#greg keyes

I ready 12 books total this month, with a total of 2832 pages: 5 Juvenile-level, 1 Young Adult, and 6 Adult. Surprisingly, nothing dipped below a 5 out of 10 rating...probably because I'm getting better about dropping books I'm not enjoying.

Anyway, without further ado, on to the post!

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

How To Lose A Goblin In Ten Days | Jessie Sylva

[Adult] [Romance]

So this is a romance set in a fantasy setting between a halfling woman and a nonbinary goblin (hell yeah, respect on the names of nonbinary people and goblins, finally) but... I'm going to be so real, I was on board with the analysis of how people who don't fit into cookie-cutter communities get ostracized from those communities and the sacrifices that are made by an individual for the sake of the greater whole. I was on board with analyzing how halflings portrayed themselves as wholesome and helpless but were just as ruthless as anyone else. But then it kind of...went nowhere.

See, the summary of the book promises that the cottage and the communities of the halflings and goblins would be threatened by a common enemy, but that doesn't show up until the very end of the book, the halflings don't actually contribute to the end even when the goblins show up to help them, and...frankly it didn't wrap up in any particularly satisfying way?

This is why I am describing this book primarily as a romance despite the fantasy. The actual threat promised in the book has little to do with the overall plot, this is very much a romance-first thing. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it, but ultimately I didn't find myself wanting to rate it any higher than a 6 out of 10.

Secrets At Sea | Richard Peck, Kelly Murphy

[Juvenile] [Contemporary, Historical, Western]

This is a historical story following talking mice. That is what drew me in. I love a good mouse story, as seen by The Tale Of Despereaux. However, this one was...incredibly scattershot, even for a Juvenile-level book. Our singular POV character (Helena) had little idea of what was going on anywhere, random things would happen, random characters would show up and somehow we were supposed to be invested in them, and by the end most of the female characters (mouse and human alike) were paired up with somebody because I guess that's how it had to be. Also, the titular "secrets at sea" were just…things that happened during the story. There were no secrets because Helena didn't know shit about what was going on.

Overall, 5 out of 10, I wouldn't recommend this even to its target demographic but it's not blatantly offensive or anything. It's just boring.

Molka | Monika Kim

[Adult] [Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Psychological, Paranormal]

So this is a paranormal horror thriller, and...honestly the pieces didn't really work well together? For some reason, I wasn't that impressed by the way it connected. I was very interested in Dahye's part, and Junyoung made for a good pervert villain, but then the paranormal stuff was added, and then the ending just... The writing's fine, I just feel like the two elements clashed against each other in such a way that neither story thread was fully satisfied. Monika Kim seems like a good author, I just didn't enjoy this book. 5 out of 10.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Silver Under Nightfall | Rin Chupeco

[Adult] [Science Fantasy]

The best way to describe this book is as a science paranormal horror book with fantasy elements because our main female vampire character literally has the goddamn Kamehameha of pure, undiluted sunlight. It kind of drifts along for the first 100 pages, kicks up at page 200, goes harder at page 300, and then hits turbo around page 400 and does not fucking stop until you slam into the end.

I enjoyed our main poly ship (M/M/F) and it was pretty horny without being explicit, which means I'll be filing it under my Adult books instead of my Peenitz Out books. I will absolutely be picking up the second book, and I believe it's only a duology. Overall, 8 out of 10.

Nettle & Bone | T Kingfisher

[Adult] [Fantasy]

You know, originally I was annoyed by the introduction of Fenris as a romance option, but I warmed up to him in time and the pseudo-romance-subplot served a narrative purpose. I also love that we never learned the name of the dust-wife. I cannot stress enough how much I appreciate the emphasis on family in this book. Marra is out here doing the most for the sake of her sister after the death of their eldest sister.

I enjoyed reading this, but I find myself preferring the horror-first works of this author to the fantasy-first ones based on what I've read so far. 8 out of 10, a good experience overall, I see why people go feral over it, but something about it didn't scratch quite the same itch for me.

The Infernal City: An Elder Scrolls Novel | Greg Keyes

[Adult] [Fantasy]

So this is very much a 2009 Elder Scrolls book. It is exactly what you think it is and nothing more. It doesn't stand on its own unless you already know a lot about the Elder Scrolls universe and its lore, it absolutely requires you to read the second book to continue what's going on, and the two main characters that we get confirmed ages for are 17 and 22, which is...a choice.

But I still enjoyed it? Not enough to reread it for anything other than finding specific passages, but also it didn't necessarily suck. I'll give it a 7 out of 10.

Meet Kirsten: An American Girl | Janet Shaw

[Juvenile] [Contemporary, Historical, Western]

I forgot how utterly ruthless American Girl doll books were. A child dies of cholera in this one. Honestly, great book, kinda wish I still had my copies of American Girl books but I got this one when it was stripped from the catalogue of the library I work at. 8 out of 10.

Creative Girl's Club Adventure 1: Wellspring Of Magic | Jan Fields

[Juvenile] [Fantasy]

I think this is a really fun and solid book for really young fantasy. I would have bristled at it as a child because it's more feminine than my interests were as a child, but it's really solid for a younger-aimed chapter book. Not sure how I feel about the bears turning into people at the end, but I liked them when they were bears. I'll give it a 7 out of 10 because I would have liked some better character descriptions but I still enjoyed it.

9/10 - Very Very Good

The Hyacinth Labyrinth ADVANCE READER'S COPY | Jamie Pacton

[Young Adult] [Fantasy]

All thoughts on this book can be found in my full overview/review.

A House With Good Bones | T Kingfisher

[Adult] [Mystery, Horror, Thriller, Psychological, Paranormal]

So with the note that my previous experiences with T Kingfisher's writings were back in January 2026, I have devoted myself to picking up more of her books every time I find them. I would describe this as a mystery horror novel with a fantasy bend (thus continuing my theory that all of T Kingfisher's works can fall on a three-point triangle of Horror, Fantasy, and Romance; one day I will assemble the diagram).

It was absolutely wild to get further through it and discover that I am familiar with the things she is invoking in this one, even moreso than usual. I adored the protagonist, too, and I didn't mind being in her head. It brought a lot of much-needed levity and I loved the bug information.

Emmett Kelly: The Greatest Clown On Earth | Donald McManus

[Juvenile] [Nonfiction]

For some reason I was in a weird mood going into this one and wanted to read about sad clowns. I was surprised and impressed to see that the political troubles of the potato famine of Ireland were discussed here and pointed directly at the British. Not sure what else to say about this book tbh. A good read about a sad clown and the man who invented him.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash | Jason Offutt

[Juvenile] [Nonfiction]

"[...]No, it was killing them slowly, savoring their terror. Quick or slow, their fate was sealed. Stanton was praying; Sam was bracing for the inevitable. The one still point was Chen. She looked completely serene, ready to accept whatever happened. He didn’t understand it, but watching her, his breathing evened out and grew deeper; the drum of his heart lessened in tempo."

click for better quality & to see the full image. sometimes they get cut off weirdly!

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm is a prequel novel written by Greg Keyes for the second movie in the reboot trilogy. It takes place soon after the end of the first film, about a week after the apes escaped into the redwood forest beyond San Francisco and the Simian Flu began to cut through the human race. This novel is a fantastic bridge between Rise and Dawn, giving us more insight into characters we met in the first movie who will feature in the next, as well as fleshing out the fall of society. 

The book does very well juggling between the two massive plots of Caesar's apes avoiding their human hunters and the Simian Flu tearing through the city. Though we don't see Will or any other humans we met in Rise, they give us many new human characters: a reporter trying to make the connection between the escaped apes and the new virus, an emergency room doctor dealing hands on with outbreak casualties, and an ape researcher and a former hunter who have been brought in by Gen-Sys to capture Caesar's group. While I thought I wouldn't care about the humans because the apes are always my favorite characters, all these humans in different locations and with different stories keep the story from dragging; I ended up enjoying the final days of humanity almost as much as Caesar's story. The book also gives us the first introduction to a human character who will become important in Dawn: Dreyfus, the leader of the human colony played by Gary Oldman. Going into the movie, his backstory isn't very clear other than he was in some position of power before the end and he lost his wife and children. But the book goes really deep into his story of a former police chief running for mayor and wanting to protect humans. Rereading the book in 2024, the parallels of the Simian Flu with the Covid outbreak definitely rings true (much like the YouTube shorts).

But no matter how good the human characters are, what I enjoyed most about this book was seeing Caesar and his escaped apes start to adapt to life in the wild. Even while they're being hounded by the humans chasing them, they have to figure out how to care for sick/injured apes and where to get food without humans to feed them. A great moment for Caesar is when he thinks to himself that he never thought beyond escaping from the human city; his realization that there is more to figure out than just dodging humans shows how he goes from the accidental ringleader of the sanctuary to the wise authoritative leader of the apes of the next two films.

Though surprisingly, the true star of this book isn't Caesar; it's Koba. We get numerous detailed flashbacks of Koba's life before ending up in the Gen-Sys lab and receiving the brain enhancing drugs. From the death of his mother to being an abused TV star to arriving at the labs as a test ape. In the films, Koba's hatred of humans shines through and is unquestionable; you don't need the backstory to understand why he carries a grudge against all humanity. But reading the details really did break my heart. And getting his backstory revealed as he learns to work with other apes, as he proves his loyalty to Caesar by rescuing injured apes rather than wrecking vengeance on humans, you actually have hope that he could be happy now that he was free with other apes. 

Another great part of the book is getting to see the very beginning of Caesar and Cornelia's courtship. Since one of my disappointments with the films are the forgotten female characters, I was glad to see Cornelia here, challenging Caesar's orders when it came to taking care of injured apes. Though her role is still small, I liked seeing her get a little time to flesh out her character.

Firestorm is officially labeled as a prequel (which is why I have it listed first as I'm trying to go in chronological storyline order), but I actually enjoyed reading it after seeing Dawn. While I think it can still be appreciated in any order, I liked getting to meet Koba in the movie and seeing him as a great complicated villain, before then learning his backstory and growing your sympathy for him, while also thinking about how tragic it is that he couldn't let go of his hate. Whatever order you decide to read them in, Firestorm by Greg Keyes is a wonderful expansion on the movies that I would label as required reading for fans for the expansive and enjoyable story it shares.

Illustration by Terese Nielsen, “Star Wars: Edge of Victory II: Rebirth.” July, 2001.

“Edge of Victory II: Rebirth,” written by Greg Keyes and book eight of The New Jedi Order series, was released in July of 2001 and portrayed a very pregnant Mara Jade. Slightly different art was initially released online, before the final cover was revealed. The final piece was painted traditionally with acrylic, oil, and colored pencil, with “a few squirts with the airbrush.” Artist Terese Nielsen had these memories to share on her website:

Rebirth was a “we-need-it-yesterday” sort of cover. I had far less time to work it out than I prefer. I think Del Rey needed it for catalog promotions or some such thing. Creative Director Dave Stevenson wanted to feature Luke and Mara along with some Vong ships. Mara was obviously pregnant in this book. She had some health difficulties as well, which I tried to foreshadow slightly on the cover. Speaking from experience, it’s more than a little hard to feel “tough” when you’re nine months pregnant, but in honor of Mara being a Jedi and all, I tried to endow her with as much toughness as possible, being in the state she was.

After the piece was finished and Lucasfilm had used it for their promotional purposes, I had the opportunity to work on it a little more for the final book cover. Alterations to the final painting included modifying Luke’s face, and changing the Coralskipper from a less slick look to a more rough, grittier, rock-like surface. Also, they wanted more of a “war bracelet” on Mara’s arm. Other than that, I had the time to add a little more to the large World Ship and touch up other areas here and there.

Terese was kind enough to participate in an interview with Jade Crusades in 2001 at San Diego Comic-Con. Here is an excerpt from that interview:

What preparations did you go through before producing Del Rey's “Edge of Victory II: Rebirth” book cover?