Cherie Priest is the author of over a dozen novels, including the steampunk pulp adventures The Inexplicables, Ganymede, Dreadnought, Clementine, and Boneshaker. Boneshaker was nominated for both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award; it was a PNBA Award winner, and winner of the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Cherie also wrote Bloodshot and Hellbent from Bantam Spectra; Fathom and the Eden Moore series from Tor; and three novellas published by Subterranean Press. In addition to all of the above, her first foray into George R. R. Martin’s superhero universe, Fort Freak (for which she wrote the interstitial mystery), debuted in the summer of 2011. Cherie’s short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies. She lives in Chattanooga, TN, with her husband, a big shaggy dog, and a fat black cat.
Maplecroft
THE BORDEN DISPATCHES Book #1
RELEASE DATE 9/2/14!
The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.
But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.
This evil cannot hide from me. No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it. With an axe.
*Copy gifted from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Fantastically unique and utterly intriguing, Maplecroft took a true crime story that I always found fascinating and turned it on its head to be an exciting slightly historical 'urban' fantasy with a compelling mystery thread.
It was beautifully written, as well. Ms. Priest has a wonderfully lyrical quality to her writing, and while it wasn't quite poetic, it was smooth as silk and when writing from each of her characters' POVs you couldn't help but feel like you were in the room with them. I particularly liked the way the author told the story as a series of diary/journal/correspondence entries by the different characters, all overlapping, and all flowing together to create the beautiful tapestry of the mystery. It also allowed the reader to formulate their own conclusions about not only the mystery, but the supernatural fantasy woven within.
I enjoyed Maplercroft much more than I actually expected to, and I'm very curious to see what's next in the Borden Dispatches!
Definitely recommended for mystery/urban fantasy readers looking for something fresh and compelling.
Maplecroft
No comments:
Post a Comment