Intricate Agony - Excerpt

It's release day for my next Fortunes of Fate title! Intricate Agony is the 8th story in the series. And this one takes place on Earth, though you'll see a handful of familiar faces from previous titles.

You can purchase a copy of the ebook on all major online retailers. Books2Read will direct you to your retailer of choice, but if you want direct links to the bigger stores, here you go: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, and Apple. So, how does this story fit into the tapestry of Fate? An excerpt is below, but read the whole tale to find out!

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The shadow in the corner quivered, and familiar prickles of pain cascaded across Lucas’s skin. A yelp snagged in his throat. Don’t react, or I’ll never escape.

Dr. Kimberly glanced over her left shoulder, the end of her pen pressed against her bottom lip. “Do you see a creature in the corner?”

This psychiatrist had good intentions, hoping to ease his affliction. But like many others before her, she was failing.

His sole means of relief hid in a desk on the third floor of his house, not here in the Fortune Psychiatric Center. “No. Just the light filtering through the blinds.” Steady and calm voice, disguising the agony building inside him.

Mocking his lie, the shadow detached from the corner and oozed across the floor. It wound its way toward Dr. Kimberly’s chair, threatening to consume her in a single gulp.

Or at least that was how it appeared to Lucas. An empty threat, though. The monsters preferred to remain hallucinations, which was what his visions had been diagnosed as. They aimed to keep themselves secret to all but him.

A throbbing pulsed behind his eyes, then dripped down the back of his neck, heightening his misery. The professionals labeled this psychogenic pain. Various medications they’d prescribed him did nothing to dull it, though. Nor had physical therapy, changing his diet, or intense psychotherapy.

Well, Dr. Kimberly assumed that last one had worked. “Still no pain over these last couple weeks?”

The meditation techniques she’d taught him granted him the ability to conceal his torment. “None.” And his lying skills had improved while trapped in this facility – a tortuously long three months.

Yet he yearned to twist and turn, voicing his misery. As well as take a needle to his skin, adding to the intricate design on his chest. Appear cured, and they’ll release me.

When his father Lester Kline V had been alive, he hired the best therapists to help his son, but never admitted him into an institution.

A year ago, though, his dad had suffered a fatal heart attack while working late at the law firm. His assistant had found him in the morning, dead.

The shadow jumped and jittered, as if laughing at Lucas’s reflections. Heart attack in a healthy, fit forty-year-old? Yeah, right.

Lucas suspected the true, more sinister cause of death swirled around Dr. Kimberly’s feet. It taunted him, lighting up his nerves.

He’d never told a soul about his hunch. It would have simply turned into another item added to the list that proved his madness.

His stepmother Nadia had admitted him. She perceived him as a nuisance and burden – a fourteen-year-old in the way of her inheriting his father’s wealth.

If he showed improvement, she’d be required to bring him home. Gone were the days of sending children off to an insane asylum for the rest of their lives without question.

So he masked his torment, bottling up his anxiety over the roiling darkness. A normal teenager. Nothing wrong with me.

Dr. Kimberly beamed. “You’ve made excellent progress. I think it’s time for outpatient treatment.”

The exact words he wanted to hear. Freedom.

“If the pain or hallucinations return, though, we’ll admit you again immediately. The pressures of the outside world might cause a relapse, but I have high hopes you’ll do well. Please contact me if you experience a recurrence, or if you develop new symptoms.”

Lucas deflated. Once released, he’d still need to hide his anguish, or Nadia would call the psychiatrist the second she noticed him slip. “Of course, Doctor.” Fooling his stepmother would prove difficult, since she obsessively scrutinized him. Any excuse to get him out of her way.

“Excellent. Pack your things. I’ll contact your mother and schedule your release for tomorrow.” She scribbled on her notepad.

Not my mother.

Mara Kline had died from medical complications the day after he was born. His dad had shared happy stories about his mom, along with albums full of pictures. She’d chosen his name, breaking the long running tradition in the Kline family of the firstborn son inheriting the name of his father.

For ten years, it had been him and his dad. And then Nadia wandered into their lives.

Wretched, gold-digging woman. Unfortunately, she’d fooled Lester Kline, whose heart still ached over the loss of his first wife. He’d yearned to love again, Lucas’s warnings of Nadia’s nefarious intentions falling on deaf ears.

The shadow looped around the legs of Dr. Kimberly’s chair, each twist delivering fresh pangs, like a rusty nail stabbing him repeatedly.

He clenched his teeth, refusing to succumb to the stinging sensation.

Finally, the monster yielded and slithered to its corner, soaking into the wall and disappearing.

His pain faded to an annoying vibration. A level he tolerated easily, as he’d contended with it his whole life. The shadows had initially emerged when he was eleven, so he’d only dealt with them for the past three years.

Lucas relaxed into the couch and smiled. Soon, he’d add to his tattoo and bask in the momentary relief it offered.

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No way to evade the shadows’ torment...

A constant undercurrent of pain has weighed down Lucas his entire life. When he turns eleven, shadows only he can see emerge from the darkness, heightening his affliction. Then two years later, his supportive father dies of a heart attack, leaving him with his greedy stepmother.

Nadia desires the fortune her husband left behind, and she’ll do anything to wrest it from Lucas’s hands. Including establishing that her stepson is completely crazy. She aims to declare him mentally unsound, and in turn take full control of his finances.

Fourteen, Lucas has four more years before he escapes from under his stepmother’s thumb. Can he survive that long without proving Nadia right, or will he lose everything his family built, along with his own mind?

Worldhop into the stories of Fate. Each fantastical tale takes place on Earth or Fate, where you’ll find magic, tarot cards, and the three cat sisters woven throughout. Though each adventure stands alone, webs connect these fantasies like an elaborate design. What card illuminates your destiny?

Genshin Impact - My Newest Addictive Game

OK, so this post is likely just going to be mostly screenshots, and a little bit of my own art. PICTURES. That's about where my brain is today anyway. Processing words = hard (I haven't been sleeping well lately so, yeah...).

As many of you already know, I'm a gamer. Yes, I still play Everquest and Summoners War, but now I have a new addiction. Actually, it's kind of a family addiction since Hubbie and Eldest play as well!

Last October, the three of us started playing Genshin Impact, by MiHoYo. The biggest thing that drew us in at first was that it was available for free on Playstation 4 (it's also available on PC and Mobile, and it's in the works for Nintendo Switch).

As a warning, though it's available on a console, it's still a gacha game. But oh man, have they brought that genre of games to a whole new level! It plays like a normal console/PC fantasy RPG. There's a huge and beautiful world to explore. Chests (some hidden insanely well), puzzles, adaptability in game play, fleshed out characters (the ones we've received stories for at least), and a great overarching story. When I grind in this game, I feel like I'm playing Everquest (fantasy MMORPG) instead of Summoners War (fantasy gacha). Take a look at some world screenshots below.

We have paid in a little bit of money to it, but we're looking at what we've spent as pretty much a monthly subscription for the game (which we pay in Everquest still). The best deals to make the game a little easier but not spend too much is going for the monthly Welkin Moon ($5 USD) and the lower tier of the Battle Pass ($10 USD every six weeks). The Battle Pass especially has helped us with being able to partially build a few more characters to experiment with.

Of course, the characters are the biggest gacha draw, especially if you want some of the 5-stars. Though, if you're patient, you will gather enough Wishes to get a 5-star without spending a penny. The rates are pretty low, but they have a pity system built in, so you're guaranteed a 5-star after so many Wishes.

Here's one of my favorites that I pulled last month. ♥ Yes, I have fallen into the world of waifus and husbandos - lol.

So, me, Hubbie, and Eldest have decided to do some challenges with each other in Genshin Impact as well. It's a PvE game (so no PvP content at this time), but you can group with up to three other people to tackle some things together if you'd like. Our first challenge, though, had us killing as many monsters as we could in our own worlds. We had six categories of monsters to slaughter in an hour. I decided to make some "trophies" for these categories. So I drew some Genshin Impact cards! They're still in pencil only, but the front of the cards are below, and what's on the back of the cards is to the right.

Finally, we eventually plan to do a challenge in one person's world, only using one character each, and each type of mob will be worth different points. I made a big primogem for the trophy for who gets the most points (kind of similar to a wrestling title, it will be handed to whoever the current champion is, as we plan to do this challenge more than once). This one I colored already, but scanning it in dulled some of the colors. It's posted below.

So, what do you think? Am I crazy as usual? (Yes, probably.) Am I playing too much Genshin Impact? (Oh, definitely.) Have you tried Genshin? If so, what do you think? (Hit me up for a friend request if you enjoy the game and plan to continue playing!).

And you do know you'll all be seeing more screenshots from me in the future, right? Happy gaming!

Summoners War - Sister Time

It's that time again! Where I post neat pictures of Summoners War Mons that I intend to work on. ;)

Unfortunately, I'm a little peeved with Com2Us right now. I finally opened the Rift of Worlds on my Water/Light/Dark account to access some new content. While I opened that new content, some changes made it so I now can't open the Elemental Rift Beast Dungeons until I get past a higher level of Rift Raid. I'd be fine with that, but now the Bonus Daily Task wants me to go in those Rift Beast Dungeons to earn the bonus 15 crystals each day (in the past, I was able to do Cairos Dungeons that I can easily access). I contacted support, and they pretty much told me I'm screwed out of those extra crystals until I clear R3 of the Rift Raids. My Mons are no where near that point. I have choice words and thoughts about the whole situation, none of them good. =/

I think today is an emoticon kind of day! =P

Anyway, aside from that bit of drama, I've been hard at work on my Water/Light/Dark account. I 6-Starred both Hwadam, the Light Taoist, and Gina, the Dark Mystic Witch as planned. It took me a bit to figure out Hwadam's mechanism, but he's pretty awesome in the right situations, especially in Arena defense. And I love Gina's AE that summons thorns (speaking of thorns, I did finish the major revision of Thorns Entwine the Blade -- onto the consistency edit).

Along with 5-Starring a bunch of other Mons, I also happened to 6-Star yet another Mon. Lyn, the Light Amazon! She's pretty awesome, and I moved her to the top of my priority list once I summoned her. Great as part of my Giants team, and I think she's what helped me finally get past Giants B10 on this account.

I've also decided I've ignored most of my other Water Mons too much, so it's about time I give them some love and care! This means, my goals for the next couple months will be to work on a select few. Right now, the top two are my Water sisters. These Mons work together to take out the bad guys.<3

As you can see, I just recently 6-Starred Talia, the Water Chakrum Dancer. She still needs a bit of leveling, of course. Conveniently, I already have her fully skilled up! I'd intended to 6-Star her a long time ago, but got sidetracked with other Mons. Her sister, Sabrina, the Water Boomerang Warrior, still needs several skill-ups and 6-Starring. She's next up. =D

After I tend to those two, it's time for Sigmarus, the Water Phoenix. Like Veromos, I needed to fuse this pretty birdy, and I finally convinced myself to do it. Hubbie thinks he's useful in Giants B10. So, he'll get the 6-Star treatment after the sisters.

We'll see what else I have time for before my next post! Oh, and I'll leave you with one more pic. I may not have summoned a Nat 5 Light/Dark Mon yet, but during an event, everyone had the chance to earn a new Dark Nat 5, the Vampire Lord Eirgar. I mean, he's nifty looking, isn't he? I've already 6-Starred him on another account. When should I 6-Star him on my Water/Light/Dark account, though? Too many Mons! o.O

Summoners War - New Toys

Wow, it's nearly been three months since my last Summoners War post!

As mentioned in my last post, I took the time to 5-Star many of my 4-Star (and some 3-Star) Mons on my Water/Light/Dark account. There's still plenty I want to 5-Star soon, but I now at least have a couple more good teams to run Tartarus Labyrinth, which is a fun (in my opinion -- some people hate it) option for guilds. This week we opened up all three mini-bosses and Tartarus himself in less than three days. Now we just have to beat them all down!

OK, I have to admit, I wasn't just 5-Starring Mons. Because... I pulled some awesome Nat 5-Stars that I needed to 6-Star! I definitely got lucky, since both Mons were Water and I can use them.

First, I got Verad. He was one of two options I had to choose from since my 5-Star Blessing still hadn't been used. I think my other option was also a Water Mon, but I hands down chose Verad. He's the dragon I've wanted for a while on any of my accounts, though I'd gotten the Fire and Wind one on my main account previously. Look at that pretty dragon roar. I'm already feeding him devilmon to skill him up, and I love him so much. He's a beast.

Not even a week later (I had a rather great string of luck in the span of two weeks on three of my accounts, after a super long dry spell), low and behold I randomly pull another Nat 5. No Blessing this time, but luckily it was another Water: Lightning Emperor, Bolverk! This is a newer Mon, so I was also pleased to get him. I've already 6-Starred him as well, but as you can see, I'm still in the process of getting him to level 40. He'll be next up for the devilmon after Verad. He has a rather interesting mechanism with gaining Knowledge from buffs and then performing a kind of hitpoint tap with his big skill. I love the graphics of the skill, too.

Oh, and I also finished my fusion for the Dark Ifrit, Veromos, plus I 6-Starred him, too! Man, I've been busy on that account. I don't even know how many other Mons I 5-Starred. Lost track!

Aside from Nat 5 luck, I also managed to get my first Light/Dark lightning on this account. I pulled the Nat 4 Light Taoist (or Stick Boy, as the YouTuber Jewbagel calls them often), Hwadam. He's the next Light Mon I'm working on, currently building things up so I can 6-Star him. Also, he's nice and easy to skill up, since the Fire Stick Boys are only 3-Star Mons. I'd been saving a bunch for my Water Sticky Boy, but they all went to Hwadam once I summoned him.

I'm also hoping I'll have the time to 6-Star at least one Dark Mon before my next post. Here's Gina, the Dark Mystic Witch. I love how the Mystic Witches look, and I wanted to work on her right away when I summoned her, but clearly, as seen above, several other Mons got in the way of that.

This month is also pretty exciting in Summoners War. It's the 5th anniversary of the game, and they've started a pretty awesome event. So, by the end of the month, I might have three more Light/Dark scrolls to possibly get some more Mons to add to my list to work on. Here's hoping for my first Light/Dark Nat 5 ever! (The odds of pulling one of these is 1 in 300 -- never got one on a single account yet.)

Summoners War - Look At The Pretties

Yes, I'm still playing Summoners War (and juggling too many accounts). Before I dive into my Water/Light/Dark account, I wanted to show everyone a pretty from one of my other accounts. I recently gathered enough bits to transmogrify someone, and I decided to apply it to Shaina. She's a pretty awesome Mon -- 4-Star Chakram Dancer, but many believe she should be a 5-Star. She especially kicks ass if you pair her with one of her Boomerang Warrior sisters.

Onto the Water/Light/Dark account, and my poll from the last Summoners War post. It was a tie vote between the Dark Grim Reaper, Thrain, and the Light Living Armor, Silver. So... instead of choosing, I worked on both! Yup, both Mons have been 6-Starred. A lot of work, but I managed to do it and max their levels out as well (skills, not so much -- Thrain is fully skilled, but Silver needs a few more skill-ups).

I worked on Thrain first. He's a bit squishy, unfortunately. But when he does survive, it's fun watching him rain down purple balls of death onto mobs. He's especially fun in Secret Dungeons -- he wipes out the early levels easy peasy.

I thought Silver was going to be more fun than he turned out to be. Right now, he doesn't do much damage, and he also seems squishier than he should be (not as squishy as Thrain, though). That might be due to my crappy runes, of course, but I'm still kind of meh over him. Maybe once he's fully skilled and has decent runes I'll have a better opinion of him.

Overall, Shaffron the Light Imp Champion is still my favorite (and Fran the Light Fairy Queen is a close second) of the Light/Dark Mons I've built so far. He is a wicked little Mon and can hold his own pretty well. They recently buffed him, which made him even better. I can't wait until I get enough bits to transmogrify him -- he's first on my list!

As for my goals for the next couple of months, I'm going to take a small break from 6-Starring Mons (even though I have gotten a few new Light/Dark Mons to work on -- including Light Penguin Knight and Dark Mystic Witch). I'm focusing on 5-Starring a few Waters to help more in Tartarus Labyrinth, plus I really need to finish my fusion of the Dark Ifrit, Veromos. Hopefully my next post will include a picture of him and a couple of the Mons that I desperately wanted to 5-Star and kept putting off for all of the 6-Starring.

I did promise one more thing, didn't I? That when I awakened my Water Druid I'd post pictures. You want to see them? He's so wicked cool! Even in his beast form. Happy farming, all!

Summoners War - Which Mon Is Next?

It's another Summoners War post - yay! (Unless you were hoping I wouldn't post anything else about this wretched game...).

After a couple months, my Water/Light/Dark account is coming along nicely. Slow but sure. As mentioned in my last post, I focused on working on my Light Imp Champion. There he is below - Shaffron, all Awakened and max level at 40. I'm still building his skills up, though, as I haven't gotten many extra Imp Champions to feed to him. Still, I'm pretty pleased with his stabbing game. ;) He can hold his own in a battle as well as pack a wallop.

I didn't just work on Shaffron. There was a special event that allowed us to get the Light Fairy Queen, and she is hands down one of the best healers in the game. Look at my cute little Fran. She's a prefect companion for Shaffron, too, and I don't regret quickly taking her to level 40. She's also max skills, since getting a hold of other fairies is pretty easy.

Now, I had mentioned I might post a pretty and shiny Mon from one of my other accounts now and then, but it just so happens I got a really nice one on the Water/Light/Dark account. Look at the Druid! And I was so lucky he turned out to be the Water one (since I would have had to shove a Wind or Fire one in storage). He's not Awakened yet, but when he is he has the option to turn into a wolf - pretty awesome. I'll make sure to include Awakened pics next Summoners War post. Currently, he's the next up for me to get to level 40.

I was super lucky to pull that 5-Star Druid, but I also feel pretty lucky with the Light and Dark Mons that I've summoned lately. So many interesting ones that I want to work on, that I can't decide which one I should focus on next (well, after I tend to that Druid, of course)!

So, I need everyone's help. Which Mon should I work on next? I'll list the options below. You can either comment on this post or vote using the simple Google Form (if you'd like to stay anonymous, this is the best choice): Which Mon Is Next?

I can't wait to see what everyone suggests! Happy hunting!

Eludain, Light Inferno

Groggo, Light Golem

Shren, Light High Elemental

Karakum, Dark Mummy

Driller, Light Frankenstein

Silver, Light Living Armor

Thrain, Dark Grim Reaper

Current Game Obsession - Summoners War

I know I've mentioned Summoners War at least once in a previous post. I've been playing the game for a few months now, only as a free-to-play player. Actually Hubbie and I played it a bit a couple years ago and stopped due to some annoyances and slow devices at the time. When we tried it again recently, we reset our accounts and started fresh.

Then we added a second account each...

See, we have this blind box itch that we need to scratch and Summoners War helps with that (free, no less, since we haven't spent a single cent on the game).

And we may have just each started a third account this past weekend. Oops.

Am I crazy? Maybe. Have a lot of our other games been neglected? Oh, yes.

The thing is, though, it's harder to play things like Everquest and console games when you have kids (we still do play Everquest, and we will likely until we see the game's sunset, just no where near as frequently as we used to before kids -- I promise another Adventures of Karriya entry soon... TM). However, Summoners War is one of those games where you can easily put it down or pause when you have squawking little interruptions. Heh.

It's also a game where you don't really need to put a lot of thought into it if you don't want to. Battles are pretty repetitive and you can put them on Auto. I know this sounds insanely annoying for some people, but when you're trying to unwind after a day of the squawking, sometimes using as few brain cells as possible is a good thing. There are also so many Monsters (Mons) you can obtain in the game, so it kicks in my "Completionist" gene, so I of course want to max level every Mon I can get my hands on (this is easier said than done because there are also Star Levels and every time you move a Mon up a Star Level, you need to level it again).

Finally, what really pulls me in is the art. It's all so pretty. <3 That's my Hwa up top -- she's transmorgified (kind of like a costume) into Night Stalker Hwa. I must collect all the pretties! Which is tough and even tougher if you're not paying. Even though I haven't spent any money, I've gotten some pretty nice Mons.

With so many Mons, though, I've found myself neglecting a certain subset that I wanted to experiment with. There are five elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Light, and Dark. The first three are pretty easy to come by, the last two not so much (at least not the higher natural 4 and 5 Star Mons, and even many 3s). I wanted to fiddle with the Light and Dark Mons, which is why I made the third account.

Now, it's nearly impossible on a baby account to only play Light and Dark, even though in the progression the game gives you two Light Mons. So, I decided I'd add in one more element -- Water (since your first freebie progression Mon that kicks ass is Water). I also used a couple from the other elements I needed to get past a some steps in quest progression. Otherwise, I've given myself the challenge to use only Light, Dark, and Water Mons. This isn't going to be easy!

Luckily, I summoned a pretty 4 Star Water a couple days ago -- super lucky for an account that's only four days old as of this post! See the handsome Water Sylph? (Action shot!)

I wanted my first Light/Dark scroll, though, so I plowed through a certain scenario to obtain one, and had to fight this cool dragon at the end. Again, awesome art!

And... I summoned a 3 Star Light Imp Champion. He's a Defense Mon. So, he's officially the first summoned Mon (one you can only get from summoning from those rarely found Light/Dark scrolls -- maybe two per month, three if you're lucky with finding scroll bits to buy) that I'll be experimenting with. I have a few Lights and Darks that I got from secret dungeons as well, but I won't regale everyone with those for now.

I may make this into a blog post series, though. At least as I go through and experiment with things on my third account. Maybe I'll even post some of the pretties from my first and second accounts. Got to love the eye candy! Should I come back in a month to tell everyone how I liked using the Light Imp Champion? Or am I boring you all to tears? Lol.

Searching for Steampunk in Boneshaker

SPOILER ALERT! If you have not read Boneshaker there are spoilers in this essay.


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The most interesting things for me in Boneshaker by Cherie Priest were the steampunk elements. Once we ventured into Dr. Minnericht's underground, I was fascinated. So, I thought it would be fun to examine what makes Boneshaker steampunk. I utilized the article "Steampunk: A List of Themes" as a starting point. It's a long list, and Boneshaker includes many of the ideas listed.

First and foremost, Boneshaker takes place in an alternate universe, as it's an alternate history. The American Civil War, or the War Between the States, is raging and Washington still hasn't become a state. The thing is, the war has been going on for 15 years. In our timeline, the war only lasted for about 4 years. At one point in the book it mentions a certain Confederate General not dying during a battle he dies in in our timeline, and that the English came to help the south, which is what likely stretched the war out longer.

Zeppelins and sky pirates are also often found in steampunk, and Boneshaker doesn't disappoint in this area. Briar needs to ask the help of sky pirates to get into the walled up city to rescue her son, Zeke. We even have a rollicking scene between two balloons fighting it out because one was stolen (again, as the captain it was stolen from originally stole it from the Confederate army). "'Some miserable goddamned son of a bitch thief flew off with the Free Crow!...The only warship ever successfully stolen from either side, and someone had the temerity to steal it from me!" (Priest 392-393).

The world in Boneshaker is also a dystopia. Aside from the war continuing on, Seattle has been walled up, due to a Blight being released from underground--a gas that causes death or zombification, what the people in the story call Rotters. These Rotters are monsters, yet another element sometimes found in steampunk.

But we can't forget what released the Blight gas in the first place, and one of the bigger things people think of when steampunk is mentioned--the Boneshaker, a huge machine was created by Leviticus Blue, Briar's husband. It burrowed deep under Seattle 15 years ago, releasing the Blight on the city. "Its grinding drills--each one the size of a pony--had twirled and twisted around everything near them; Briar remembered thinking of giant forks twirling at a bowl of spaghetti. And although rust had taken the biting edges off the grooved, bladed drills, they still looked nastier than a devil's dream" (Priest 403). Briar even comes across some of Levi's other old machines near the end of the novel.

Big machines, though, aren't the only gadgets prominent in steampunk. Smaller things, like Lucy's mechanical arm also permeate this sub-genre. "She flexed her fingers, and the knuckles popped with a tiny clack. 'The whole thing's mechanical. It gives me a little leak every so often'" (Priest 189). There is also Jeremiah's Daisy, which uses static electricity to charge up and releases a loud noise to down the Rotters for a few minutes. Near the end we're also introduced to the destructiveness of the Sonic Gusting Gun.

Of course we have to have a mad scientist to create these things, and Dr. Minnericht fits that role perfectly. He has a bit of an obsession with lights, which is only one example of how crazy he is. "Lamps of all shapes and sizes blazed around the room on pillars and poles. They were strapped to the walls and to each other, and bundled into groups. Some functioned with an obvious power source, and their lemony flames cast a traditional glow; but others broadcast beams made of stranger stuff. Here and there a lamp burned blue and white, or created a greenish halo" (Priest 304). He attempts to convince the inhabitants of Seattle that he's Leviticus Blue, another mad scientist from Briar's account, but Briar knows otherwise.

Even some small things are examples found in steampunk. Briar's goggles, the lenses acting like a magnifying glass to see the Blight, her corset-like top, as well as the detail of the oriental rugs and the velvet couch when Briar finally enters her old home after 15 years have passed. Even Dr. Minnericht's watch exemplifies the small intricacies and details that show up in this sub-genre. The Blight itself is used to make a type of drug, bringing in the chemistry side of things.

These are some of the main elements found in Boneshaker that can be considered steampunk. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and if you look closely, you can see other themes and tidbits that tend to show up often in steampunk. It's an interesting genre, and I hope I find the time to explore it more thoroughly one day.


WORKS CITED

EvilEgg. "Steampunk: A List of Themes." Writing.com. 2007. Web.

Priest, Cherie. Boneshaker. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2009.


NEXT UP: A closer look at steampunk!

Snow...Or Is That Really A Monster?

SPOILER ALERT! If you have not read Snow there are spoilers in this essay.

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As I read Snow, I found myself instantly pulled in--there was excellent character development and great description of the monsters. Unfortunately, about halfway through, I grew disappointed. There were several parts of the second half that just didn't work for me, especially the epilogue.

Malfi does a nice job using the prologue at the beginning to pull the reader in, to let us know that something is going on in the town of Woodson. This prologue allows chapter one to start more slowly and interweave character development as well as get our protagonist heading toward the town. The set-up here, with describing the men taken over by the monsters, also leads the reader to a knowing moment when Todd, Kate, Nan, and Fred come across Eddie wandering alone in the snow. "A man in a black- and red-checkered coat and high boots, mid-forties, bearded, pale--" (32). That last word, pale, sent bells off in my head, knowing that Eddie is no longer truly human, a perfect echo from the prologue. And that suspicion is confirmed when they find Eddie's "missing" daughter, Emily--the girl has no face. I thought that was wonderfully done.

The character development in this novel is also well done. Todd is our main protagonist, and at the beginning he is trying to reach his son for Christmas. He doesn't want to let his son down again, like he's done so many times in the past. This makes him a sympathetic character. Even his flaws--the gambling, mainly--cause his character to come to life. So we're rooting for him the entire time he's faced with the monsters.

Speaking of the monsters, I thought they were wonderfully described and fleshed out. "Like a puzzle piece sliding out of position, a section of snow seemed to unhinge itself from the rest, a compact little vacuum of white filaments sliding into the wind" (100). The characters never know if what's covering the ground is real snow or the monsters themselves. And, of course, these snow monsters can burrow into human beings, and after killing the host, use the corpses as puppets. They are also able to pull from the person's memories and experiences. Another great, creepy monster.

The scene where things started to unravel for me is where Shawna, the point-of-view character from the prologue, meets her demise. She holes up in the basement of a house for the night, her leg wound worse from recent incidents, and in the morning wakes to find the human puppets of the monsters clogging the upstairs. There is nothing peaceful about her death--she is overrun and devoured, with no one around to help. Now, I'm all for the monsters picking off characters one by one, but this death left me feeling empty. I really think that may be because I was hoping she would be made into a puppet and Todd and Kate would have to face her before the end of the book. Shawna's death scene is the last we see of her.

Nearing the end of Snow, disappointed with no reappearance of Shawna, many incongruities showed up, in my opinion. There's a scene where Kate takes a hammer to this slug-like thing. What the hell is that about? Is it the snow monster's form when it's not in the cold? If so, that needed to be established either earlier in the book or followed up before the end.

Todd is supposed to be the hero of the book. He finally contacts help outside the town. This act doesn't make him a hero, though, since the help doesn't reach them until the monsters have already left. Bruce, a minor character and the true hero, blows up a gas station, killing himself in the process, to kill many of the snow monsters. After this, the monsters decide it's too much of a hassle, funnel back up into some portal in the sky, and vanish. We find out later this happened in several small towns in the Midwest. Why exactly did they all leave, across the many towns, at the same time? It seemed weird that an explosion in one town would cause the monsters to leave all the towns. And why exactly weren't they slowly spreading to neighboring towns if they were there to feed? Once they ran out of humans to eat in Woodson (true there were a few people left in hiding, but not many), why didn't they move to the closest town over to find more food?

I also would have liked to see Kate give Todd that dollar she owed him at the end of the novel. Even though, I felt like through the whole novel, he had learned his lesson with gambling, yet in the end he gambles whether they will be able to reach help or not. That wonderful characterization at the beginning tasted a bit stale when Todd bet Kate that buck.

And finally, the epilogue ruined it for me. Eddie and his supposed daughter, whom I mentioned before, are seen driving across the country in a truck. It's that "they're still out there" moment, which I could have done without because it made me wonder why Eddie and Emily are so different that they weren't sucked back up through the portal like all the rest. And what is up with the band-aids?

So, yes, I felt Snow had a good start with a great set-up, a wonderful monster, and nice characterization. As you can see from my endless string of questions in a couple paragraphs above, though, the end left me feeling like everything wasn't thought out well enough. There were too many inconsistencies that pulled me out of the world and shook my suspension of disbelief.


Works Cited

Malfi, Ronald. Snow. New York: Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc., 2010.