connorjdaley's reviews
1100 reviews

I Tried Calling by Austin Abbott

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

These are short stories told as if transcribed from answering machines and voicemails. Some are micro fiction, and some run a bit longer at several pages each. 

Personally, with what I got going on right now, 4. 3:15 A.M., Tuesday, August 20, 2019 was one of my favorites. Featuring a message left by an ex about letting go. 

I found the format in which this was done to be incredibly unique, unlike anything I’ve read before. With so much of it together, the transcribing kind of read like a play written out, especially the few bits where more than one person would speak. It wasn’t really the kind of thing I would have gone out of my way for usually, and I’ve probably only read like five plays in my entire life too, but I found that I really enjoyed this. 

The author mixes comedy, drama, dysfunction, emotion, loss, and some beats from the time in which each were written. He does so in a way that still reads like things you would hear in actual messages, they were all believable. The funny ones especially, are ones I would love to actually hear on my phone for real. 

Check this out for something different and quick! Personally a 5/5*
Head Like a Hole by Andrew Van Wey

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Gave this a go on audible, and the narration by Tom Jordan was pretty solid. 

I could tell within the first few chapters of this one that the writing felt a notch up. It read professional, with a clear voice, and wicked fast direction. The POVs and twirling timeframes keep you on the edge of your seat, and I was hooked to it in a way that I haven’t felt lately. While I’ve finished some other reads in between/since, I think this one started pulling me up out of the kind of slump I was forming. The Goosebumps-esque (but adult) cliffhanger chapter endings certainly helped. 

A successful podcaster is looking into a mysterious past with sparse notes found in his uncle’s journal. Strangely, the story unravels itself, and other than him being a clever character and the vessel for some of the backstory, he wasn’t really a necessary character. But on the few occasions the story slows down, he gets the ball moving again, so it works out fine. 

A story of mistrust, mistreatment, jealousy, and deceit, Head Like a Hole, is a powerhouse of revenge and regret. Not without its supernatural elements, the novel morphs more than once on what the reader can expect. Kind of like mixing the murder mystery side of a slasher with something tainted like the Ring or the Grudge. The novel has more than its far share of characters, but there are a few that have pretty flat desires/actions. The author does a pretty solid job of reigning it in to close it all up though. And I will definitely check out more by the author. 
We Are the Origin by C.M. Lockhart

Go to review page

adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I received this to review for the Indie Ink Awards for best narration. Aure Nash did a fantastic job that I really enjoyed. In particular, the voices she did for the gods had these larger than life almost ethereal edits on them. 

This one features great representation as well. Black fantasy with lush character designs and cultures. Dreads and braids as well as great descriptors on the variety of skin tones really sells the world as diverse and rich. 

I did listen through this one while going through some personal changes, so I am afraid I was a bit distracted. So let me just point that out. However, I found myself slipping in and out of the story throughout. In the beginning I was locked in, but the kind of meandering pace and continued scenes of intervention from the gods kind of made this one lack stakes. For me, the characters read pretty much the same as when they started, they may have come to some realizations, but I didn’t feel as if they actually grew. And the intervention of the gods kind of made what little action there was fall a little flat. I didn’t feel like I had to worry about the characters not surviving, and the action was cool when it happened, so I wish there was more. 

Personally a 3/5* for me. 
Shattered Spirits: The Fall of Ishcairn by Cal Black

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Read this one as a finalist in SFINCS, however I already owned the kindle version! 

This is a mixture of eldritch horror with a fantasy backdrop. A mix of gods and what felt like industrial style weaponry made for what comes across as a sort of gaslamp fantasy horror. I would kind of liken it to Of Honey and Wild Fires by Sarah Chorn in its fantasy world feel, but instead of crippling grief, it’s actual horrors coming for the characters. 

A bomb blast that rips souls from bodies and causes those that witness it to go insane, creates these shrieking husks of people that used to be. These apparition-like beings create a creepy atmosphere that has the reader as amped up as the main character. 

Corrie Ecksley, an adjunct professor, is thrust into the middle of all of this and just trying to survive. I liked that besides her excavation experience giving her some background information, she was just a normal person trapped in an impossible situation. And of course, sometimes literally trapped. 

I will say that some of the world building bits and character explanation beats kind of took away from that creepy atmosphere, so in the end I don’t think this really comes across as horror. Not necessarily a negative, but I felt like it was on the fence of blending the two genres well, and I would have liked to see it go all the way. I am still kind of going through it though, so my attention span is a little off and reading has been difficult. 

Regardless, this was an enjoyable novella. The big beats were there, the pace is good, as the character faces more than one issue that’s very time sensitive, and there’s definitely enough that I could have kept reading longer. 
Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

After taking part in just about every goodreads giveaway possible, I finally got approved for the audio from NetGalley. I love the cover, and I really wanted to dig into this one. 

Unfortunately, this may have arrived to me at just the wrong time or something, or perhaps not. It just didn’t grip me, didn’t work. 

I sadly found the main character to be incredibly unlikable. So even with her living in and through trauma, there isn’t necessarily enough for me to grab onto to care. For me, adultery just turns me off to pretty much anything you could possibly say, so although it’s about her having control over something, any little thing, it just doesn’t matter to me. It’s wrong. Doesn’t matter if I understand the angle. 

With that being said, it left the story feeling like it was really missing something, and in that sense, it read as sadly boring, and even confusing at some points. I think the confusion was meant to be, in part, showing the detachment from the main character, but it didn’t exactly work for me. Which is really sad, because the snippets of background world you get are really interesting. You’re dropped into this sort of Afro-futuristic Botswana where technology has reached all new heights—people can live longer, transfer consciousness into other bodies, and augment themselves—but sadly these heights are still being used to further invade women’s space. And in this case, sadly their literal minds and memories, and nothing is safe. 
We're All Monsters Here by Amy Marsden

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I received this novella to judge for the SFINCS semi-finals. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I wish this was available in paperback!

This is a sapphic vampire novella that features a likable, yet somewhat despicable main character. Anna is a vampire, over 500 years old, and she finds it best to salve her hunger with the blood of truly despicable people. Her infiltration of CEO Peter Beyer’s company has led her to an employee retreat. She doesn’t intend to let them leave. 

I really enjoyed this. It is both a new take on vampires while still holding onto that classic feel. Vampires are day-walkers, the nocturnal antics only a rumor put out to confuse. So Anna sunbathes while reading a book by the pool, yet she still feels like a classic vampire stalking her prey. 

For me, I would say this is horror first, with its graphic violence and descriptions. And honestly this just read as really grounded for a huge chunk of it. Anna’s choices in dinner felt kind of like Dexter meets vampirism. But with the vampire heightened strength and speed, as well as the hunters, it still has that urban fantasy feel to it. 

The sapphic angle shows Anna finding herself propelled towards Saira. There is in-scene explicit ‘spice,’ which you may know is not my cup of tea, but with the heightened senses and lust, I did feel like it read as warranted for this one. The two of them together feels real, the author does a great job making the reader feel how drawn to each other they are and honestly, I didn’t even think far enough ahead to see the twist. 

Overall, this was fast, fun, and a bloody good time. Anna’s use of someone else’s arm as not only a weapon, but a shield in some causes was my favorite part. Personally a 4.5/5*
The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Sibley

Go to review page

informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

I believe this is one of the first books released in the same style as the Christopher Tolkien ones post his death. Which of course, still features massive contributions from his life’s work. 

In the same vein as Christopher’s work, this sets out to give a straight-forward linear storyline for the falling of Númenor. It also does a really good job taking the reader through the early history of Sauron. It does not seek to overwrite, or undo previous works. As with the other works taken from The Silmarillion and Appendices, it does read similarly to a textbook in places, but doing audio from Brian Sibley and Samuel West made it very digestible. Personally for me, hearing pieces from each that are featured elsewhere just really helps my understanding, as it can be really dense. 

This has a beautiful wrapped artwork for the dust jacket (Alan Lee of course), a ribbon bookmark, beautiful interior artwork as well as some nice smaller chapter headers and footers. It has a great quality naked hardcover wrap too, a fantastic edition for a Tolkien collector.

One thing I’d love to highlight is how perfectly this cover matches the depiction shown in The Rings of Power show…I mean spot on. Obviously it comes from the text itself anyway, but when so much else gets changed…it’s just cool. The storyline really goes to show just how much they could do with the show itself. There’s so much going on in the appendices and this edition is the proof. 
Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I saw a fellow FanFiAddict reviewer post this one and saw the Josh Malerman’s Bird Box comparison. So I was incredibly excited to start it when I was approved through NetGalley for the audiobook. The narration by the author is pretty perfect honestly. 

This story has many threads that can be drawn to the Covid pandemic, however, it is taken a step further in almost every aspect, so as to be it’s own thing. (Don’t worry Covid novel haters, it’s really not one!). 

It is however, featuring a mysterious virus that seemingly turns normal, everyday humans, into angry, murderous versions of who they once were. Women, men, and children of all varieties fall victim to the virus. Wives, husbands, sons and daughters. Moms and dads. Coworkers and strangers. All they seem to know is that it spreads through eye contact. It has broken down society in every form. 

I will say the audiobook version says, “The Last of Us meets Bird Box,” which maybe they meant the violence of TLOU, but it made me think (fungal-)zombies instead, which this is not. And although Bird Box is most definitely a good comparison, I didn’t find this one to hit its stride in the same way BB does with suspenseful-ness. However this one is a novella, not a full length novel. 

Riley has survived. She lives in a somewhat secluded area, ordering what she needs, and always has it set to contactless delivery. Even though these are becoming less and less frequent, so far she’s made do, for years. But when a new neighbor, Ellis, introduces himself, her entire world has to shift. He wants to be friends, he doesn’t stay away, and seemingly worst of all, he makes her comfortable. 

As their relationship and their visits continue, Riley finds herself unraveling—spiraling as she has to wonder just what it would be like to look. The more tempting it gets, the more unhinged she becomes. This was a good examination of isolation, especially when it hinges on the unknown and fear. Personally a 4/5*
The Choice of Weapons: The First Raoke Gang Novella by Alex Valdiers

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I received this novella to judge for the SFINCS semi-finals. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this in paperback, as I prefer to read physical, and I liked the cover. 

This is a scifi/fantasy novel that features a war between humans, an alien race, and AI-led humanoids. Within that, two of our main characters, Ren and Izuna, come to blows over questioned honor drawn from their Japanese heritage. They meet throughout the Far West in space and come to continuous blows in katana led-combat. Through the years, each see various wins and setbacks, which does nothing but spur on their rivalry. Ren even has an true obsession with her and their ability to continue fighting. 

Outside this rivalry, the world is interesting and unique. The characters feel real. Even though Ren misses out on other parts of life, his obsession with their rivalry brings something to life within him that he so often lacks: choice. They choose to fight, to risk harm. They choose to be this way. So when Izuna is in danger, Ren immediately volunteers to help…he can’t risk losing their fights, their chances to feel alive. 

There is a setting with carriages that does feel very fantasy western, but with the samurai references, and katana fights, I feel like mentally I leaned more into that aspect. 

I will say, there was definitely an explicit scene that I would label as sexual assault. I can’t really think of why this would have added to, or aided, the story, so it was very jarring to the experience, outside of which was quite enjoyable. Personally a 3/5*
The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Go to review page

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I received this one from NetGalley and this is actually one of two mammoth cloning books coming out this year!

This starts as a pretty typical eco-thriller, at least from my experience, but when the book has the elements of scifi mixed in, things truly take off. In a not-so far off future, computers can make a copy of your brain and conscious. One such conscious is the late expert in elephant behaviors, Dr. Damira Khismatullina. Not just a doctor, but a strict protector of the remaining elephant population, readers have to understand just how far some people will go to protect them. And when Russias newly cloned mammoths end up more like blubbering, stagnant copies then re-evolved miracles, they have to ask if they can imbed the doctor’s conscious into one of the mammoths in the hopes that she can teach them to survive and have future generations be born with intact instincts. 

All of the above alone should be enough to entice a scifi or eco reader to grab at this one. But unfortunately for me, the other parts of the book were kind of a confusing blend of “what?” That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this, because I did enjoy more than I disliked, I just found there to be issues. 

To be honest, I did start this one on a long drive right after finishing a much longer story that I really loved. As a novella, this one didn’t last long enough for me to connect past that initial changing of setting and characters. So the “tense eco-thriller” promised in the blurb didn’t hit for me, as I really didn’t find this thrilling. 

The messages behind the not-so distant future worked for me, as well as the continued greed of humanity with high priced mammoth hunting, but there was a decent amount that was simply flat for me. Personally a 3/5* for me.