Where Echoes Die

Your gentle voice I hear. Your words echo inside me. You said you long for me and that you love me. And I want to see you too. Feels just like I’m falling. Is there nothing I can do? Wonder if you hear my calling. I’m here and waiting for you. Where are you, I can’t find you? I’m here and waiting for you. I’ll wait forever for you. Mom’s gone to heaven now. Why won’t she come back down? Does she have someone she loves more than me? I thought I could love you better. We were always together. If we took some time apart, you would finally know my heart. Let’s travel Where Echoes Die, by Courtney Gould.

Synopsis:

Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She finds herself unable to stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, clamoring for a time when things were normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother’s handwriting arrives in the mail with the words Come and find me, pointing to a town called Backravel, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.

But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona it’s clear that there’s something off about the town. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by the town’s gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and the only people who seem to know more than they’re letting on is the town’s enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery.

As the sisters search for answers about their mother, Beck and Avery become more drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has buried since her mother’s death. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, and when she starts losing herself in Backravel and its connection to her mother, will there be a way for Beck to pull herself out?

In her sophomore novel Courtney Gould draws readers into the haunting town of Backravel and explores grief, the weight of not letting go of the past, first love, and the bonds between sisters, mothers and daughters.

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

Where Echoes Die begins with our protagonist, Beck, receiving a letter that seems to have come from her deceased mother. It summons her to the town of Backravel, a town that her mother visited many times before her death, working on an investigative journalism piece that she never did end up publishing. Beck and her young sister arrive to find a bizarre isolated community: one with no churches and no graveyards, with a populace who suffer constant lapses of memory, and with a treatment center that offers a mysterious miracle cure for every ailment. Beck came to Backravel to find answers about her mother, but the question soon becomes whether she will be able to escape the town’s pull or become trapped forever in its strange timeless limbo.

This book does a very good job of developing its characters and their relationships to one another; I was instantly invested in Beck and Riley relationship and the strain that was being put on it by Beck’s continued grieving for their mother clashing with Riley looking forward to living with their father. The setting is also very strong, creating a powerful sense of uncanniness around the town of Backravel and the people who live there. My main problem with the book, then, is the pacing. While being atmospheric is good, I also like it when things happen, and it takes a very long time from Beck and Riley arriving in Backravel to the big climax, during which not very much actually seems to occur. There’s only so many times you can milk drama from the townspeople behaving strangely again today, just like they did yesterday, and the day before, and so on and so forth.

Fortunately, when the climax does finally come, it is very emotionally powerful and made it worthwhile to have stuck it out to that point. Thus, while it sags in the middle, I do think Where Echoes Die is good overall.

Final Rating: 3/5

Otherland #3: Mountain of Black Glass

You have taken the east from me, you have taken the west from me, you have taken what is before me and what is behind me; you have taken the moon, you have taken the sun from me, and my fear is great you have taken God from me. Let’s climb Mountain of Black Glass, by Tad Williams.

Synopsis:

Mountain of Black Glass is the third volume of Tad Williams’ highly acclaimed four-book series, Otherland. A truly unique reading experience combining elements of science fiction,fantasy, and techno-thriller, it is a rich epic tale in which virtual reality could prove the key to a whole new universe of possibilities for the entire human race–or become the exclusive domain of the rich and the ruthless as they seek a technological pathway to immortality….

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

The Otherland saga continues in its third volume. In the virtual network, our protagonists are scattered across various sims: Paul Jonas is in ancient Greece, making his way across the sea by raft; Orlando Gardner and Sam Fredericks are in ancient Egypt, which is in chaos due to Upaut launching a rebellion against Tefy and Mewat in Osiris’s absence; and Renie and the rest are pursuing Dread, who stole from them the portal opening lighter that they stole from Azador who in turn stole it from Yacobian. Meanwhile, in the real world, way too many different characters are pursuing way too many different sideplots. Sellars, Christabel, and Cho-cho are trying to escape the military police, Catur somehow ends up serving as lawyer for Christabel’s father, Calliope is still investigating that cold case murder, Olga sets off on some sort of pilgrimage, Joseph sneaks out of the bunker to check on Stephen, um… Jeremiah and Dulcie both exist… um… anyone else? Am I forgetting anyone? Probably.

But hey, looking on the bright side, this book does do some things well. Like the previous one, it opens with a recap of the preceding books, which is very helpful for keeping track of all the numerous characters and events. We get a satisfying explanation for what was up with Florimel, which was something I wanted after the previous book used her as a red herring for Dread’s disguise. Renie’s group’s battle against Dread in the house world is a pretty great fight scene.

Most importantly, this book has an appropriately cliffhanger-y ending. In a well-structured trilogy, the second book should be the darkest moment, the villains seeming triumphant. And yes, this is the third book of a quadrilogy rather than the second book of a trilogy; but if you look at the overall plot as a three-act structure, it’s clear that books 2 and 3 together comprise the second act, which is probably why the previous one felt so padded. Here, though, we get the proper second act ending, with the villain ascendant and the protagonists in peril. Dread has seized control of the Otherland network, Orlando is dead and something strange but presumably bad has happened to Paul, Christabel and her father have been caught by the military police while her mother, Sellars, and Cho-cho flee without them, and a squad of mercenaries is assaulting the bunker where Renie and !Xabbu’s bodies are plugged in, with only Jeremiah and Joseph to protect them. In other words, everything’s set for the final act.

Mountain of Black Glass is another decent entry in the Otherland series.

Final Rating: 3/5

Rivers of London #C4: Detective Stories

Peek in, sneak about, I’m gonna snoop and call you out. I caught you, your hands are red, now I’m your broken hearted detective. Let’s investigate Detective Stories, by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel with art by Lee Sullivan.

Synopsis:

Four self-contained magical crimes, ripped from the streets of supernatural London.

From the million-selling Rivers of London novel and graphic novel series by writer Ben Aaronovitch comes this unmissable next chapter in the saga, as PC Peter Grant faces his gruelling Detective exam, forcing him to relive the strangest cases of his career!

From foling an aspiring god to confronting a Virtual Flasher, Peter’s police history has been anything but conventional; whether that’s chasing down ‘Falcon’ crimes with the aid of modern technology, or confronting timeless villainy with his magical skill-set. Does Peter have what it takes… or will DI Chopra judge him unsuitable for a badge?

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

Detective Stories is the fourth Rivers of London comic, set between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping. Using the framing story of Peter taking his detective exam, it has him recount a number of short tales about previous cases he solved. In one, a hedge wizard sacrificed a goat by setting it on fire with magic; but it turned out he didn’t know how to use magic safely and died of a brain bleed shortly afterwards. Can’t arrest a corpse, so that was the end of that case. In another, someone broke into a museum to add a painting to their collection. Peter found the guy; but since reverse-theft is not an actual crime, there was nothing to prosecute him for, and that was the end of that. In the third, he and Lesley caught a flasher. That one didn’t even involve any magic.

So, this collection felt incredibly underwhelming. All of the cases had low stakes and anticlimactic resolutions. The synopsis tries to hype it up as “foiling an aspiring god”, but come on: that guy blew his own brain showboating with his fire magic on a goat. He was already dead by the time Peter learned about the case; there was nothing to foil.

Detective Stories is the first Rivers of London story that I consider to be a disappointment.

Final Rating: 2/5

We Don’t Swim Here

Follow me into the sea., we’ll see a fish or two. We’ll see the seaweed waving back and forth at us. You and I, we’ll swim into the dark until our bodies implode and our heart stop beating together. Let’s dive into We Don’t Swim Here, by Vincent Tirado.

Synopsis:

She is the reason no one goes in the water. And she will make them pay. A chilling new novel for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson, Lamar Giles, and Ryan Douglass

From the author of BURN DOWN, RISE UP comes a chilling novel told through alternating voices that follows two cousins as they unravel their town’s sinister past, their family’s complicated history, and the terrifying spirit that holds their future captive.

Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they’re all meant to make some final memories together.

Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmother is dying, everyone is standoffish, and she can’t even go swimming. All she hears are warnings about going in the water, despite a gorgeous lake. And a pool at the abandoned rec center. And another in the high school basement.

Anais tries her hardest to protect Bronwyn from the shadows of Hillwoods. She follows her own rituals to avoid any unnecessary attention—and if she can just get Bronwyn to stop asking questions, she can protect her too. The less Bronwyn pays attention to Hillwoods, the less Hillwoods will pay attention to Bronwyn. She doesn’t get that the lore is, well, truth. History. Pain. The living aren’t the only ones who seek retribution when they’re wronged. But when Bronwyn does more exploring than she should, they are both in for danger they couldn’t expect.

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

When Bronwyn’s grandmother goes into hospice care, she and her parents move back to their hometown of Hillwoods. However, it turns out to be heavily haunted and full of curses. All of the residents must follow strict regulations and perform certain bizarre rituals or else supernatural harm will befall them. Bronwyn’s arrival coincides with the reawakening of one of the town’s most dangerous powers, a deadly spirit called Sweetie who is believed to haunt the town’s lake. Her infrequent awakenings always end in deaths. Bronwyn and her cousin Anais have to work together to discover the truth behind Sweetie’s past and how to lay her spirit to rest before she claims further victims.

This was a fairly solid book. On the whole, I think I ended up enjoying it more than the previous book I read from the same author, Burn Down, Rise Up. While that book was grounded in the real-life history of New York, this one taking place in a fictional town allows for a much eerier setting, one full of ghosts and curses and rituals that aren’t compatible with a mundane location like New York. The POV alternating between Bronwyn and Anais also lets us see the town from two sides – the outsider who wants to pry into its mysteries, and the insider who knows just how dangerous that is and would like to keep her in the relative safety of ignorance – which is a good way of exploring it.

On the whole, We Don’t Swim Here was a pretty decent book.

Final Rating: 3/5

Have You Eaten Grandma?

Little Red Riding Hood, even bad wolves can be good. I’ll try to be satisfied just to walk close by your side. Maybe you’ll see things my way before we get to grandma’s place. Let’s dine on Have You Eaten Grandma? by Gyles Brandreth.

Synopsis:

It can be much harder than it seems; commas, colons, semi-colons, and even apostrophes can drive us all mad at times, but it riles no one more than the longest-serving resident of Countdown’s Dictionary Corner, grammar guru Gyles Brandreth.

In this brilliantly funny tirade on grammar, Brandreth anatomizes the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us where we’ve been going wrong (and why) and shows us how, in the future, we can get it right every time. Is ‘alright’ all right? You’ll find out right here. From dangling clauses to gerunds, you’ll also discover why Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

In Have You Eaten Grandma?, he waxes lyrical about the importance of language as, after all, it is what we use to define ourselves and is ultimately what makes us human.

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

Since I enjoyed Eats, Shoots & Leaves, a humorous book about English grammar by Lynne Truss, I figured it might also be worth checking out a more recent book which sounded pretty similar. And yeah: turns out it was. It provided a thorough explanation of proper punctuation and good grammar, with a healthy dose of humor on top to help the medicine go down. A few parts felt like they went on a little too long with not enough jokes to liven them up, particular when there would be long lists of, for instances, differences in American and British English that would keep going on for pages and pages without any added commentary; but on the whole, I found it both informative and enjoyable.

…That’s pretty much it. Short review, I know, but that often happens when I review nonfiction. Normally I’d have a paragraph talking about a book’s setting, plot, and characters, but none of that is relevant here. So, yeah. Have You Eaten Grandma? gets my approval and recommendation.

Final Rating: 4/5

Skulduggery Pleasant #7: Kingdom of the Wicked

The world today is such a wicked thing, fighting going on between the human race. People got to work just to earn their bread, while people just across the sea are counting the dead. Let’s rule Kingdom of the Wicked, by Derek Landy.

Synopsis:

The seventh installment in the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe – and the follow-up to 2011’s number-one bestseller, Death Bringer…

Magic is a disease.

Across the land, normal people are suddenly developing wild and unstable powers. Infected by a rare strain of magic, they are unwittingly endangering their own lives and the lives of the people around them. Terrified and confused, their only hope lies with the Sanctuary. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are needed now more than ever.

And then there’s the small matter of Kitana. A normal teenage girl who, along with her normal teenage friends, becomes infected. Becomes powerful. Becomes corrupted. Wielding the magic of gods, they’re set to tear the city apart unless someone stands up against them.

Looks like it’s going to be another one of those days…

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

In the seventh Skulduggery Pleasant book, a sorcerer called Argeddion is handing out magic powers to mortals, resulting in a plague of incidents – mostly caused by well-meaning people given abilities they don’t know how to control, but also a few caused by twisted psychopaths given the strength to murder indiscriminately. While trying to track down Argeddion, Valkyrie starts bouncing back and forth between her world and an alternate dimension, one where Mevolent won the war and now rules the world with an iron fist. It’s not a pleasant place to visit, but it does offer an opportunity for her to get her hands on that world’s version of the Scepter of the Ancients. Not being able to control her comings or goings to that world make planning a heist a little tricky, but Valkyrie’s not gonna let that stop her.

So, for most of this book, I was greatly enjoying it and was planning on rating it as one of the best in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. The final few chapters, however, had a few moments that soured my mood a little. First, there was the bit where Argeddion waves his hand to resurrect Kitana, Doran, and Sean from death. That’s kind of a major setting-altering power to just casually be tossing out there. Has some pretty big implications on the stakes, you know what I mean? Given that many of the characters in the story have lost loved ones, you’d expect a few of them to have a few questions about how Argeddion was able to do that, what the limitations are with regards to time elapsed since death and state of the corpse and such, and how they might go about learning to do it themselves. Are we just not gonna talk about the implications of this? And why break the universe in such a major way for these randos when far more consequential characters have died and stayed dead?

Second, there’s Vaurien Scapegrace’s continuing plotline. A one-note joke character to begin with, he has long since worn out his welcome and become a shambling blight on the story, somehow becoming even more tiresome and unfunny with each appearance. How much longer are we gonna be expected to put up with him? Because each time an actual interesting, dynamic character with a developed personality and potential remaining storytelling possibilities gets killed off, I find myself ever more pissed that we’ve lost them and yet Vaurien remains.

Which brings me to the third and final point, the epilogue where Stephanie’s reflection kills Carol. I liked both characters, and thought both had ample room for further development, so I’m disappointed to see one die and the other become a villain. What kind of series decides it’s done all it can with Carol, but we really need a bit more Vaurien?

Kingdom of the Wicked wasn’t bad. In fact, up until the final few chapters, it was excellent. The missteps it makes in its final moments don’t negate the quality of all that came beforehand, but such a severe series of stumbles at the finish line do mean that I can’t call it one of the very best in the series.

Final Rating: 4/5

Flandry #3: The Rebel Worlds

When the crowd goes one way, I go the other. When the battle rages, I won’t back down. The gates of hell are gonna shake and tremble. If a rebel’s what it takes, a rebel’s what I’ll be. Let’s oppress The Rebel Worlds, by Poul Anderson.

Synopsis:

The barbarians in their long ships waiting at the edge of the Galaxy…

…waited for the ancient Terran Empire to fall, while two struggled to save it: ex-Admiral McCormac, forced to rebel against a corrupt Emperor, and Starship Commander Flandry, the brilliant young officer who served the Imperium even as he scorned it.

Trapped between them was the woman they both loved, but couldn’t share: the beautiful Kathryn – whose single word could decide the fate of a billion suns.

Source: Goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2150676.The_Rebel_Worlds]

SPOILERS BELOW

The third book of the Flandry series sees Snelund, a particularly corrupt sector governor, abusing his position to replace officials with his cronies, lay ruinous taxes, enslave citizens and sell them to barbarians outside the Empire, and imprison dissidents. When he has Fleet Admiral McCormac imprisoned on nebulous charges so that he can rape McCormac’s wife, the remaining loyal men have had enough: they break McCormac out of prison and raise a rebellion against the governor. Terra thus dispatches its top agent, Dominic Flandry… to assist Snelund against McCormac. Because Snelund was personally appointed by the Emperor, and so rebellion against him is rebellion against the Empire, and so McCormac must be crushed lest he inspire others to rebel and bring the Empire down. Which would be a bad thing, because then human space would be taken over by alien barbarians, who would presumably do stuff like replace human officials with their own cronies, lay ruinous taxes, enslave citizens, imprison dissidents… um, wait a moment here…

So, the previous Flandry books had some grey morality, but this one felt a bit over the line. The series wants us to be invested in Flandry’s fight to preserve the Empire and hold off the Long Night, but this story makes me seriously question whether the Empire is worth preserving. This is exactly the kind of incident which, in another series, would result in the protagonist changing sides, and I find it disturbing that the narrative expects me to root for Flandry and against McCormac.

The Rebel Worlds is a misstep for the Flandry series, one that has damaged my investment in the overall presence and which subsequent books will have to work extra hard to make up for.

Final Rating: 2/5

Rivers of London #C3: Black Mould

Take your time, what a waste of life, I love how your mind rots away. Looks a lot like mold could be in the walls, curled up in a hole, it rots away. Let’s scrub at Black Mould, by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel with art by Lee Sullivan.

Synopsis:

TAKING NO SHIITAKE!

From the million-selling River of London novel and graphic novel series by cult writer Ben Aaronovitch comes an all-new tale of supernatural suspense and good-old-fashioned London policing!

Peter Grant is a cop and part-time wizard investigating London’s ‘Falcon’ crimes–those that are outside the realms of normal criminal investigations–and more into the realms of trolls under bridges, cursed crime scenes, and the ghosts of monsters past.

Peter never saw himself in pest control–but that’s exactly where he finds himself when a killer, sentient, living fungus goes on a rampage of vengeance using its victims’ worst fears against them!

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

Black Mould is a Rivers of London comic set between the events of The Hanging Tree and The Furthest Station. Peter Grant and his colleague Guleed find themselves fighting an infestation of sentient black mold that feeds on magic, is able to telepathically torment people with visions of their worst fears, and can grow bodies to physically attack them. It’s up to Peter to track the foul fungal infection back to its source and put an end to it.

While the premise of this story was interesting, the ending was a bit unsatisfying. It’s one of those cases where the protagonists don’t so much take care of the problem as it takes care of itself, meaning everything still would’ve been fine even if they hadn’t gotten involved, which kind of makes you wonder why they bothered. I prefer stories where the protagonists’ actions have an impact on how things turn out.

Because Rivers of London is a very engaging series with characters I’m already invested in, I still found the story to be overall decent. Even so, however, I have to consider Black Mould to be one of the weaker entries in the series I’ve read thus far.

Final Rating: 3/5

The Black Queen

Do you mean it? Do you mean it? Do you mean it? Why don’t you mean it? Why do I follow you, and where do you go? I reign with my left hand, I rule with my right. I’m lord of all darkness, I’m queen of the night. I’ve got the power. Now, let’s do the march of The Black Queen, by Jumata Emill.

Synopsis:

Nova Albright was going to be the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High—but now she’s dead. Murdered on coronation night. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Other Black Girl will love this unputdownable thriller.

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.

Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.

No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.

Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.

But Tinsley has an agenda, too.

Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

Nova Albright is coronated as the first Black homecoming queen at a highschool in Lovett, a town where racial tensions run high. The next morning, she is discovered murdered. The prime suspect is Tinsley, the white girl who was her main rival for the position. Duchess, Nova’s best friend, is the daughter of a police officer. From snooping on his work, she knows that the police chief is railroading the investigation out of a personal vendetta and has no interest in seeing actual justice done. And Tinsley knows that, despite what everyone may believe, she’s innocent, meaning the whole rest of the town is looking in the wrong place and chasing false leads. Despite hating each other, the two are forced to team up in order to solve the crime when no one else proves willing or able.

Regular follows of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of golden age detective stories. And while The Black Queen isn’t an orthodox mystery by any means, I’m pleased to say that it does play fair: clues pointing to the culprit are present in the narrative, and the solution feels like a satisfying culmination of everything that has been building up to it. It was the best kind of culprit reveal: surprising, yet instantly making perfect sense when the relevant details were pointed out.

But though The Black Queen is effective as a mystery, what truly makes it shine are its characters. Even the most intellectually stimulating whodunnit will fall flat if the narrative is populated by boring pieces of cardboard, but this book presents one of the most compelling casts I’ve seen in a while. Duchess and Tinsley are of course the heart and soul of the narrative, but the supporting characters are extremely well done as well: Tinsley’s sister Rachel in particular has a powerfully affecting subplot.

With a compelling central mystery and engaging, well-developed characters, The Black Queen had me captivated from start to finish. I can give this book my unreserved recommendation.

Final Rating: 5/5

Burn Down, Rise Up

Till everything burns, while everyone screams, burning their lies, burning my dreams. All of this hate and all of this pain, I’ll burn it all down as my anger reigns, till everything burns. Let’s ignite Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado.

Synopsis:

Stranger Things meets Get Out in this Sapphic Horror debut from nonbinary, Afro-Latine author Vincent Tirado.

Mysterious disappearances.
An urban legend rumored to be responsible.
And one group of teens determined to save their city at any cost.

For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances.

Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York’s past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying.

Source: Goodreads

SPOILERS BELOW

Burn Down, Rise Up is the story of Raquel, a girl living the Bronx. An unusually large number of people have been going missing in the city over the past year; and when her mother falls into a coma from a mysterious ailment at the same time her friend Charlize’s cousin disappears and Raquel starts suffering nightmares which leave physical marks on her body, she starts to think that something supernatural may be responsible. To save her mother and Cisco, she and Charlize have to perform a ritual called the Echo Game, which transports them to hellish nightmare world that is a distorted reflection of the 1970’s Bronx: plagued with urban blight and arson, and inhabited by tormented ghosts and vicious monsters.

This ended up being an engaging read, which combined fantasy-horror adventure with a real life history lesson and had compelling characters to tie everything together. Though horror isn’t my favorite genre, it was balanced well enough by the other elements that I had no problem enjoying the story as a whole.

Burn Down, Rise Up is a fairly solid book.

Final Rating: 3/5