False Hearts by Laura Lam

False Hearts by Laura Lam is the first science fiction novel from the author that brought us the Micah Grey fantasy YA trilogy, which started with Pantomime. In further contrast with her earlier books, False Hearts is also not YA. (I would be fine giving in to a teen to read, however — I certainly read "worse" in my teens.)

One night Tila stumbles home, terrified and covered in blood.

She’s arrested for murder, the first by a civilian in decades. The San Francisco police suspect involvement with Verve, a powerful drug, and offer her twin sister Taema a chilling deal. Taema must assume Tila’s identity and gather information – then if she brings down the drug syndicate, the police may let her sister live. But Taema’s investigation raises ghosts from the twins’ past.

The sisters were raised by a cult, which banned modern medicine. But as conjoined twins, they needed surgery to divide their shared heart – and escaped. Taema now finds Tila discovered links between the cult and the city’s underground. Once unable to keep secrets, the sisters will discover the true cost of lies.

This is a moderately dark book although this is not because of a dystopian setting. At least, not what I would call a straightforward dystopian setting. It's more of a utopia gone slightly awry. The government seems a little bit questionable, but it's mainly the obvious bad guys — drug cartel, cult leader — who are up to no good. Since the story deals directly with these people, it's falls firmly on the darker side of neutral.

I enjoyed this book, which was told from the points of view of both formerly conjoined twins. I think of Taema as the main character and the central story follows her as she tries to work out what happened to her sister and why Taking on her sister's identity and going undercover forces her to question who she is and what her limits really are, which is an interesting journey for the readers to follow her on. Meanwhile, Tila writes about the twins' youth in the cult of the Hearth and their escape to San Francisco.

Overall, this book is a science fiction thriller and I think it would make an excellent movie. Taema's encounters with the drug cartel are exciting, dangerous and drive the story forward. Meanwhile, the twins' origin story has both happy and sinister moments. Get on it, Hollywood.

I recommend False Hearts to fans of science fiction, especially near-future science fiction. Readers of thrillers will hopefully also enjoy it. There is another book, Shattered Minds, set in the same world but with different protagonists, which I am now keen to read when I can find time in my reading schedule.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2016, Macmillan
Series: Sort of? There is another standalone novel set in the same world
Format read: ePub on Kobo
Source: Purchased from Kobo store

Masquerade by Laura Lam

Masquerade by Laura Lam is the third and final book in the Micah Grey trilogy. It's been rather a while since I read the first two books, thanks mostly to the roller coaster that is the publishing industry. In any case, the final book in the trilogy is now out, so it's the perfect time to pick up these books if you have an aversion to incomplete series. If you haven't already, I suggest having a look at my reviews of the first two books, Pantomime and Shadowplay.

The gifted hide their talents, but dare they step into the light?

Micah's Chimaera powers are growing, until his dark visions overwhelm him. Drystan is forced to take him to Dr Pozzi, to save his life. But can they really trust the doctor, especially when a close friend is revealed to be his spy?

Meanwhile, violent unrest is sweeping the country, as anti-royalist factions fight to be heard. Then three chimaera are attacked, after revealing their existence with the monarchy's blessing - and the struggle becomes personal. A small sect decimated the chimaera in ancient times and nearly destroyed the world. Now they've re-emerged to spread terror once more. Micah will discover a royal secret, which draws him into the heart of the conflict. And he and his friends must risk everything to finally bring peace to their land.

Masquerade continues to follow Micah as he tries to keep living his life. Of course, being the protagonist of a fantasy book, things are never quite so simple. Micah's powers grow, unrest grows in their city and new mysteries appear. Can Micah and friends work out what's going on and why and who is involved? (Well yes; it's a book.)

I enjoyed the first two Micah Grey books a lot and was disappointed that I had to wait so long to read the last book in the series. Unfortunately, waiting so long also meant that some aspects of the story had faded from my mind by the time I picked up Masquerade. It took me a little while to get reacquainted with the world and characters and, consequently, a little while to get into the story. It's hard to say how much of my reaction to the first part of the book was as a result of this and how much is more from the book itself. Either way, I found the opening a little slow and the pacing a little off in the first part of the book. Later on, as the story approached the climax and tensions were high, this was not an issue.

Overall I enjoyed Masquerade but I can't help but wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it in closer proximity with the first two books. I definitely recommend this series to anyone to whom an intersex and/or bisexual main character appeals. If you enjoyed the first two books, this concluding volume ties up pretty much all the loose ends (that I can remember). If you hated the first two books, I'm not sure why you bothered reading to the end of this review.

3.5 / 5 stars

First published: March 2017, Tor
Series: Yes, Micah Grey book 3 of 3
Format read: ePub
Source: purchased on Google Play

Shadowplay by Laura Lam

Shadowplay by Laura Lam is the sequel to Pantomime, which I rather enjoyed. Where Pantomime can be loosely summarised as "intersex girl runs away to join the circus as a boy", the story in Shadowplay builds up in complexity, particularly in regards to worldbuilding only hinted at in the prequel. The blurb and parts of my review will contain spoilers for the previous book (though not for Shadowplay itself). You have been warned.

The circus lies behind Micah Grey in dust and ashes.

He and the white clown, Drystan, take refuge with the once-great magician, Jasper Maske. When Maske agrees to teach them his trade, his embittered rival challenges them to a duel which could decide all of their fates.

People also hunt both Micah and the person he was before the circus–the runaway daughter of a noble family. And Micah discovers there is magic and power in the world, far beyond the card tricks and illusions he’s perfecting…

A tale of phantom wings, a clockwork hand, and the delicate unfurling of new love, Shadowplay continues Micah Grey’s extraordinary journey.

Shadowplay, again written in first person to circumvent Micah's changing attitudes towards their male and female aspects, is somewhat more focussed on fantasy elements than its prequel. Although there definitely is continued exploration of Micah's nature. Although they're living as a boy for almost all of Shadowplay, there are times when their female aspect is very relevant (like having boobs and periods). There's also the new romantic relationship which, depending on who is watching (and I mean this literally) is presented by Micah (+ lover who I won't name because slight spoiler) as either homosexual or heterosexual, based on how Micah wants other people to see them. (Although in the end all the people Micah cares about know about their genitals, there's still some weight to how they present themselves.) I found it very interesting to read about, even though it's not really the central driver of the plot. (And I'm finding it hard to refer to Micah gender-neutrally since they're always referred to as either he or she or a name in the book.)

As I predicted in my review of Pantomime, we learn more about the history of the world in Shadowplay; a lot more, including what the background is on those weird artefacts and glowy buildings. And the damselfly that we met in the first book (and which just surprised me by being a real word and not making spellchecker sad). Also what happened to the mysterious ancient Alder race which seemed to have just disappeared. So basically many questions are answered. Not all of them, but its clearer which direction the next book will take in that respect, whenever it may appear.

The actual plot of Shadowplay, focusses on Micah and Drystan making new friends while on the lam and also learning magic tricks. The new characters introduced are Maske, the master magician and Cyan, who completes their magic performance team. I believe Cyan is the one on the front cover. Speaking of characters, I kept forgetting that Drystan isn't actually that much older than Micah (only six years, apparently), especially in the first book when he was introduced as a clown. Maybe it was just because he was lumped with the other clowns who I (also) assumed were middle aged. Eh, there was reason enough to remember his relative youth in this one.

Shadowplay was an enjoyable read. I'd say it's a must-read for anyone who enjoyed Pantomime. For readers new to the series, you can read the second book first, but I strongly recommend starting with Pantomime. The background to the characters, especially Micah, will make much more sense that way. I would recommend the series to all fantasy fans, not just fans of YA fantasy. There is a depth of worldbuilding not often found in YA that I suspect will appeal to readers who might usually read BFF (big fat fantasy), although these books are definitely shorter than the standard BFF fare.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: January 2014, Strange Chemistry
Series: Yes. Book 2 of ?
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Pantomime by Laura Lam

Pantomime by début novelist Laura Lam is an enchanting read. The main character is intersex, something I didn't realise until I started reading and initially I blamed my ignorance on not reading the blurb because historically Strange Chemistry blurbs have been terrible. However, as I have now discovered, this blurb wasn't terrible and did not spoil anything. Huzzah! (Well, it's not perfect, but it's a start.) In celebration of the first Strange Chemistry blurb I've read that hasn't given the entire plot away, I reproduce it for you here:

R.H. Ragona's Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

As I was saying, the main character is intersex, having some female and some male characteristics. She was raised as Gene, a noble woman-in-training, but never felt at home in the role of noble woman. Things come to a head and she runs away, changes her name to Micah Grey and joins the circus as a boy. The bulk of story is told through two time lines: one starting from Micah's first day in the circus and one chronicling Gene's life in the days before she runs away. I liked the way Micah's past was gradually revealed through Gene's story. Some aspects were hinted at in Micah's story before we read about them in Gene's and some we read about in Gene's timeline before seeing some of the ramifications in Micah's. I thought they played off each other well and I was almost disappointed when Gene's timeline ran out (as we always knew it had to).

I have to say, Lam's choice to write in first person was a good one. Micah/Gene refer to themselves in the gender-neutral "I" leaving all the gendered pronouns up to the other characters to utter. A neat solution. Of course, there are times when Micah questions whether he is doing or feeling something as a man or as a woman, and a lot of the story focusses on him finding out who he is as a person, but it works well.

Something Pantomime got me thinking about philosophically was the nature of secrets, especially damaging personal ones. Gene was brought up knowing very well that no one could ever find out "what" she was. Only a few close family members knew and both she and her parents knew there would be dire consequences if the wrong people found out. Micah has to hide the same secret as well as the secret of his origins. Mild spoilers follow in white. Skip to the next paragraph if you wish to avoid them. As Micah grows romantically close with one of his fellow performers, he is faced with the question of how to tell her and when. Of course he puts it off and as a reader it was obvious that there would be consequences to perpetuating the lie. However, as he was angsting about how to tell her and how she would take it, I couldn't help but think that his continuing to keep the secret was not his fault. It was inevitable that the love interest would be upset that he hadn't told her sooner, but how could he have? Experience and common sense strongly suggested that things would not go well for him if he did and I don't think it was wrong of him to keep it from her for as long as possible. End spoilers.

The other notable aspect of Pantomime was the worldbuilding. It was surprisingly extensive and well thought through for a YA book. A lot of it remained in the background, apart from things like the city Micah came from and the social hierarchy. It wasn't until I was further in that I realised that there was much more to the worldbuilding than evident on the surface of the story and I started hoping for a sequel so that it could all be fully explored. I also kind of wanted to see a map of the place, not because I was confused about where places were (there's not that much travelling) but because I was curious. Luckily when I got to the end it strongly suggested that there would in fact be a sequel (and a visit to the author's website confirmed my suspicions). It finished in a fairly self-contained way so that a sequel isn't necessary to enjoy the book, but Micah's story is also definitely not over.

Pantomime was a great read. I recommend it to all fans of non-standard YA books. I think readers of adult fantasy books will also enjoy it. It felt more like a "grown up" fantasy book than a YA book (not that there's anything anti-YA in it and, well, it is a coming-of-age story) and I think it could just as easily have been marketed to the adult fantasy market, despite the protagonist's age. (Of course, YA is probably a better marketing choice.) So if you're not usually into YA but like fantasy books and the idea of running away to join the circus interests you, I strongly urge you to give Pantomime a go. I await the eventual sequel with excitement.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: February 2013, Strange Chemistry
Series: book 1 of ?, Micah Grey series
Format read: eARC on the iPad
Source: the publisher via NetGalley