Tea With the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy

I curled up with Tea with the Black Dragon during the weirdest August weather I’ve witnessed as a native Kansan: a north wind for three days (starting on Friday), highs in the low 70s and partly to mostly cloudy. It felt and smelled like October! Tea With the Black Dragon fit the weather perfectly. Mayland Long is an incognito dragon seeking the meaning of life or ultimate truth. He finds it, as well as love, in Martha Macnamara: a childlike, bewildering woman with crystal blue eyes. The mystery involving the kidnapping of Martha’s daughter is pleasantly intriguing, but distracts from this main theme.  I got a kick out of the early ’80s retro computer terminology, especially references to CP/M, a pre-DOS operating system, and 8080 processors (think Motorola not Intel). I cut my teeth on that technology in high school and it holds a fond place in my geeky heart. Tea with the Black Dragon is a short novel to treasure and cherish over and over again.

The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson

… Aidan Thomas discovers and reads some scrolls that transport him to The Realm, where he trains rigorously to become an elite warrior of King Eliam and join the fight for the hearts and minds of the people of Mithgarde… Wayne Thomas Baston avoids any blatant literal reference to God or Jesus or Judas or other standard Christian characters, but the parallels are unmistakable. The mission of King Eliam and the Glimpses mirrors the Christian call to be in the world (those who need to be reconciled to God) but not of it (that which is hostile to God), like resisting temptations that can lead to suffering and sacrifice… Narnia this is not, but definitely a better-than-average attempt to weld young adult fantasy with a bit of theological mettle. The Door Within is a well-done Christian allegory, comparable to The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Read the rest.

GUEST REVIEW

A Devil in the Details by K.A. Stewart

A Devil in the Details introduces us to the wry and wiry Jesse James Dawson, a 21^st century Midwestern samurai who saves souls in the best tradition of The Seven Samurai. If you sold your soul to the devil, or one of his demonic henchmen, who you gonna call? JJD, of course, or one of his fellow demon-fighting champions… K.A. Stewart keeps the prose concise, witty, and demonically delicious. Jesse doesn’t do zombies (or vampires or werewolves), but he does beat the crap out of Hell’s minions with his katana and mixed martial arts, regardless of his tall, skinny physique. A Devil in the Details is fun. It offers a welcome alternative to cloying paranormal romances and is a great addition to the urban fantasy scene. Read the rest.

We’d like to welcome a new guest reviewer: Jon Moss. Our guests help our regular staff by offering trustworthy reviews of books that we haven’t had a chance to review yet. Visit Jon’s profile to learn more about her or visit Jon’s blog. Thanks for the review, Jon — we look forward to hearing more from you!

God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell

God Stalk, first in the Kencyrath series authored by P.C. Hodgell in the early 80s, opens with Jame stumbling into Tai-Tastigon, which is apparently deserted, after being so long on the run that she’s delirious with exhaustion and fighting off her race’s healing dwar sleep. She chances upon Penari, a famous thief, as he’s trapped in a doorway by a couple of footpads. Jame rushes to the rescue and Penari offers her a job as recompense… God Stalk had moments of poetic prose amid the heists, action and intrigue. I struggled with some elements of Jame’s persona that stretched the logical side of my brain: She has amnesia, but seems to remember her name, her family, her culture and its history and, despite her personal integrity and strong moral compass, she joins a Thieves Guild (yet refuses to steal anything). The character development suffered at the altar of action, but the adventure kept me turning pages to the end. Read the rest.

A Shot in the Dark by K.A. Stewart

A Shot in the Dark continues a few months after A Devil in the Details, with Jesse James Dawson mostly recovered from his last demon death-dance and tornado tango, but still suffering from nightmares of an earlier near-fatal demon fight. His annual Colorado camping trip with his buddies should provide ample opportunity for rejuvenation and recreation… What should have been a relaxing retreat quickly turns into a siege reminiscent of the Alamo… A Shot in the Dark provides a good mystery, a few thrills, a new take on zombies, MacGyver-esque innovations in demon fighting and a peek into the true identity of Jesse’s favorite demon sidekick, Axel (hint: read To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust or Milton’s Paradise Lost). This is a strong sequel to last year’s A Devil in the Details and a great summer vacation read. Just don’t forget the holy water, mirrors and swords. Read the rest.