Book Review: Full Metal Magic
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews
Full Metal Magic: An Urban Fantasy Anthology of Magic, Mayhem, and the Paranormal by J.A. Cipriano
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was clued in to this anthology by a mention in J.A. Cipriano’s newsletter, which is worth subscribing to (hey, the man sends you free reads, and they’re good!). Anyway, Cipriano and company are all dark urban fantasy authors who have written these stories specifically for this volume, so you won’t find them anywhere else. The book is available via the Kindle Unlimited program. In fact, every related book that I checked on is available that way, so I’m wondering if this thing was sponsored by Amazon or something. If so, why doesn’t it say so? Anyway, on to the review.
“The Bull Demon King” is Cipriano’s story, set in the Thrice-Cursed Mage universe. You don’t need to have read those books to appreciate the story, and it serves as a nice little introduction if you’re curious about the series (I’ve really enjoyed them). I think the story is set between the second and third books, but I won’t swear to that and it isn’t vital. We get to attend the Texas state fair with assassin mage Mac Brennan and his girlfriend Ricky, the local alpha werewolf. Of course, mayhem ensues, because that’s Mac’s lot in life — and what kind of story would we have otherwise?
Domino Finn contributes “The Black Door” which is noted as “A Black Magic Outlaw Story.” This story had me guessing right up until the end, which was delightful. The writing is wonderful, the world of an alternate magical Miami nightlife is very fully realized, and central character, Cisco Suarez, is extremely well drawn. I will be pointing my partner to Finn’s work, for sure (he loves the macabre), but I think it may be a little too dark for me.
On to Manhattan for our next piece, “Dance of the Dead,” which Sonya Bateman tells us is a “Deathspeaker Codex Short Story.” It takes place just after the events of the first novel in that series, according to the author’ note. Gideon Black drives bodies from crime scenes and the like to the morgue. Apparently he’s not 100% human, and he’s just learned that he can speak to the dead. That’s very important to the plot. For some reason this story didn’t grab me. I don’t relate well to stories that deal with the dead, like zombies and so on, so it’s probably a failure of imagination on my fault rather than anything wrong with Bateman’s story. If I find something she writes in another setting, I will give her another go.
Ambrose Ibsen offers up “Hard Row: A Demon-Hearted Story” for the collection. Lucian Colt works with other special enforcers to keep the threats from Beyond from encroaching on the mundane world of Detroit, and when he learns that there’s a shipment of kidnapped children being moved, he’s definitely down for tracking down the bad guys behind the trade. The fallen angel whose heart he carries is just glad to get a chance to throw down. The gimmick doesn’t really carry the story here. It feels like Colt is too overpowered in comparison to his allies, as if they are a mismatched RPG party.
Okay, I’ll admit it: Al K. Line’s name just annoyed me. So I had to get past that to give “Angry Spark,” set in his Dark Magic Enforcer world, a fair reading. Then the use name of the main character, “Black Spark,” hit me wrong. The guy’s real name is Faz Pound, but obviously magic men don’t go about giving their real names to all and sundry, hence the use name. Then I didn’t like the remarks about a corpulent character. So I finally just decided to leave off on this story. Maybe someone else can give you a review of it.
Rob Cornell’s “Family Business,” which is apparently a prequel set in his Unturned series’ universe, is set in another alternate Detroit. Fortunately nothing annoyed me about this one, so I was able to read it. It’s a wee bit hackneyed, but a bit sweet, too. It’s sort of like when you hear a song and you know how the melody is going to go because the chords and the melody progression already feel familiar. I might check out more of Cornell’s work, but it won’t be at the top of my to-read list.
On the other hand, “Valentine Blues” left me truly hungry for more of James A. Hunter’s work, and wanting to read more about Yancy Lazarus right now. This minute. Not soon, NOW. Lazarus is a traveling blues man with some interesting talents who takes an interest in the very strange behavior of the young people in Valentine, Nebraska. You can find the most interesting things on the road! I will most definitely be reading Strange Magic: A Yancy Lazarus Novel, the first book in this series, SOON.
I know that I’ve read something about Craig Schaefer’s Daniel Faust series somewhere before, but I’ve never actually read any OF the series until “A Drive in the Country.” It’s set in and around Las Vegas. I have no idea where in the timeline of the series this particular story is set, but it’s well-written. It pulls you into the gritty, noir world of gangsters plus magic and makes you feel the dark. If that’s your thing, Schaefer’s your man.
New York is the setting for Pippa DaCosta’s “Chase the Dark,” set in the world of her Soul Eater series. I am highly intrigued, as I don’t believe I’ve ever run into an urban fantasy series that draws upon Egyptian mythology the way DaCosta is here. The name of the main character, though, Ace Dante? Even though it’s obviously an assumed name, it’s terrible. I hate it. I’m jarred every single time my eyes come across it on the page. It kept pulling me out of what was otherwise a really good story, and is making me wonder whether or not I can handle reading Hidden Blade, the first book in the series.
Now that I’m finished with the book, I can’t help but notice a few things. There wasn’t a single main character that was female, and while it’s possible that Cisco Suarez is a person of color, his cultural background wasn’t made clear in Finn’s story. If any of the other protagonists were POC, that wasn’t obvious (I’m not sure what to consider “Ace Dante.”) I’m pretty sure all these men were cisgendered and heterosexual, as well. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that there’s a little more diversity in such a volume.
All in all, a decent collection of stories and a nice introduction to some new authors, but a disappointment in some important respects.
The Benefits of Maturity
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Work, Writing
I’m an Older Woman. My 50th birthday is fast approaching. No matter what I do with my résumé, it is pretty obvious that I’m not a millennial. That is who is truly desired, it seems, by the tech startups that I prefer to work with.
Oh, the job postings don’t come out and say that they don’t want old people, but the keywords are there?. “Fast-paced,” “high energy,” and “dynamic!”? They all whisper, at least, that “we only want young people!”
This isn’t just my impression, but the consensus among various people I’ve spoken with. It probably isn’t intentional, but the bias is there and the ageism is felt. So I want to address some things that seem to be missed by the “we want young people!” folks.
First, there are plenty of mature workers who can keep up with that “fast pace” you describe. We know ourselves, our bodies and our other commitments. We have the experience it takes to judge whether or not we can commit to startup life. I’ll be honest: I don’t think many young people can match that level of self-knowledge. I know that when I first worked for a startup, back in 1995, I didn’t have any idea how much dedication it would require.
Second, older workers bring a lifetime of experience in many different areas, and that experience is brought to bear in our working lives in ways that younger workers simply cannot match. For instance, I don’t have the administrative work I did decades ago on my résumé, as it isn’t directly relevant now. However, that experience shaped me and gives me the ability to better relate to non-technical people as a support professional.Younger people don’t have that kind of added value.
The average older worker has been out of school and their parents’ homes for a long time, meaning that they have experience managing their own finances and households independently (or with life partners). That gives us a certain respect for the value of money and time that nothing else does. How much of that experience does someone right out of school have?
Most older workers are also post-parenting. Their kids are grown and reasonably independent (whether out of the house or not), so they aren’t going to be juggling pregnancies, soccer practices, and music lessons that will impact their work lives. Grandchildren? Yes, some of us have them. Being a grandparent is, however, a far less time-consuming commitment for most people than being a parent.
Finally, there’s nothing else that beats maturity for giving you a calm temperament. Some people are born with them, but on average, it’s easier for someone with 30 years of professional experience to put one bad day into perspective than it is for someone with a few months or years of working under their belts. (I know there are exceptions to this, as to every rule, but Donald Trump probably isn’t applying to work at your startup.)
The next time you get a résumé or application from a Baby Boomer or Gen X’er, then, please take these factors into account. Consider their technical skills, certainly? (and don’t assume that they’ll be outdated) ?but weigh their maturity on the positive side of the scale, for a change.
(Originally published at Medium)