Tag Archives: Dark Jenny

Book Review: Dark Jenny

Review: Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

Recommended for fans of Arthurian legend and hard-boiled detectives.

Dark Jenny is what the Arthurian legends turns into when it’s run through the lens of Raymond Chandler. It’s a very familiar feeling story and it’s not just because of Arthur.

Eddie LaCrosse is an honest PI, I mean Sword Jockey who gets pulled into the political intrigues of the country of Grand Braun. He’s just at the court for an infidelity job, but he witnesses a murder he’s immediately accuse of. Our Sam Spade with a sword — I can’t resist the alliteration — convinces the knight in charge of the investigation that he’d be more useful interviewing suspects than being locked up.

Since one of the suspects is the queen, things quickly get out of hand and Grand Braun teeters on the edge of civil war.

This isn’t some musical Camelot. While Dark Jenny reflects the Arthurian legend, Grand Braun is a world that grew out of bloodshed and war to be united behind a charismatic warrior king. There’s court politics and gossip; there’s crosses and double-crosses; there’s horrible human nature and wonderful dreams.

This is also a hard-boiled mystery adventure. All of the clues are there if you want them, but the ride is fast enough that you can just pull down the safety bar and enjoy it. Now I just need to get Alex Bledsoe’s other books!

Highly recommended.

Incoming Books January 2015

My big stack of books gets bigger every month and I can’t stop myself. I mean, books, it’s just books. They can’t hurt me.

Right? Right?

Catwings – Ursula K. Le Guin

— Cats with wings. CATS with WINGS. Do I really need to say more?

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening – Robert Frost Illustrated by Susan Jeffers

— This is a much smaller sized version of the book I loved as a kid, but it’s got new illustrations

The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Brian Selznick

— I tried and tried to find this used, but no one wants to give up their copy! I broke down and had to have it.

The Sour Lemon Score – Richard Stark

— Yeah! Candy book! I love Donald Westlake’s Parker Series. This is #12.

Interworld – Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves

The Silver Dream – Story by: Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves, Written by: Michael Reaves & Mallory Reaves

Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets – ed. David Thomas Moore

— I love alternate Sherlock stories. 

Sparrow Hill Road – Seanan McGuire

— Bought this mostly because my father loves Seanan McGuire. I’m giving this one a read before I let him at it though.

Paper Towns – John Green

— Oh, John, how do you make me read outside of my genre? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary – Susan Elia Macneal

Who Fears Death – Nnedi Okorafor

Midnight Riot – Ben Aaronovitch

The Ladies of Grace Adieu – Susanna Clarke

— Sometimes short stories help ease me into the novels of an author. I’ve been trying to get into Strange & Norrell for years. Maybe this will help.

Land of Dreams – James P. Blaylock

— Stories from someone who’s name I vaguely recognize. 

Dawn’s Early Light – Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

— More for my father than me, but I keep meaning to read this series. Especially once I discovered that they’re local authors. 

Dark Jenny – Alex Bledsoe

Siege Perilous – Nigel Bennett & P. N. Elrod

— I read their first book together many moons ago. I never knew there was another. 

Moxyland – Lauren Beukes

— Cyberpunk, baby. 

The Sugar Queen – Sarah Addison Allen

— And this is … more of literary novel than a fantasy, I think. But, I’m going to try it anyway. 

Alif the Unseen – G. Willow Wilson

— Picked up because it’s a thriller that’s written by a Muslim woman and set in the middle east. I’m trying to broaden my reading next year.