a book I like and there are just so many out there that I need to read, that I can’t go giving books special treatment!

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Changed the way I see life? I wouldn’t go that far. Given me another perspective on the way things are, could be, were? Sure. Forever War by Joe Haldeman and Citizen of the Galaxy by Heinlein are right up there in making me hope for a better future than the one they provide in their stories.

How do you choose a book?
(E.g. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews?)
If I don’t have reader recommendations from friends, and I’m just browsing in the book store, then cover actually plays a rather large part in my selection. I hate to say it, but had I never heard the rave reviews concerning Patrick Rothfuss‘, The Name of the Wind, I would never have picked up the first version of the HC. It looked pretty cheesy. I ended up picking it up though and it’s now a collectable. Go figure. 

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I think I may own like four non-fiction books. I suck like that. My fiction collection is outrageous. 

What’s more important in a novel, beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

Both. A gripping plot will not forgive crappy craft but beautiful writing doesn’t matter if I don’t give a shit about the characters. (I’m gonna steal Janiece’s answer)

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Auri (Name of the Wind), Kvothe (Name of the Wind), Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings), Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files), Lasciel (The Dresden Files), John Perry (Old Man’s War Trilogy), Tobias Cressen (The Alchemist), Ned Stark (A Game of Thrones)… Ahhh. I can’t possibly name them all. 

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Agent to the Stars by John “No Comment” Scalzi, Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
A Decade of Whatever (Honestly, I skipped all the entries that were done since I started reading the blog back in early 2007), but it was nice to go back and see the stuff I had missed. Good mix of humor, politics and catassery on the part of John Scalzi.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
I really try not to, but I had to throw out my first book just about a year ago. The Story of O was just awful. I was hoping for a nice erotic fantasy read, but got rather sick to my stomach.