Book Review: "The Misfortune Cookie" by Laura Resnick

This is the sixth book in the Esther Diamond urban fantasy series, with an emphasis on humor and fun, rather than being dark like most of the urban fantasy out there. I've been enjoying this series since the first book and recommend it for someone looking for a light, easy break from typical urban fantasy out there.





The premise of this book: Esther's usual waitressing job is ended when the restaurant run and frequented by one of the mob families in the city is raided by none other than her on-again-off-again boyfriend Connor Lopez. Her mob friend and hitman Lucky goes into hiding in Chinatown and ends up calling Esther and Max when he suspects that one of the Chinese mobsters has been killed mysteriously . . . by a fortune cookie. Esther agrees to confront Evil once again, with Max at her side, and it has nothing--absolutely nothing!--to do with the fact that the mobster's son is making an independent film and suddenly needs a new leading lady.

As I said, I've been enjoying this series. It's light and easy to read and the characters are fun to follow around, especially when they get into the most bizarre and interesting situations. Lucky, Max, and Connor return, of course, and all of them end up playing a significant role as the plot unfolds and they start investigating the spread of these misfortune cookies. A good portion of the book is spent on the continuing relationship troubles between Esther and Connor, the main point here being that Connor has slept with Esther and yet HASN'T CALLED HER for over a week since. But Max and his magical talents are actually required in this book, and they are front and center, rather than being performed off to one side. And Lucky plays an important role in the resolution, as well as recognizing the Evil in the first place. We get the introduction of a new character with some fairly strong hints that he'll play a role in the next book. But I don't want to spoil anything here, so that's all I'll say.

I didn't rate this as highly as some of the previous books in this series because it isn't quite a strong in terms of plotline and development. I thought that far too much time was spent on the "hasn't called me yet" aspect of the relationship, but then I'm a guy, so perhaps I'm not tapping into the seriousness of this situation as much as I probably should be. But while reading, I reached the point where I said, "I get it, let's advance this part of the plot to another level, please." I also thought that the main plot regarding the fortune cookies, once it got started, kind of stalled out a little bit in the middle. For a long while, nothing happened with it, mostly because there was (initially) only the one misfortune cookie sent. However, once the second one appeared, the plot rocked from then on.

So, overall a good story and nice installment in the series. Certainly an enjoyable and fun read that doesn't discourage me at all in terms of reading the next book when it comes out. Not as strong as some of the previous books, but certainly much better than a slew of other humorous urban fantasies out there. If you haven't started this series, I suggest to start it now.

Book Review: "The Lost Fleet: Victorious" by Jack Campbell

This is the sixth and last book in the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell. As I've said on previous reviews of this series, I don't generally like military sci-fi, but this series grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. I was intrigued from the very first book and none of the books in the series let me down even a little.





The general premise of the series is that John "Black Jack" Geary, woken from a 100 year hibernation after barely making it to an escape pod as his ship was destroyed, takes control of the remnants of the Alliance's ambushed fleet and must now lead it home. They've made it back to Alliance space, with significant losses, but now he has to put an end of the war that's been raging between the Alliance and the Syndics for the past 100 years. All he has to do is take the refurbished fleet that just made it home back to the Syndic home system, where they were originally ambushed, and force the Syndics--who have almost no forces left--to agree to the terms of peace. He's got politicians on board to help with the negotiations . . . but what he hasn't counted on is the desperation of the Syndic leadership . . . and the ruthlessness of the unknown alien race that's ready to take advantage of the Syndic weakness at humanity's border.

This book was the perfect ending to this series. After the initial elation of having the fleet arrive home in the last book, this one picks up where that elation ends with the consequences of Geary's arrival home--both politically and militaristically--and what must happen next if the war is to be stopped. That alone would have been a stellar ending to the series, but this time we get an added layer of more direct alien intervention and conflict which has been lacking in previous books. The aliens were always there, but their tactics were, until recently, subtle and manipulative. Here, we finally get direct contact with the aliens, which is both satisfying and interesting. PLUS, we get a final, much needed release of relationship tension between Geary and Desjani.

All of that combines into a well-balanced, fun, and completely satisfying end to this series. The characters, who have been the real driving force behind the series anyway, all receive their just and deserving attention. The main plot threads dealing with the war with the Syndics is wrapped up nicely, with realistic consequences for Geary's flight across their worlds and the confrontations with the Syndic fleets. And we get to meet, albeit briefly, the aliens who have caused them so many problems. Of course, the books have set up a continuation of the series, because the aliens were only halted, not dealt with, and so I will definitely be reading on with the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series after this. Jack Campbell is going to have to write faster; I'm catching up fast.

A stellar series that I will recommend and suggest to everyone for years to come.