#Wednesday Review - Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn #Science Fiction @torbooks

Series: Standalone?
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
Release Date: January 17, 2017
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Science Fiction

A great new stand-alone science fiction novel from the author of the Kitty Norville series.

Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly's plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth—the one planet Polly has no desire to visit. Ever.

Homesick and cut off from her desired future, Polly cannot seem to fit into the constraints of life on Earth, unlike Charles, who deftly maneuvers around people and sees through their behavior to their true motives. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up. Charles may be right—there's more going on than would appear, and the stakes are high. With the help of Charles, Polly is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost.

Carrie Vaughn, best selling author of the Kitty Norville series, returns with Martian's Abroad, a so-called space opera that is more or less keyed towards the Young Adult genre. Meet Polly Newton, narrator, and her brother Charles who are twins. They were born on Mars. Yes, that's right. They are Martian's. Even though they are thought of as colonists, they are still human in every way. They call Colony One home, and it is the only thing they've known.

As the story unfolds, Polly is looking forward to her apprenticeship with the Astrodome, while George is following in his mother's footsteps by studying colony administration. Polly wants to be a pilot and is eager to learn, and a daredevil as well. She is often found racing around Mars on a scooter. 

Charles is another case of twin wanting a whole new avenue of challenges and discoveries outside of his sister's. One could say that he is the calmness, while she is the storm. 

Polly's dream of being a pilot is temporarily put on hold after their mother, Supervisor Martha Newton, enrolls them at Galileo Academy. What's so bad with Galileo you ask? 1. It's on Earth, a place Polly has no desire to travel to. After all, her Grandparents left Earth for a reason. 2. It is filled with children of the rich and powerful who are cutting and bitchy. Something Mars doesn't have to deal with. 3. It is for 3 long years. 4. There are, as always, those who are hostile and belligerent towards anyone not born on Earth. 5. Polly & George are at a distinct disadvantage at not being born on Earth, and it's heavy oxygen content. 

Polly is a character who loves challenges, but is easily frustrated by silly things. Whereas Charles is the voice of calm, and reason, and the one who has to save Polly from her self at times. He is also terrifying at times. I am OK with Polly and here's why. Galileo encourages games between the students. The more you play the game, the more points you collect. The game pits those from Earth and those from outer belt colonies against each other all the marbles, and powerful connections that can last a life time. 

But, there is something even more frightening going on under the surface. Thanks to Colonists like Tenzig, and Earthlings like George, Polly's time at Galileo is not exactly something she would write a favorable opinion about. Thanks to their instructor who is diabolical in every way imaginable, things go from boring, to get me out of here, to OH HELL NO!

Polly isn't a Mary Sue. She is a character who knows that her only avenue of becoming a pilot, is to not only play the game, but to be better than anyone else in her own way. I loved her eagerness at wanting to sit in with the pilots as they approached earth & Manhattan. I loved the fact that she is clearly really good at understanding how spaceships operate, and can talk the talk, as it were. While George is winning people over with his intelligence, Polly slowly wins them over with her heroism, and her ability to get through the various challenges that are put forward to them. 

I settled on this rating for the story because of the ending. Polly's adventure's can't just end this way. There has to be more, even it it were a short novella that picks up 3 years after she arrived at Galileo. However, at every avenue I've researched, every single one of them claim that this is a standalone. I can clearly see a sequel, especially the way things play out, and who is responsible for the things that happen on Earth. I can even see a book from Charles POV since he is still a mystery to me at how he is able to do certain things. But, alas dear reader, it is not up to me, or you. Sad.

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#Review - Kitty Saves the World by Carrie Vaughn (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Kitty Norville # 14
Format: E-Galley, 336 pages
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy

It’s all come down to this, following the discoveries made by Cormac in Low Midnight, Kitty and her allies are ready to strike. But, when their assassination attempt on the evil vampire Dux Bellorum fails, Kitty finds herself running out of time. The elusive vampire lord has begun his apocalyptic end game, and Kitty still doesn’t know where he will strike.

Meanwhile, pressure mounts in Denver as Kitty and her pack begin to experience the true reach of Dux Bellorum’s cult. Outnumbered and outgunned at every turn, the stakes have never been higher for Kitty. She will have to call on allies both old and new in order to save not just her family and friends, but the rest of the world as well.

Kitty Saves the World brings the Kitty Norville series to a final swan song after 10 years. This is the showdown we've between waiting for between Kitty aka Regina Luporum and her allies, verses Roman aka Dux Bellorum and his hoards of powerful vampires, werewolves, and magicians. Plus, there is a yet to be named Caesar who is waiting in the wings for his turn to enter the ring and make things even more challenging for Kitty. Just a bit of warning, please don't skip over Cormac's book, better known as Low Midnight before picking up this book. Believe me when I say that you will be sorry if you do since there is a pretty important discovery in that book that helps Kitty fight Roman. There are a whole lot of things that connect the books in this series. 

While Vaughn has tried to have a beginning and an ending to each book, the underlying story has been Roman, and the Long Game. Without the challenges of the Long Game and Roman, Kitty would NOT have met vampires from around the world who became her allies, and friends. She would not have become friends with Rick, Alette, Anastasia, Tina McCannon, or Odysseus Grant. I do think that the final action sequence could have been a bit longer. Maybe Vaughn could have had Kitty face off against Caesar, who was revealed in all his glory, one final time before things wrapped up. It's been 14 books. Readers need to see Kitty's character growth, and a final resolution between good and evil so we can happily move on and not flip flop back and forth on how we felt about Kitty and Roman's final confrontation. 

Kitty is a character that I like to challenge as a heroine, and not because she's female. I like to see character growth, as I've stated so many times, that it's become second nature. We, as readers, have watched Kitty become a werewolf. We watched her struggle against the awful conditions that she was forced to deal with in her pack. We watched her fall in love with Ben, and later take over the Denver Pack where she has remained. We watched her go from an intern at a dinky radio station, to DJ of a nationally know radio show known as the Midnight Hour which found Kitty asking questions that were silly, and probing at the same time.

We can also debate the merits of whether or not Kitty deserves the moniker of being a Heroine, and not just a thorn in the sides of every paranatural she comes in contact with. After all, there is no I in team, and Kitty's team of Ben, Cormac, Jessi Harden, Amelia, Sun, Tina, and Grant all stood face to face with Roman and his allies and never blinked. I think that the relationships in this series will always be impressive to me, especially between Kitty, Ben, and Cormac. I liked that Tina, Grant, Sun, and Anastasia all made appearances. I do think that when an author says she wants to stop writing a series, then we have to respect her for that decision. 

I believe that it has to be hard to stop writing about something you've put together and do it year after year. I do think that Vaughn has enough material to spin-off Cormac/Amelia to their own trilogy, maybe? Yes, I do realize they already had their own book. So, why not another one? I do think that with the surprise at the end, Vaughn could come back to this series and maybe push it into the future a bit. I read the authors final thoughts, and I was surprised that she had planned for this ending for Kitty for awhile now. I've always wondered how Vaughn was going to pull off a series finale, and was happy to see that things ended up just fine, thank you very much. 

**I received this book for free from (Publisher) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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#Review - Kitty in the Underworld by Carrie Vaughn (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Kitty Norville # 12
Published by: Tor Books
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Format: Paperback, 305 pages 
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy

As Denver adjusts to a new master vampire, Kitty gets word of an intruder in the Denver werewolf pack’s territory, and she investigates the challenge to her authority. She follows the scent of the lycanthrope through the mountains where she is lured into a trap, tranquilized, and captured. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a defunct silver mine: the perfect cage for a werewolf. Her captors are a mysterious cult seeking to induct Kitty into their ranks in a ritual they hope will put an end to Dux Bellorum. Though skeptical of their power, even Kitty finds herself struggling to resist joining their cause. Whatever she decides, they expect Kitty to join them in their plot . . . willingly or otherwise. 

Kitty in the Underworld is the Twelfth installment in the Kitty Norville series. When last we left Kitty and the gang, Rick had decided to go on a walkabout leaving Denver to a new Master. Kitty and her allies are still trying to find a way to stop Roman from uniting his forces in an effort to take over the world. Kitty found herself challenged for Pack Alpha and learned that she's been lacking in her stewardship. This time, Kitty has an entirely different challenge ahead of her. A challenge that might give her insights on how she can stop Roman once and for-all.

After being notified of yet another strange wolf in the Denver werewolf pack’s territory, Kitty without Ben, investigates. She and a fellow wolf follow the scent where she is lured into a trap, tranquilized, and captured. Kitty finds herself kidnapped by a blend of supernaturals who hate Roman, Dux Bellorum, just as much as she does. They claim they need Regina Luporum to join them. The only problem is that Kitty doesn't agree with the label attached to her, and thinks the group is on the delusional side. Especially since an ally of Kitty's has already lost his life to Roman's machinations.

Have you ever finished a book and wondered what the point of the story was? Yeah, well that's me right now. I realize the series is coming to an end with the final book releasing August 2015. There are certain parts of this story that could play an important part in the final battle with Roman. However, the appearance of a group of cult like supernaturals including a werewolf, were-lion, vampire, and magician really doesn't make any sense unless they plan on being by Kitty's side at the end. 

Kitty is still interrogating everyone she meets and is still no closer to defeating her arch nemesis. She is still thinking like someone who hasn't already faced Roman several times and lived. She takes leave of her senses more often then not. She finds a way to escape, and changes her mind. She trusts too easily, and often times that trust is misguided and things go horribly wrong. 

Even though Cormac's Low Midnight story is up next, I might just skip over it and jump into the finale instead. We shall see. Like I said, there's not a whole lot that moves this story any further to its conclusion. 

**I received this book for free from Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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#Review - Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Kitty Norville # 11
Publisher: Tor Books
Released: March 26, 2015
Source: Publisher (Tor)
Format: Paperback, 324 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy

On the heels of Kitty's return from London, a new werewolf shows up in Denver, one who threatens to split the pack by challenging Kitty's authority at every turn. The timing could not be worse; Kitty needs all the allies she can muster to go against the ancient vampire, Roman, if she's to have any hope of defeating his Long Game. But there's more to this intruder than there seems, and Kitty must uncover the truth, fast. Meanwhile, Cormac pursues an unknown entity wreaking havoc across Denver; and a vampire from the Order of St. Lazaurus tempts Rick with the means to transform his life forever.

Kitty Rocks the House (Kitty Norville # 11) finds Kitty back in Denver, and trouble not more than a page away. Whenever Kitty is around, you have to ask yourself how much more can this girl take or get into before she breaks. She has the capability of asking way too many questions, and getting into trouble at the drop of a hat. Up until now, Kitty's major worry has been the movements of her archnemesis Roman, aka Dux Bellorum.

Kitty has become someone who's reputation definitely proceeds them in any situation, including an overseas symposium where she revealed Roman's true intentions publicly. So much so, that people come out of the wood work to make Kitty's life even more challenging. Kitty, Rick, Ben, Cormac, Amelia, and now Detective Hardin, need allies if they are going to defeat Roman and his long game strategy of dominion over the human race. Kitty has her own label now "Regina Luporum." What that means in the long run, has yet to be seen.

Vaughn piles even more on Kitty's already overloaded plate of being the only publicly exposed radio DJ werewolf. First, there's the arrival of a mysterious new werewolf named Darren after a visit from a supposed vampire ally. Darren makes a play for joining Kitty & Ben's Denver Pack, but will Darren become a much needed ally, or will he become yet another problem for Kitty to cut-off at the knees? Darren's arrival causes Kitty to do some much needed soul searching about her future, and her leadership of the pack. How much can they continue to be ignored, before they find a new leadership?

Next comes the arrival of a Catholic Priest/Vampire named Columban from the Vatican Order of St. Lazarus of the Shadows as well as a warrior/bounty hunting Demon who paints a target on Kitty, and Rick's back. Columban shows up trying to connect with Rick, who has been Kitty's strongest supporter since taking over as Master of Denver. One has to ask themselves why Vaughn would do this now, when Kitty and Rick have been trying to collect as many allies as they can to face Roman's threat. Why upset the balance?

If one could call this book anything, you can call it introspective. Kitty has problems like everyone else has but perhaps she needs to cut back on the complaining a bit. She's spent so much time fighting the former pack leaders, fighting Roman's allies, and asking different revealing questions from a variety of supernaturals, that's she's pretty much ignored everything else around her including her pack, and family.

The most interesting part about the demons arrival, is the revelation of an even bigger threat outside of Roman. Guess I need to hurry up and move to the next book to find out what happens next!   

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