Books 2014 - A Case of Possession, A Case of Spirits and Flight of Magpies by K.J. Charles

[byslantedlight]

I know, you only saw this picture a couple of days ago, but I did read these books again and they are all about the darker side of real-magic Victorian London, and so I think they do actually count for the R.I.P challenge - though one of them is a short story, so I will bundle it up with one of the other two, to be fair! You know what I don't like about e-books, though? No blurb for me to read, and pages to flick through to remind me of the good bits... On the other hand, I can (mostly!) just cut and paste a blurb from t'interweb, so...

A Case of Possession: ... As he investigates a plague of giant rats sweeping London, his sudden increase in power, boosted by his blood-and-sex bond with Crane, is rousing suspicion that he’s turned warlock. With all eyes watching him, the threat of exposure grows. Stephen could lose his friends, his job and his liberty over his relationship with Crane. He’s not sure if he can take that risk much longer. And Crane isn’t sure if he can ask him to.

A Case of Spirits: There is rain in London, and Vaundrey wishes he was in Shanghai, except that Stephen wouldn't be there. Of course he has a minor case of the occult to sort out - again...

Flight of Magpies: With the justiciary understaffed, a series of horrifying occult murders to be investigated, and a young student who is flying—literally—off the rails, magical law enforcer Stephen Day is under increasing stress. And his relationship with his aristocratic lover, Lord Crane, is beginning to feel the strain. Crane chafes at the restrictions of England’s laws, and there’s a worrying development in the blood-and-sex bond he shares with Stephen. A development that makes a sensible man question if they should be together at all. When a thief strikes at the heart of Crane’s home, a devastating loss brings his closest relationships into bitter conflict—especially his relationship with Stephen. And as old enemies, new enemies, and unexpected enemies paint the lovers into a corner, the pressure threatens to tear them apart.

Although these are also m/m romances, there's something rather dark about them - the Judas jack of The Magpie Lord, the giant rats of A Case of Possession, and then...well, it's not just Victorian London with magic, it's Victorian London with a kind of dark magic, the oily actual kind that you can feel between your fingers and it comes with all the unpleasantness that humanity is capable of - luckily tempered and dealt with by a good dose of Lucien/Stephen, and all the other interesting characters in this world. Readable and hot and I would like more of these books and stories now please!

All of which brief reviewing means that at 23.34pm on the 31st October 2014 I think I can safely say that I've Imbibed my last Peril for my first R.I.P. challenge, and although I enjoyed it I wasn't quite as much in the spirit (ha!) of it as I'd planned to be. Next year I shall try not to move house (twice) at the same time! But I do rather hope that I can give it another go - when Halloween rolls around again...

(Four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature.)
Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman
The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
The Heresy of Doctor Dee by Phil Rickman
Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll
The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
A Case of Possession and A Case of Spirits by KJ Charles
Flight of Magpies by KJ Charles

Eleven Halloween reads - not bad for a first, distracted attempt though! I'm also halfway through another book that I'd bought for its potential ghosts, but I keep being distracted from that too...

Comments

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. I've bought Flight of Magpies (but not yet read it) but A Case of Spirits brings up a pre-order and a date of January 2015 even for Kindle. Where/how did you get it?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - you know, we've had this conversation... *vbg* Mind you, it was a long time ago! I suppose I would have waited for it all that time, but I'm glad I didn't have to - although I suppose the flip side is that I don't have it to look forward to now. I'm vaguely interested in this Jackdaw book though, since it has at least a glimpse of Stephen Day in it... *vbg*

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Well yes, we did, and you got it on Kobo - but that was a short story fleshing out some of the past history, not one of the novel sequence, so I'm really surprised Kobo have offered the next novel so early! Still, I'm happy for you! And I'll get it eventually! *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, now I'm getting confused - we're talking about A Case of Spirits, which is a relatively short story/novellete that fits into the novel sequence but isn't actually a novel? Although it does have a matching cover, I'll grant you!

Oddly enough Kobo doesn't even bring up the story on searching any more, so I wonder if they eventually realised their mistake and pulled it completely - in which case I'm even more worried about synching now, because I don't want to lose it in case I want to re-read it again between now and next January! *g* Unless what I thought was the whole story somehow isn't the whole story... well, except it did have an ending and all, so surely it must have been - it did read as a teaser for a longer novel at all. I'd love it if there was more of it, but I can't see how...

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

It's my fault - I got really confused - and have to say that the Amazon page just adds to the confusion because of course it doesn't even mention The Smuggler and the Warlord, which is the short story out of sequence. So yes, A Case of Spirits must be a shortish one. I think I've got them straight in my head now - A Charm of Magpies, A Case of Possession, and now A Flight of Magpies - in which case I don't understand why A Case of Spirits is 2.5 - and then The Smuggler and the Warlord which can be read at any point because it's set in the past in China. I managed somehow or other to buy A Case of Possession twice, which shows how much I like them but also how confused the marketing makes me!

I really hope Kobo don't snatch your book back!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely don't rely on Amazon to sort out story sequences for me, but then I can't rely on Kobo either, since they've taken down Case of Spirits entirely now - waah! And as you say, no mention of the free stories.

Actually, I think there might be one more that you're missing too - in fact two if we're talking extra short stories like The Smuggler and the Warlord. As I understand it, so far we have:
0.1 - The Smuggler and the Warlord (brief story set in China)
1.0 - The Magpie Lord
1.5 - Interlude with Tattoos (brief story)
2.0 - A Case of Possession
2.5 - A Case of Spirits (just a "short" and not yet officially out)
3.0 - Flight of Magpies
3.1 - Deleted Scene from Flight of Magpies
4.0 - Jackdaw (not Lucien/Stephen, but I gather they make an appearance - not yet out)

I've just made a huge effort to try and round up all my Charm of Magpies stories - and this is what I hate about electronic books! I have some on my e-reader, some in this or that file, some I haven't yet saved but have now - and they're all stories that I love and want in print on my shelves so that I can re-read them at leisure! It may be old-fashioned, but it guarantees dedicated readership and means that people who love your stories can come back to them at will to enjoy them, which is surely most of the point of writing in the first place. Gaaaargh! I can't even seem to work out why the first e-book version that I bought doesn't seem to be recorded in my Kobo library right now (maybe because I bought it directly to the device and it's not synched on? But I'm sure I've synched since I bought it... oh, bloody things - on my shelf, please!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

No, Amazon don't keep things in order - a marketing ploy?? But I'm beginning to wonder if KJ Charles is using it as a marketing ploy too! Have downloaded the Interlude with Tattoos - thanks. But so far as I can see, the deleted scene only comes along with the special edition and as I've already bought Flight... I've also bought Think of England which looks as if it could be interesting.

If you have a Kindle, like me, your library is quite carefully kept and if I had time I could organise it. *g* I assume Kobo do the same? If I buy elsewhere in mobi format or in pdf to convert I keep things on Calibre, which is lovely to organise and aids upload to Kindle plus blurbs, notes, ratings, etc. And you can make/add gorgeous covers to fanfics on it. I also keep a record of books read (and another of fanfics read) because I don't keep things on Calibre unless I intend to re-read, but I have to admit that I don't always consult it and hence end up with e.g. two copies of A Case of Possession (which was on my Amazon library - *head desks*) or re-reading a fanfic I wasn't wild about in the first place!!

Eventually, we will have our shelves back. Eventually, my books will not be languishing in boxes, unseen, un-searchable, etc. Eventually, I might even get some of my books back from my daughter... But meanwhile Calibre and Amazon are a much safer bet. I also use Kindle for PC which is a free app that lets you sort and search your Kindle library on your laptop and gives you all those covers full size and in full colour! I don't find it at all difficult to go back and re-read favourites. I do find it hard to get rid of things I don't want. I accidentally bought a murder mystery that turned out to be some kind of fundamentalist Christian propaganda and of course if it had been print I would have disposed of it.

I do still buy printed books. Some series I started in print and want the whole lot in print e.g. Melissa Scott's Points books. And some non-fiction is better in print both for the illustrations and for ease of searching/glossaries/etc. But if it's new fiction I'll always wait for the e-book version.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

A special edition? Ooh, where's that then?! I've not seen anything about that, only read the deleted scene online. Presuming it's the same deleted scene...

I've been wondering about Thinking of England, but not bought it yet - you'll have to let me know if you think it's any good.

There is a library on Kobo of course, and you can organise things in collections, but as you say you have to get around to organising them! I use Calbre too, but the trouble this time, I suspect, is that I downloaded the first two books directly to my Kobo. I've tried to find them in my Kobo files to try uploading them from there to Calibre, but bizarrely enough they don't show up. They're there, but I can't find where they are on the Kobo's drive. I could probably get at them through my Kobo Library, which is online too, but I'm not entirely sure I trust the Adobe DRM thingie not to go around deleting books that someone else decides I shouldn't have after all - which might be a bit tin-foil hat, but still... The idea to me of someone deleting my e-books is as bad as the idea of someone stealing them or even burning them. I'm old-fashioned - if I've bought a book, in no matter what format, it should be mine. No, I shouldn't be allowed to go and give copies to everyone, but you can't do that with real books either. But if I want to lend a book to a friend then I should be allowed to do that, and I hate that I can't. e-books are selfish books, not sharing-books... (Wait, how did I get ranting about that...?!)

I do still use Amazon, but I really am trying to minimise it, because I don't like what we're finding out about their business practices... so no Kindle apps for me, although I realise it does sometimes limit the books I'm able to read (especially m/m). And of course I'm the opposite to you - mostly I try to wait for the print-book version, although clearly I will buy e-books when I have to because they're gorgeous and nowhere else... *g*

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Would you believe - well, yes, you probably would - I can no longer find the reference to a copy of one of the books with a deleted scene attached...

I stayed up late finishing Think of England and adored it. Plenty of mayhem and mystery with spies in an English country house in the period around the Boer war. The spies are in fact the good guys and have plenty of m/m romance, suitably interspersed with angst about the social implications. Think Forster's Maurice meets Pros and you'll have a vague idea. No magic whatsoever but the characters are magical enough. She also pays homage to the concept of fanfic by borrowing an idea from Rider Haggard.

I agree about sharing e-books. Don't get me started - it seems I'd be preaching to the converted anyway! I buy from the source publisher when I can, but convert for my Kindle and then keep a copy on my hard drive. But some things are only available on Amazon or e.g. Kobo so then I'm stuck. Think of England is available at http://www.allromanceebooks.com
There's no sign of a paperback anywhere but it's Samhain and they usually do paperback versions if things sell well.

I've been following a lot of blogs and info about Amazon and whilst I don't think they're 'good guys' in many respects (like the way they treat their staff) I do think the current attempts to discredit them are based on some untruths and lack of logic. Still, I don't particularly want to make them any richer. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol, I would believe it, but rats! *g*

Good to hear about Think of England, I might give it a try. I'm feeling brave about m/m books at the moment, having enjoyed Flight of the Magpie and A Death at the Dionysus Club - perhaps I've venture to someone new again! I'm keeping my eyes out for a few paperbacks that should be coming up from Samhain - the next Enlightenment one (I think that was Samhain), and I'm hoping there'll be another Magpie book too, though that might be a while away... In the meantime, thank goodness Melissa Scott publishes simultaneously in paperback! *g*

I'd like to hear that Amazon (and many other corporations) were paying their corporation tax in the UK, since they make so much money from us. I don't know quite enough about what's going on with Hatchette etc to be able to give an informed opinion right now, but as you say it's not entirely a clear-cut case in that the other side are wonderfully good guys either. There are various of Amazon's other policies that I've not liked though, trying to tie people and marketplace sellers into their own control - in their lives outside the Amazon shops as well as within them.

Mind you, I've just been reading about Workforce again, where companies and charities are being paid to hire people as workers without paying those workers so that they're no longer "unemployed" - and if they refuse to accept such appalling work conditions, their benefit is stopped in punishment... Amazon virtually pales beside that (presuming that they can't be part of it, of course, since they're not "based" in the UK...) But I shan't get started (more *g*) - I shall go fill my hot water bottle and get to bed!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Have searched all sites but can't think where I saw the 'deleted scene' offer. Maybe it was just for a limited period.

I agree about the Amazon tax avoidance - and that of other companies - but put stronger blame on our laws that make that avoidance possible and, for the prudent company, essential if they are to satisfy their shareholders. As you say, they aren't involved in the Workforce scandal because they aren't a British firm, but their employees do have poor conditions of service. I know more about the Hachette situation and think Hachette are largely at fault, but Amazon have done very little to publicise their side of the argument. I still use them, too. But I do try to avoid them where possible!

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

Eleven is absolutely brilliant. Can't believe you did that well with all that you had going on. Well done you! Hoping to get my last book review done for it tomorrow and then my wrap-up post. Too busy last week but hopefully much quieter this.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - reading is one thing that I find time to do, even if it's only over breakfast and last thing at night! Although to be fair I usually manage it over lunch too... *g*

I don't think I've seen your last book review yet, but I shall keep an eye out for it! Hope you had a lovely (if busy) week last week - well, and this, for that matter... *g*