We take on our first book -- Rune Gate by Mark E. Cooper. It's an urban fantasy murder mystery set in a farm town in California. We review chapter-by-chapter, with the added bonus of opinions about everything from gendered magic to shower anxiety.
Please note: there is mention of sexual assault from 39:08 to 39:50
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From Amazon.com:
For years, Alexandra Yorke was a top police clairvoyant, but she isn't a clairvoyant; she’s a witch, and living inside the heads of serial killers has taken its toll. Unable to control her gifts any longer, she retreats from the world.
After a few months of peace, a friend in need asks for help. She reluctantly agrees. When evidence at a murder scene points to witches, Alex becomes the prime suspect.
TRANSCRIPT:
Ava: What did you think of this book overall?
Brynn: I [pause] thought it was great. It kept me hooked, I loved the story, and I really want to read the next book.
A: I enjoyed this book, [pause] however, it felt to me like half of a book. It just felt like none of the threads were tied up.
B: I feel like there could have been more.
A: Yeah, they – they found Karel, which is [pause] fine, but I just felt like there were a few chapters where there was just nothing happening.
B: Right.
A: And I – I feel like [pause] probably the first third of the next book is the end of this book. I think it's just the story got cut off in the wrong place.
B: And that's kind of a thing that happens with what I've seen so far – granted, we're gonna read a lot of them – but a lot of self-published books, it's about hooking you into the next book.
A: Yeah, you give out the first book for free, and once they're hooked, uh, you put a price tag on the other ones. Which is a completely reasonable [pause] um, tactic. And I might very well read the next book.
B: I will definitely read the next book [laughs]
A: Yeah, and none of the romantic subplots were [pause] tied up, and it feels like [pause] in a book where you're not tying up any of the plot threads, the romantic subplot would be a good way to make something feel final about the book. So I wish that at least one of those romantic subplots [pause] had been tied up a little. Like Tomas and Alex just finally being like [pause] you know what, we're not interested in each other any more, or like [pause] somebody having a kiss. That would've been enough.
B: Well, I think there was a spot where Doug kissed her on the forehead. [laughs]
A: Oh, yeah. Which is like cute, but –
B: Well, um, but there was, right before the end [pause] the whole thing when Jenn talks to Tom in his office before they go to Alex's farm. And Tom kind of admits to himself, yeah I wanted to marry her. And you kind of hoped that something would happen [pause] as soon as he got there. But then they all fell through the gate. [laughs]
A: Yeah, like maybe there would be [pause] some grand announcement of love or something like that. But yeah, it did – it did feel like half a book.
B: Yeah, and I – I'm wondering [pause] if I read the next book [pause], maybe it would be like one big book. You know, part one and part two. I guess maybe the logical split for the author was just our world and Doug's world.
A: Yeah. Well, that'll – that'll bring us into ratings. [pause] So, our rating system is gonna be stars out of five. [pause] and when we post them on Goodreads, we're gonna have to round up, because there's no half-stars on Goodreads. Our first rating is gonna be for editing, because a lot of these books are self-edited, and for some people, poor editing is a dealbreaker and they just don't want to read that book. The next one is plot [pause], pretty self-explanatory, so is character, and then also dialogue. And then we'll give, you know, just an average. Our final star rating. So what did you give this for editing?
B: Editing, I would probably say it's right around a four. I mean overall, he – he's pretty solid as far as his writing goes [pause] some spots were a bit jumpy [pause] and, like you said earlier, some of the British English didn't really make sense. I mean, yes, he's British, but [pause] it's an American book. You know?
A: Yeah, I agree with that. I gave it a three out of five. And [pause] the thing I had with the British English was that it was sort of half British English and half American English. And it – if they – if he just picked one or the other, I would've been fine.
B: Yeah.
A: But [pause] he – there were a few words that he mixed up repeatedly, and a few phrases he liked using a lot [pause] which is a very difficult thing to self-edit, because you get into these patterns where you start using the same phrase multiple times over the course of a very long book [pause], and it's just hard to pick up. And then I thought there were a lot of uncomfortably run-on sentences with weird punctuation. But [pause] to me none of that's a dealbreaker, I'd still read it.
B: You're the writer here [laughs]
A: [laughs] So, the next is plot, what did you give this book on plot?
B: Hmm. [pause] Plot, I'm probably again gonna give it a four, because, as you said, there were a lot of loose ends, there's a lot of things that didn't get resolved, but it kept me hooked. I mean, in [pause], if it wasn't done right, I would've gotten bored really easily, but I wanna know what's next, and the story overall had good flow. There was, um, some spots where it slowed down some, but it kept moving forward, you know?
A: Yeah, I gave it out – a three out of five. I agree with everything you said. The slowest part for me was the part close to the end, which I feel like is playing with fire [pause], cause some people like me, when they get two-thirds of the way through the book are like well I gotta finish this now. And it could just be [pause] the writer writing I love candy a thousand times to the end. Um, but then there's other people who, when they get to that slow part, will be like this is supposed to be the most exciting part of the book and just like, throw it aside.
B: It reminds – you saying the I like candy thing – reminds me of that one, um [pause], Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events – where Klaus is falling asleep while he's reading [pause] I think it was Klaus who was reading the book and it's just like you read the same line over and over, you read the same line over and over, you read the same line over and over [laughs]
A: [laughs] So our next rating is, uh, characterization.
B: That's where I'm probably gonna drop down to a three. I mean [pause], all the characters, he was good at building them into interesting characters. I mean [pause], Tom you wanted to learn more about, Alex you wanted to learn more about. Um, the issue is that you didn't learn the things you wanted to learn about them. So you got an idea of [pause] who Tom is, what he's like, what he does, and he is, overall, a fairly well-rounded character, but you don't really learn as much about him as you'd want to. Same goes for the other characters.
A: Yeah, I agree. I gave it a three out of five. Uh, I also thought that a lot of the [pause] not even secondary characters – like, tertiary characters – in the Wiccan circle, they just weren't distinct enough, and there were so many of them that I couldn't keep track of them in my head. I – I just feel like those characters could have been cut down a bunch. Like leave in Alison, leave in, um
B: What is his – Lloyd, Lloyd and Alison, they like, they're not really even mentioned.
A: Yeah, they just fall out of the story from time to time, so I feel like, if you find – if you find that the character's not popping up very often, maybe just cut em. And then [pause] dialogue. What were your thoughts on the conversations?
B: Dialogue, I would probably have to go with about a three. I mean, a lot of [pause] what's going on wasn't super dialogue-y. [laughs]
A: [laughs]
B: I mean a lot of it is, um, Alex reading minds, a lot of it is just narration [pause], and the dialogue that there is, there's important dialogue in there, which is done really well [pause] but then there's minor dialogue, which is just like, meh, okay.
A: Yeah, I found myself thinking that he wasn't great at writing arguments. Which are very difficult to write, I'm sure, but [pause] I just didn't find myself engaged with the arguments. Because [pause] partly because it was always so obvious that one of them was a hundred percent right, you know?
B: Yeah.
A: There weren't ever two sides to the argument. It was like, we gotta find this bad guy who's chopping dudes up. So for dialogue I also gave it a three out of five. Um, so what does that bring your average star rating to?
B: I had two threes and two fours, so that would be a three and a half out of five. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, I mean it had its flaws, but the story kept me hooked. I wanna know what happens to Alex and her friends next, and I'm planning on reading the next book, see how this all finishes out, cause [pause] when I was done reading this book, I just really wanted to see what would happen to them next, and that is something great in a book [pause] is getting to that point, and wanting to know, where does it go from here?
A: Yeah. So I gave it threes across the board, so my final score is a three out of five. I liked the book. I didn't dislike it [pause], but I do have to say that if were going to recommend it to somebody [pause] um, I'd recommend it to somebody who likes urban fantasy or, like, sort of a crime/suspense, uh, specifically. Uh, I wouldn't choose it as a book to, like, introduce your run-of-the-mill fantasy or sci-fi fan to urban fantasy.
B: Yeah, someone who's [pause] into this type of stuff already would really like this book, so, I mean, if you like – if you like the crime-scene-y stuff, if you like the, um [pause] witchy stuff, um, if you're into Wicca at all [pause] it – it's all there, you know? We're gonna talk about our favorite and least favorite parts of the book. Ava, you first.
A: Uh, my favorite moment was the very second Douglas showed up, because I was like, this book is bananas and I'm so excited. That was definitely my favorite part.
B: I – going along with that, my favorite part [pause] is when you realize [pause] that there's more to Douglas. Not when he first shows up, but the whole thing with the moon, and learning he's not who we thought he was, and Alex has no clue who he is. [laughs]
A: [laughs]
B: And, it's just kind of [pause], going from, this is bananas to this is really bananas, and it was just really cool.
A: [laughs] I enjoy things that are bananas.
B: Do you enjoy bananas?
A: Yes, I do, they're delightful.
B: Least favorite?
A: I think it's the ending. I mean, like, I did like that they all went through the portal. That's the natural ending for this book.
B: Yeah.
A: Because if any other ending happened with the portal, you'd probably be disappointed, right? Cause if Douglas stayed behind –
B: Well, what was the point of this whole quest, you know?
A: Yeah, and his kids are still there, and that's sad. I felt like the ending was just super slow.
B: I think for my least favorite, I'm probably going to go with the hospital scene, simply because it was just so out there, and it didn't make sense, and it stood out to me as really weird, and it was like, when you're reading a book, you don't want that to happen. It's like the whole widdershins thing you were talking about.
A: Yeah. Something that just pops you right out of the plot is [pause] not great. [laughs]
B: I just wanted to point out that at the end of the book [pause], he has a link to download a few more books of his for free. Um, they’re from different series of his. So, if you read this, and decide that you like it, there's that link there [pause] to get more free books. Free books are great.
A: Nice.
B: So, thank you for listening to Amazon Warriors. You can find us on Twitter @thebookwarriors, and you can email us at warriors (at) superfuntimes (dot) net. Next episode we'll be discussing Davenport House by Marie Silk.
