Beth Bernobich: ÉIREANN SERIES

Author:  Beth Bernobich
Series:  ÉIREANN 
Plot Type: Fantasy with a hint of Steampunk     
Ratings:  Violence—3; Sensuality—3; Humor—2 

Publisher:  Tor  
          The Time Roads (10/2014)   

   

            INTRODUCTION AND WORLD-BUILDING            

     I’m going to break one of my long-standing rules here and give you the overview provided by Macmillan.

     Here (in green) is Macmillan's overview of this world: Éire is one of the most powerful empires in the world. The Anglian Dependencies are a dusty backwater filled with resentful colonial subjects, Europe is a disjointed mess, and many look to Éire for stability and peace. In a series of braided stories, Beth Bernobich has created a tale about the brilliant Éireann scientists who have already bent the laws of nature for Man's benefit. And who now are striving to conquer the nature of time.

     In essence, this series is set in an alternate Europe in the years leading up to what—in our real world—was World War I (1897-1914). In this mythology, England is not a powerful world empire ruled over by Queen Victoria. Instead, the queen of Ireland—called by its ancient name, Éire—rules over Anglia (England and Wales), while Alba (Scotland) is an independent country. European countries generally correspond to the real ones of pre-World War I, but are called by slightly different names (for example, France is called Frankonia).

     Although each story has just a few main characters, there are many supporting characters, most of whom have unpronounceable Irish names. Here is a checklist to which you can refer. (Unfortunately, the publisher does not provide a glossary or character list.)  

Áine Lasairíona Devereaux: The young queen of Éire, the lead character in the book. She takes the throne after her father's death, which occurs early in the first story. 

Commander Aidrean Ó Deághaidh: Áine's trusted bodyguard and personal confidante whom she trusts completely. In the first story, Aidrean has a major crush on Áine (and vice versa), but that changes when Breandan Ó Cuilinn enters the picture. Aidrean is the lead character in the third story and plays a supporting role in the first, second, and fourth stories.

Doctor Breandan Ó Cuilinn: A renowned scientist who is experimenting with time travel, particularly with fractures in time. He and Áine become lovers in the first story, but then he does something momentous that keeps them apart until the end of book 4.

Doctors Síomón and Gwen Madóc (brother and sister): They are also time-travel scientists, but their experiments have taken them onto dangerous time travel roads. They play leading roles in the second story and supporting roles in the fourth story.

Coilín Mac Liam: Áine's secretary

Members of the Queen's Council: Their roles become increasingly important in the third and fourth stories. Some are revealed to be traitors.

   > Lord Mac Gioll: Minister of War; eldest of the queen's councilors; (comparable to U.S. Secretary of Secretary of Defense). He dies partway through the book.

   > Lord Ó Tíghearnaigh: the new Minister of War (in the fourth story)

   > Lord Ó Cadhla: Minister of State; the councilor Áine trusts the most (comparable to U.S. Secretary of State). 

   > Lord: Ó Bruicléigh: attached to the committee for Economic Affairs

   > Lord Alastar De Paor: in charge of internal intelligence (comparable to the head of the FBI)

   > Lord Greagoir Ó Luain: head of economics and finance (comparable to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury)

   > Lord Ó Breislin: the queen's advisor on foreign intelligence (comparable to  the head of the CIA)

   > Commander Abraham: heads up the Queen's Constabulary (comparable to the head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff)

      The councilors play supporting roles in most of the stories and are particularly important in the final tale.

               THE STORY               

     Here are Macmillan’s brief summaries of the four stories (in green) that are braided together to tell the full tale:

“The Golden Octopus”: Áine Lasairíona Devereaux, the young Queen of Éire, balances Court politics while pursing the Crown's goals of furthering scientific discovery. When those discoveries lead to the death and madness of those she loves, Áine must choose between her heart and her duty to her kingdom. This story provides much of the world-building information and sets up the time-travel theme. Here, we get glimpses of the political unrest in Europe and the rebellion that is building among the Anglians, who want their independence. Various dissident groups are popping up all over Europe, impeding diplomatic relations among the countries. The story moves along quite nicely until the end, when the time travel element pops up in earnest.  Murders occur, an airship explodes, and—Voila!—the murders  never happened.  At this point, my understanding of events began to slip because the author doesn't provide a comprehensible explanation of how the shifting time lines work. Click HERE to read an excerpt from "The Golden Octopus."

“A Flight of Numbers Fantastique Strange”: Síomón Madóc is desperately trying to discover who is killing the brightest of Éire's mathematicians. The key to saving lives lies in the future...and Síomón must figure out a way to get there. This story is the most ambiguous and (for me, anyway) the most frustrating one, mostly because it delves deeply into the time travel element. As a result, it is the most woo-woo of them all, especially in the final scenes. I wish I could say that all eventually becomes clear, but that didn't happen for me. The author apparently assumes that the reader will decipher the operational process of the time roads through context. Unfortunately, she doesn’t provide enough explanatory material and that results in confusion on the part of the reader.      

“Ars Memoriae”: Éireann spymaster Aidrean Ó Deághaidh goes to the kingdom of Montenegro to investigate rumors of great unrest. But Ó Deághaidh is tormented by visions of a different timeline and suspects that someone in his own government is playing a double game…. (This story was originally published as a stand-alone in 2009.) Much of this story takes place in Montenegro, which (in our real world) was a kingdom in southeastern Europe in the early years of the 20th century, then became part of Yugoslavia until 2006, and is now a parliamentary republic with great diversity in the ethnicity, languages, and religious beliefs of its citizens.) The story plays out as a foreign intrigue drama with the queen's spymaster going undercover in Montenegro to discover the identity of a spy within the Queen's Council of Lords.

“The Time Roads”: Éire stands on the brink of the modern age, but old troubles still plague the kingdom. An encounter with a mysterious stranger near death holds the clue to both the past and the future of the nation. The fourth tale ties everything together as the time roads play an integral part in saving Éire and its allies from certain disaster—literally rewriting the history books. Various dissident groups turn new scientific research about time travel towards the creation of weapons of war. As they use this knowledge to fracture time and disrupt memories, the time roads become a powerful weapon that could lead to the destruction of Europe. 

     The strongest elements in this novel are the deeply developed world-building, and the rich sense of place. The weakest elements are the character development and the explanation of the time roads. It's really unfortunate that the author doesn't do a better job explaining the time travel mythology because that is the key element on which the series is based. I didn't feel much of a connection with any of the characters, mostly because they seemed like types rather than individuals: the courageous, solitary queen; the handsome, damaged, queen-and-country warrior; the beautiful, brave female dissident; the oh-so-corrupt councilors (all men, by the way); the quirky, rumpled scientists—they all seemed to have been pulled out of other authors' books. 

     This book ends with an unfinished, but hopeful, view of Éire's future. I'm intrigued enough with the world-building that I'm looking forward to the next installment.  I do have to say that this one is not for everyone. The only thing "paranormal" about it is the time travel element, and that is flawed in its presentation. What's refreshing is to find a steampunk novel that isn't set in Victorian London. The idea that Ireland—not England—controls Great Britain is an inventive hook that will keep me reading. 

UPDATE! Anton Strout: SPELLMASON CHRONICLES

UPDATE!

I have just updated a previous post for Anton Strout with a review of Incarnate, the third and FINAL novel in his SPELLMASON CHRONICLES SERIES.

Click on the pink-link series title above to go directly to the updated review.

Angela Knight: "Love Bites"

Author:  Angela Knight
Series:  Love Bites
Plot Type:  Hardcore Erotic Romance  
Ratings:  Violence—4; Sensuality—5++++; Humor—2 

Publisher:  Berkley Sensation (9/2014)   

   

               INTRODUCTION               

     In her "Foreword," Knight clearly and concisely cautions the reader: "Be warned: this anthology is quite a bit hotter than my other Mageverse books. All three stories in Love Bites deal with themes of domination and submission, featuring bondage, spanking, and kinky sex. If you don't like those things, you probably won't like this book." And she's not kidding! So, beware of what you're getting into. This is hardcore BDSM in all its salacious, kinky glory. 

     The book contains one novel-length story (230 pages) and two much shorter stories (27 pages and 43 pages). The novel, "Oath of Service," is a new Mageverse tale starring Morgana le Fay and Sir Percival. Click HERE to read my reviews of the novels in the MAGEVERSE series. 

     "Be Careful What You Wish For" was written some time ago but never before published. "The Bloodslave" is a futuristic story that was previously published under the pseudonym Anastasia Day in an e-book called Bodice Rippers in 2001. All of the stories feature vampires.

     In addition to these stories, Knight includes a sample chapter of her next book, a non-paranormal romantic suspense novel involving a pair of BDSM-practicing police officers in a conservative Southern town. 

               "Oath of Service"               

MY FAVORITE LINE: "If a woman didn't feel a tingle at the sight of Percival, Cador, and Marrok looking ready to break all Ten Commandments, she needed to check her pulse." (p. 5)

     This short novel is set in the Mageverse and tells the erotic soul-mate love story of Morgana le Fay and Sir Percival, Knight of the Round Table. Fifteen centuries ago, when they drank from the Holy Grail and became immortal, the couple shared a passionate moment, but when Percival wanted to make their relationship permanent, Morgana turned her back on him. Having gone through horrible turmoil with her son, Mordred, and the wicked priest who abused Mordred and tortured her, she doesn't want to get close to or belong to anyone. All her life, everyone Morgana ever loved has turned against her, and she won't make the mistake of falling for Percival and then having him reject her.

     For centuries, Morgana and Percival have teamed up with Cador and Marrok to fight the bad guys, but Morgana as always been rather mean to her team members—shocking them with ugly magical zaps, playing painful magical tricks on them, slicing at them with her sharp-tongued sarcasm, and doing things her own way whenever she wants—which is most of the time. As the story opens, the team is searching for an otherworldly creature who is butchering human women. When that creature turns out to be a dragon shifter who gates off into the Mageverse with two captive women, Morgana opens a portal and goes after him, leaving her team members behind. She doesn't want them to be hurt, so she plans on taking on the dragon all by herself. Although the adventure eventually ends well, the men are furious with Morgana and complain to Arthur, who gives Morgana a choice: Either voluntarily become an Oath Servant to Percival or be assigned to another team. 

     An Oath Servant must submit to his or her master's every wish. This is the oath Morgana takes when she accepts Percival as her Master: "I, Morgana le Fay, Liege of the Majae, do swear to obey you in all your commands without question or hesitation, yielding my body to serve your needs, whether for sex or for blood, for the next year." (p. 74) What makes Morgan's situation even worse is that she is forced to wear a collar that nullifies her magic, essentially making her powerless. Percival has been secretly lusting after Morgana for 15 centuries, so he sees this as a chance to get what he wants and to put her in her place—her subservient place. Yes, Percival is a dominant, and Morgana is a secret submissive, and the rest of the story consists of several lengthy, graphically depicted, pleasure-pain BDSM sessions, mostly between Percival and Morgana, but one (on Super Bowl Sunday) with all of the team members. 

     The story ends with the requisite showdown battle between Morgana and the dragon, with back-up from her team. As part of the resolution of this conflict, the team goes through a highly unusual bonding experience that exposes all of their individual childhood tragedies and provides a redemption of sorts.

    For me, the fact that Morgana was constantly dominated physically, mentally, and emotionally by her three hulking male team members was a major turn-off. At times it came across as sexual abuse, even though Morgana kept claiming that even though she was in pain, she wanted more. But if you're into the whole D/s bondage thing, you'll probably enjoy it. 

     In the early chapters, Knight includes a nice overview of the Mageverse, so a new reader could read this as a stand-alone story. Click HERE to read the first chapter of "Oath of Service," which is quite mild compared to the rest of the story.

               "Be Careful What You Wish For"               

FIRST LINE: When Jim Decker walked into Bottoms Up that night, you could almost taste the testosterone. Or vamposterone, Or whatever."

     This is the shortest and most entertaining of the three stories. It actually starts out like that classic joke: "Three vampires walked into a bar." Actually two of them—Amanda and Beau—are already in the bar when the third—Decker—walks in. Amanda, who tells the story in her sardonic first-person voice, has a sexual history with both men, and as a result they can't stand one another. Suddenly, a young woman rushes up to Decker and screams out a sentence that "stopped conversation for a radius of about thirty feet." Her heart-rending wail is the catalyst that sets off the plot: "It's Jeffrey!…He said if I don't go to his house and agree to—he said he's going to turn me back into a werewolf. Permanently!" Talk about a downer!  

     Beau and Amanda soon learn that Jeffrey is an evil wizard who turned the girl into a werewolf a year or so ago after she refused to have sex with him. Decker was able to reverse the spell by having sex with her while she was in werewolf form, but now Jeffrey has tracked her down and is threatening her once again. Immediately, the three indignant vampires head off to Jeffrey's house to teach him a lesson. 

     Unfortunately, Jeffrey is a very powerful wizard, and he immediately puts a spell on Beau and Decker—a spell that forces the two men to have sex with Amanda whether she wants to or not. He tells them, "Do everything you've secretly dreamed of. Let's see you stop when she says no." The rest of the story turns the reader into a voyeur as the three engage in a graphically described ménage à trois, after which Amanda saves the day for all of them, including the werewolf girl.

     Although this story has just as much BDSM as the other two, it is much more light-hearted and entertaining. Amanda has been wanting to experiment with multiple partners, so she's game from the very beginning. She's not an emotionally damaged woman or a tender virgin; she's a smart, independent chick who knows exactly what she's getting into, and she's ready to do (or receive) what it takes to achieve her own personal satisfaction. That's what makes this one better than the others.

               "The Bloodslave"               

A sample of the mildest of the disgusting dialogue: 
"Dominic said, 'But who gets to pop her cherry?'      
'Good point,' André said. 'We'll let a poker hand decide that. Best two out of three.' " 
(The virginal victim listens to this conversation while she is gagged and tied to a chair.

     This futuristic space-travel tale is actually repulsive. Verica Shur, a young human woman, is the last survivor of a group of mercenaries on a distant planet, having been forcibly taken there 12 years ago by her father. A team of three vampires—also mercenaries, but for the winning side—capture her, bind and gag her, and take her virginity in every manner you can imagine. Although she supposedly enjoys the experience—eventually, after a great deal of pain—the whole thing comes across as horrific torture and humiliation by a trio of abusive bullies. The story ends with a scene in which the girl plays the dominant role over the captain, but that part doesn't really ring true. I had trouble getting through this one. It definitely is the roughest of the three.

UPDATE! Jan DeLima: CELTIC WOLVES SERIES

UPDATE!

I have just updated a previous post for Jan De Lima with a review of Summer Moon, the second novel in her CELTIC WOLVES SERIES.

Click on the pink-link series title above to go directly to the updated review.

UPDATE! Larissa Ione: MOONBOUND CLAN SERIES

UPDATE!

I have just updated a previous post for Larissa Ione with a review of Chained by Night, the  second novel in her MOONBOUND CLAN VAMPIRES SERIES.

Click on the pink-link series title above to go directly to the updated review.