101 Water Wise Ways by Helen Moffett

The water crisis – or Day Zero as we call it here in Cape Town – may have been averted by an incredible winter rainfall this past year, but it doesn't mean that we should stop our water-saving activities. Helen Moffett wrote 101 Water Wise Ways during the height of the panic, when Capetonians were counting down the days until Day Zero while anxiously glancing at the rapidly plunging dam levels. This book is chock-full of tips for those of us who wish to do our bit when it's clear our government has failed us.

While we were granted a reprieve thanks to a good winter, and some folks may even have returned to their previously wasteful water habits (I'm looking at my neighbour with his obsession with hosing down his car every other day), there are, I'm sure, quite a few of us who haven't forgotten that dull sense of impending doom knowing that the taps might run dry within a matter of weeks.

So, getting back to this book. There are so many tips here, from how to handle your bathroom and personal hygiene, all the way to how to cope with your kitchen, and even tips for visitors to the Mother City. Helen's passion for this topic shines through, and she writes in an easy-to-digest, factual (and often humorous) tone that most certainly succeeds in making the entire water situation far less gloomy.

This book is imbued with a 'can do' attitude, that no matter how awful things get, readers can be inspired to find systems that will work for themselves and their communities. Most importantly, emphasis is placed on finding solutions that work for you individually – not every household can approach water saving as a cookie-cutter process. If you care about water, and understand how absolutely vital water security is, then give 101 Water Wise Ways a shot. Even better, buy a copy for your local school or library.

Fire & Ice (Icefire Trilogy #1) by Patty Jansen

This one didn't quite pass muster for me, and I'm not entirely certain why Patty Jansen's writing didn't grab me. The setting certainly was interesting enough – we enter a frozen world where the previous regime that relied on a type of magic called icefire has been overthrown. In charge now is a cabal of eagle-riding knights who will do everything in their power to remain on top. Folks who have some sort of deformity (they're called Imperfect) are able to wield icefire, and so they face great persecution from the knights.

We follow the trials of an exiled noble Tandor, who wishes to reinstate his royal line. Only he's up against the knights, who have been stealing the Imperfect children Tandor has been grooming for his purpose. We also meat Isandor, and Imperfect who's been able to disguise his deformity and enter the knights' service. And it all culminates during a winter festival in a glorious catastrophe of earth-shaking proportions.

I like the author well enough; I follow her on assorted social media, so it pains me that I simply didn't gel with her writing. And I honestly believe the fault lies with the reader (myself). The story left me cold, like I couldn't suspend disbelief to immerse myself in it, and trust me, it's rare when that happens. Whether it was the uneasy blend of fantasy and sci-fi apparent in this work, of the fact that there was a part of me that wanted the story to be more lyrical in terms of prose, I'm not certain. I'm sure there are folks out there who are huge fans, and they find what they are looking for here. But I am not that reader.

Wild Karoo by Mitch Reardon

My friends know I'm one of those peculiar individuals who seeks solitude in South Africa's Karoo regions, so when the opportunity presented itself to review Mitch Reardon's Wild Karoo, I put up my hand immediately for a copy. This book is every serious lover of the Karoo's wildest dream come true, in which Reardon takes readers on an adventure that starts at the Bontebok National Park just outside of Swellendam in the Western Cape, and travels through the many (and varied) Karoo regions, including the magical Little, Great, Tankwa, Hantam, Namaqualand, Cederberg, Camdeboo and more.

My only complaint is that the book itself could have been elevated to the rarified status of coffee table book, because the current size simply doesn't do Reardon's stunning photography justice. Not only is the photography wonderful, but so is Reardon's writing, as he exquisitely and effortlessly evokes the landscape and its wildlife, as well as the people who live in these regions – farmers, game rangers, researchers. So while the immediacy of some of the interviews may lead to the content of the book dating somewhat over the years, I do believe that it exists as an important snapshot for the status of the Karoo regions at the time of publishing while also highlighting the delicate balance of the assorted regions.

Reardon weaves in snippets of history, from our past explorers and indigenous people in a way that is sensitive but also aware of the great impact that our species has had on the land. And believe me, there are some stories here that will make any ardent nature-lover weep and gnash their teeth – for instance the extinction of species such as the quagga and the blue antelope, as well as the great injustice suffered by the San. While there is currently much doom and gloom in terms of the environment worldwide, Reardon also paints a picture of hope – that here in South Africa we have people who are working hard to find solutions that will preserve our wild places for future generations. He argues most eloquently for the importance that these last refuges for wilderness hold for us, and that a dynamic way forward by building sustainable communities and use around the land is what we need. The truth is that our species has thrown nature's delicate balance out of kilter, and it is up to us to take up the challenge of stewardship.

Wild Karoo finds a permanent spot in my collection, not only as a source book for research, but also thanks to its inspirational nature. And now I'm already planning where my next Karoo adventure will take place. If you love South Africa's wild places and want to be inspired with a story that gives you hope that not all is lost, then this is it.

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness

While I admit to slogging through books one and two of Deborah Harkness's All Souls trilogy, I'm happy to say that book three bucked the trend for me. Maybe it was because by the time I reached The Book of Life, I was already conversant with the characters and their dynamics so that I didn't mind the slow-moving pace of the story. Perhaps this is my biggest bone to pick with the author – story is sacrificed to a degree while emphasis is placed on the relationships between characters. Thus this wedges the book a little more firmly into romance territory. Which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but it's not why I was embarked on reading these books in the first place.

The All Souls trilogy is heir to such luminaries as Anne Rice (before she lost the plot), bringing a more mature, witchy riff on the themes prevalent in Twilight. So that's my *very* basic assessment of what we're sitting with here. I also don't think I'm *quite* the right reader for Harkness's writing. While I love her attention to detail, I sometimes feel that it's misplaced (like in book one where there was a whole detour into vampire dietary requirements).

For all the trilogy's faults, however, I do feel that Harkness does an adequate job of wrapping up all the threads. Despite the 'creature of the week' feel you get when you're introduced to (yet) another daemon, witch or vampire, she does eventually smooth out the narrative. But. But.

Focus. We never feel as if we're running out of time, that there is something seriously at stake until right at the end until a particular antagonist strikes and a protagonist responds in a way that immediately entrenches them as TSTL (I won't spoil). Lack of focus and a plethora of subplots trip this trilogy up time and again.

These days it's difficult to breathe fresh air into the whole contemporary fantasy genre when we're faced with supernatural creatures, and to give credit where it's due, Harkness has built a world that is incredibly rich despite it not deviating far from established tropes (hello, New Orleans, Venice, miss us much?). Her creatures, despite their supernatural leanings, are, at the end of the day, still erring more on the side of human – which may frustrate those who prefer their vampires being a bit more other.

Her focus on her characters and their relationships with each other than narrative development, hamstrings her pace. Her writing is quite all right, and I think if you're looking for a trilogy that will essentially be a historical fantasy soapie, this one will be a pleaser. But I am not that reader.

Convictions by Julie Morrigan

From time to time I read outside of my genre, and I can't recall where the copy of Julie Morrigan's Convictions came from (possibly a free read or a 99c special recommended by someone). So yes, this is quite a departure from my usual fare, and having recently read and reviewed Morrigan's Heartbreaker, I was quite happy to delve into Convictions.

I'm going to be brutally honest, but this is not the author's strongest work. I found the premise interesting enough: kids go missing, and we have snippets from their point of view suggesting that they're being inducted into some sort of weird Christian cult that steal children in order to grow. And then mostly, we follow the cops trying to solve the case over a few years. From time to time we have interludes from the sister of one of the missing girls, who has been locked up for attempting to murder the man suspected of abducting her sister.

I found that I couldn't really engage with the writing at all. It's written in a shallow third-person perspective, with an awful lot of tell and not nearly enough show or layering to make me feel any real urgency or sense of immersion. I guess if you're looking for some (very) light reading, and this sounds like your cup of tea, by all means, indulge.

Kill Baxter by Charlie Human

Following on the breakneck speed of Apocalypse Now-Now, Charlie Human's anti-Harry Potter, Baxter, is back. This time he has to attend a school for the magically inclined – a rather nasty place in the middle of nowhere aptly named Hexpoort. In typical Human style, Kill Baxter is a non-stop romp from one misadventure to the next, as we are plunged deeper into the world of the Hidden, and those who have to stop that world from spilling out into our own.

It's not a walk in the park for Baxter, who up until the events unfolding in book one, has lived a rather mundane life. Now he discovers he's apparently a dreamwalker – a rare ability – and he has precious little time to come into his powers before he is dragged into conflict. The kids at his new school aren't helping much either – if ever there existed a motley collection of reprobates, this is it. What doesn't help is that the resident Chosen One (a nod to Harry Potter himself) is an unmitigated tosser with a penchant for pushing Baxter around.

After saving the world the first time, Baxter has decided to turn over a new leaf. So he keeps holding himself back from being the unholy terror he was in book one. And this division of his light/dark self does create problems for him as he goes along – he needs to find his true self before he can come fully into his powers, and the way things go, he may not survive to do so.

Kill Baxter is full of absurd humour, ultra violence and often unexpectedly wry observations about the human condition – something that's difficult to get the balance right. I did feel, however, at times, that the writing is a bit fast, that the overall plot development (as it does in book one) occasionally gets derailed in favour of the style, but somehow Human pulls it off far better in book two than book one. Perhaps it's because he's more comfortable in the world now, knows the characters better.

There's something almost Pratchettesque about the setting, in an Ankh-Morpork kinda way, but far, far darker, and steeped in African mythology. I also suspect that some of the references will no doubt go way over the heads of non-South African readers. But I also reckon that this sprawling contemporary fantasy novel will hit the mark too, because its themes will, by the same measure, seem so fresh to many non-South African  readers. Kill Baxter is fast, funny and sometimes quite silly, but at the end of the day it's one heck of a ride.

Falada by Angela D Mitchell

What I love about particular fandoms (yes, I'm looking at you, Dragon Age) is that they connect me with likeminded souls. Angela D Mitchell is one such writer, whose thought-provoking blogs have sent me down numerous nug warrens. Also, her fanfiction is especially lush – and she focuses so well on the nuances of characters' interaction with so much layering and a ring of authenticity. Naturally, when she mentioned that she also writes original fiction, her fantasy novella Falada ended up being an insta-buy on my list.

I'm going to go out on a limb and compare her writing style to Neil Gaiman's right off the bat. She has an understanding of story structure, especially in terms of taking the form of a fairytale and making it her own, then subverting it with all the touchstones we've come to know and love, from wicked witches, enchanted steeds and princesses.

Falada is the story of the princess Géanna, whose mother is the wicked witch. It's the tale we know all too well – a princess must marry a king and become queen. Only Géanna isn't your bog-standard, typical princess. And as much as she loves her mother, she chafes at her mother's manipulations. Yet Géanna is an obedient daughter, up until a point. It's when she starts to take matters into her own hands that her fate unravels, and she's faced with the task of trying to right the wrongs that have placed her where she is. Of course nothing runs smoothly, but I'm not going to spoil it for you.

Okay. I love Mitchell's writing. I will most likely go out and buy the next book she publishes without batting an eyelid. Was Falada perfect? It wasn't, but Mitchell's wordcraft is magic. I feel almost as if the novella wanted to be a novel rather than a novella, and that's my only real bone to pick. Things are left at a 'happy for now' by the end, but I feel that the outcome at the climax was a little bit rushed, too easily resolved almost. And I think this is something that might've been fixed with a brainstorming at the developmental stages of the writing.

This wasn't a dealbreaker, however, and if you've enjoyed Stardust, you'll most certainly enjoy Falada. Read it with my blessings. It's a lovely story, and one that I'll be thinking about for a while yet.