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The Frost Files #2
Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air
Teagan Frost’s life is finally back on track. Her role working for the government as a psychokinetic operative is going well and she might even be on course for convincing her crush to go out with her. But, little does she know, that sh*t is about to hit the fan . . .
A young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles – home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can’t stop him, the entire city – and the rest of California – could be wiped off the map.
A young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles – home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can’t stop him, the entire city – and the rest of California – could be wiped off the map.
300 pages, Unknown Binding
First published June 16, 2020
204 people are currently reading
2717 people want to read
About the author
Jackson Ford
12 books425 followersJackson Ford is the author of The Frost Files series, including The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind and Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air). He may or may not be the alter ego of author Rob Boffard, but he is definitely 100% a jackass.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 287 reviews
February 15, 2023
Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air
By Jackson Ford
I love this series so far! Teagan is back the team. This will be a really hard assignment because this is about someone that has a superpower like Teagan has. Probably more powerful! He is just a kid but has already started an earthquake in California. He's not done!
Very exciting! We lose a team member too! :( Great book, had me stuck to my tablet until I was finished! I bought the next book because the library didn't have it. I have 3 book series going at the same time so I will be reading it soon!
By Jackson Ford
I love this series so far! Teagan is back the team. This will be a really hard assignment because this is about someone that has a superpower like Teagan has. Probably more powerful! He is just a kid but has already started an earthquake in California. He's not done!
Very exciting! We lose a team member too! :( Great book, had me stuck to my tablet until I was finished! I bought the next book because the library didn't have it. I have 3 book series going at the same time so I will be reading it soon!
January 27, 2021
Just like the first one in the series, this is a fun and fast SF filled with horrendous amounts of selfishness, cooking, and world-destroying earthquakes.
What? Did you expect the TK to just be something minor like random sh*t flying through the air?
Give the author some credit. When we need to have some slightly unbelievable OP action, it's best not to go comic-book bland. Go big or go home.
I didn't even care that this four-year-old baddie was quite THAT smart or THAT powerful. It was just goofy enough to feel like all kinds of popcorn to me. :)
Expect over-the-top. Expect some nice humor. Expect a very unusual baddie. I think this might have made a rather cool graphic novel.
What? Did you expect the TK to just be something minor like random sh*t flying through the air?
Give the author some credit. When we need to have some slightly unbelievable OP action, it's best not to go comic-book bland. Go big or go home.
I didn't even care that this four-year-old baddie was quite THAT smart or THAT powerful. It was just goofy enough to feel like all kinds of popcorn to me. :)
Expect over-the-top. Expect some nice humor. Expect a very unusual baddie. I think this might have made a rather cool graphic novel.
October 15, 2022
A young woman in LA with Mind over Matter powers coerced into service with a US government Covert Group must deal with a similarly endowed Enfant Terrible capable of triggering the California Collapse with the inevitable Would Hurt a Child conundrum.
My eBook was ~500-pages. It had a US copyright of 2021.
Jackson Ford is a pseudonym for South African author Rob Boffard. He’s an, “author, journalist, sound engineer, snowboarder, hip-hop artist and more” (?). He is an author of more than ten science fiction novels in both stand-alone and in series. This is the second book in his Frost Files series. This was also the second book I’ve read by the author; the first being The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind (Frost Files #1) (my review).
I felt this story was more poorly written prose-wise than the first book. Although, the use of multiple (three) POVs was better. This improvement was offset by many, simple, text errors that could easily have been caught and corrected. The descriptions and action scenes were well done. This was consistent with the last book. The dialog was OK, being moderately hip. Unfortunately, the Brit-speak I found charming in the SA author's, first book’s narrative has been edited out. Funny they could do that, but miss the text errors?
The story was barely readable, unless you’re a rabid fan of graphic novels with a hipster, Plucky Girl with superpowers stories. (That’s Teagan, the protagonist.) While Mr. Ford/Boffard does an OK imitation of the super powered, 20-something, LA, hipster woman; I came to despise her. Her capability to make unfortunate choices (making the story longer) was bottomless. That she did not learn or feel remorse over them was excretable.
The story was also disappointing with its unoriginal use of tropes and recycling of likewise unoriginal tropes from the first book in the series. For example, the re-cycled tropes included: Hollywood Hacking, Sociopathic Soldier and Handler. The plotlines were just long strings of them, less any imaginative twists.
Finally, a good chunk of the end of the book sets-up for the next book in the series. I thought this book would have been better with a 350 vs. 500 page length.
The story spun the familiar Mutants Marvel Comics trope with millennial angst, and covert government agencies with license to kill. Parts of this story were amusing, but it was not a great work. In fact, its Sh*t, as the author would write. The main character was never more than banal. Didn't anyone eva tell her, With great power, comes great responsibility? That Ford/Boffard was attempting to write a graphic novel in prose-form was too obvious. (He failed by me.) This book was not original enough for me to continue with the next book in the series: Eye of the Sh*t Storm .
My eBook was ~500-pages. It had a US copyright of 2021.
Jackson Ford is a pseudonym for South African author Rob Boffard. He’s an, “author, journalist, sound engineer, snowboarder, hip-hop artist and more” (?). He is an author of more than ten science fiction novels in both stand-alone and in series. This is the second book in his Frost Files series. This was also the second book I’ve read by the author; the first being The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind (Frost Files #1) (my review).
I felt this story was more poorly written prose-wise than the first book. Although, the use of multiple (three) POVs was better. This improvement was offset by many, simple, text errors that could easily have been caught and corrected. The descriptions and action scenes were well done. This was consistent with the last book. The dialog was OK, being moderately hip. Unfortunately, the Brit-speak I found charming in the SA author's, first book’s narrative has been edited out. Funny they could do that, but miss the text errors?
The story was barely readable, unless you’re a rabid fan of graphic novels with a hipster, Plucky Girl with superpowers stories. (That’s Teagan, the protagonist.) While Mr. Ford/Boffard does an OK imitation of the super powered, 20-something, LA, hipster woman; I came to despise her. Her capability to make unfortunate choices (making the story longer) was bottomless. That she did not learn or feel remorse over them was excretable.
The story was also disappointing with its unoriginal use of tropes and recycling of likewise unoriginal tropes from the first book in the series. For example, the re-cycled tropes included: Hollywood Hacking, Sociopathic Soldier and Handler. The plotlines were just long strings of them, less any imaginative twists.
Finally, a good chunk of the end of the book sets-up for the next book in the series. I thought this book would have been better with a 350 vs. 500 page length.
The story spun the familiar Mutants Marvel Comics trope with millennial angst, and covert government agencies with license to kill. Parts of this story were amusing, but it was not a great work. In fact, its Sh*t, as the author would write. The main character was never more than banal. Didn't anyone eva tell her, With great power, comes great responsibility? That Ford/Boffard was attempting to write a graphic novel in prose-form was too obvious. (He failed by me.) This book was not original enough for me to continue with the next book in the series: Eye of the Sh*t Storm .
March 17, 2022
Whew! A real page-turner, a thriller of a type that I don't read much, but maybe I should because I tore through it. After the stellarly named The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, this one stretches the giggly naughty title convention a little, but the content is all gold. The excitement ramps up as Teagan and all of SoCal are hammered by a new, terrifying, super-powered beast. It's one of those most terrifying of creatures: a preschooler. But seriously, this four-year-old is an absolute psychopath, and I spent the entire book thinking that if his own mother didn't end up stabbing him in the throat, there was no justice in the world.
It's a reluctant super-hero/urban fantasy story of a psychokinetic, named Teagan Frost, who works undercover for some unspoken branch of the US government in exchange for not being dissected by the same. Her abilities came from her parents' rogue scientific dabblings, secrets that were thought to die with them. But as two books so far have shown, people with special abilities are perhaps more prevalent than expected. Teagan doesn't always act (read: never) heroically, intelligently, or as instructed, but her motivations, primarily self-preservation, are clear.
Warning: The back cover copy LIES. Teagan did not perfect her paella recipe; she burned the sh*t out of it the one time she tried to make it. Did the marketing person not even read two chapters?
Also warning: If you have earthquake anxiety, especially if you live in California, this may not be the book for you.
On that note, the author has never been to Los Angeles despite its entrenchment as the central locale for this series. It just goes to show that a skilled author can get away without direct subject research these days, with google and probably mining some local redittors and what not. Urban fantasy would probably not be what it is without actual Seattle-based authors at some time in the past, but the world is open to all now.
It's was already suspected by readers of the first book that the author is not American. The truth is in the 'tyres'. Though his identity was kept under wraps until this trilogy was completed, it's now revealed that Jackson Ford is "a pseudonym for Rob Boffard [honestly sounds like yet another pseudonym], a South African writer currently living in Vancouver." The books were published simultaneously by Orbit in the UK and North America, but apparently only copy edited in the former. The seeming authenticity of the L.A. setting is disrupted by those alternate spellings and terms from across the pond.
It's a reluctant super-hero/urban fantasy story of a psychokinetic, named Teagan Frost, who works undercover for some unspoken branch of the US government in exchange for not being dissected by the same. Her abilities came from her parents' rogue scientific dabblings, secrets that were thought to die with them. But as two books so far have shown, people with special abilities are perhaps more prevalent than expected. Teagan doesn't always act (read: never) heroically, intelligently, or as instructed, but her motivations, primarily self-preservation, are clear.
Warning: The back cover copy LIES. Teagan did not perfect her paella recipe; she burned the sh*t out of it the one time she tried to make it. Did the marketing person not even read two chapters?
Also warning: If you have earthquake anxiety, especially if you live in California, this may not be the book for you.
On that note, the author has never been to Los Angeles despite its entrenchment as the central locale for this series. It just goes to show that a skilled author can get away without direct subject research these days, with google and probably mining some local redittors and what not. Urban fantasy would probably not be what it is without actual Seattle-based authors at some time in the past, but the world is open to all now.
It's was already suspected by readers of the first book that the author is not American. The truth is in the 'tyres'. Though his identity was kept under wraps until this trilogy was completed, it's now revealed that Jackson Ford is "a pseudonym for Rob Boffard [honestly sounds like yet another pseudonym], a South African writer currently living in Vancouver." The books were published simultaneously by Orbit in the UK and North America, but apparently only copy edited in the former. The seeming authenticity of the L.A. setting is disrupted by those alternate spellings and terms from across the pond.
April 30, 2021
There is never a dull moment in this second book. The book starts with an earthquake and the revelation that there is a person who caused it, rather than it being a natural occurrence.
Teagan remains volatile, with a tendency to do her own thing while in the field. It shows a certain disrespect and immaturity, even while she’s self-aware enough to realize that she’s not making the best choices.
The team goes through hell, and we find out more about Tanner, as well as the people carefully keeping tabs on Teagan, unbeknownst to her.
This series is pure popcorn entertainment, with the action being fast, the baddies pretty bad, and the conspiracies and secrets growing around our main character.
I look forward to the next installment.
Teagan remains volatile, with a tendency to do her own thing while in the field. It shows a certain disrespect and immaturity, even while she’s self-aware enough to realize that she’s not making the best choices.
The team goes through hell, and we find out more about Tanner, as well as the people carefully keeping tabs on Teagan, unbeknownst to her.
This series is pure popcorn entertainment, with the action being fast, the baddies pretty bad, and the conspiracies and secrets growing around our main character.
I look forward to the next installment.
July 14, 2020
As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...
In the first book in The Frost Files, The Girl Who Could Move Sh#t With her Mind. Teagan Frost was attempting to learn how to use and control her psychokinetic powers. Working as part of a team of misfits for the government under the front of a removals company known as China Shop Movers. Dreaming of opening a restaurant. Learning that she isn’t the only person in the world with superpowers. And then, the icing on the cake, after a mission goes wrong, a dead body is found, Teagan is framed for murder and has twenty-four hours to try to prove her innocence and uncover the truth. I recommend picking the first book up, it is pure and unadulterated high-octane fun that is filled with technicolour mayhem and I liked it, I liked it a lot. Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air takes everything that was good about the first book, polishes it, shines it, improves upon it and raises the stakes making it bigger, bolder and louder. I had an absolute blast and I loved it!
A few months have passed since the end of The Girl Who Could Move Sh#t With her Mind and Teagan is dealing with the emotional fallout as best as she can. She is still dreaming of one day becoming a chef and opening a restaurant. Her PK (psychokinetic) powers have grown stronger and she has more control over them. And, after the events of the first book brought them closer together she is getting along better with the rest of the China Shop team. While it is definitely not plain sailing for Teagan her life seems to be heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for it all to come crashing down on her and China Shop in spectacular and destructive fashion. In Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air, challenges, hard times, loss and tough choices will find Teagan and the rest of the China Shop team battered and bruised, tattered and torn and physically and emotionally broken.
Located on the San Andreas fault line LA is prone to earthquakes. When one destroys San Bernadino, on the surface, it seems like another natural disaster. A terrible tragedy with hundreds dead. But, a natural disaster that, sadly, couldn’t have been avoided. Then, not long after the first earthquake hits another one strikes. The long-predicted ‘Big One’ which causes severe post-apocalyptic scale damage to the whole of LA and the surrounding area for hundreds of miles. Only, the earthquakes aren’t natural. They are being caused by Matthew, a genius four-year-old who, like Teagan has superpowers. Matthew is on the run with Amber, his mother and was caught by a security camera from a nearby garage placing his hands on the ground at the epicentre moments before the original earthquake started. Only China Shop have seen the video footage and no-one else knows the truth. That the earthquakes are being caused by a malicious and menacing little monster on one hell of a temper tantrum. Matthew isn’t throwing his toys. He is moving earth and causing earthquakes, on purpose. Done with glee in his eyes and a twisted smile on his face because he can, because he enjoys it and because it is fun.
Even after unleashing the ‘Big One‘ on LA Matthew is disappointed with the results and he wants more death, more destruction and more devastation. The clock is ticking for Teagan and China Shop. In the aftermath, across the wreckage of LA and beyond they race to stop Matthew before he causes another cataclysmic earthquake, one that will destroy the entire West Coast of the US.
The story in Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air unfolds mostly through Teagan in the first-person with occasional chapters written in the third-person by Amber and Matthew to round the story out. Teagan flourishes in her role as the main character and narrator of the story with her blunt, foul-mouthed, impulsive and sarcastic personality and her wise-ass inner thoughts. On occasion, she can also be self-centred and her China Shop teammates have no problem in telling her this and laying the truth bare for her. She is very much concerned with herself, her own problems and doesn’t always treat people well. But, her bonds are deepening with the team, she is growing and she is learning to be more concerned about others. I guess, Teagan, at times, can be a bit of an asshole. But, just because she has a superpower it doesn’t mean that she is superhuman, she’s not. She is human and with all the flaws that being human includes. You will root for her and you will care about her and about China Shop.
The rest of China Shop aren’t just extras in what could be the ‘Teagan’ show. They are all important to the story and are a wonderful bunch of colourful and eclectic characters. The dynamics between the team, the banter, the back and forth, the bickering and the occasional falling outs. Through it all and the events that will stretch them to their limits, they are there for each other and they have each other’s backs.
The writing in Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air is neon-bright, spirited and packed full of colourful language, humour and energy with moments of deep emotion. The pacing breakneck and intense from start to finish. The story is full of frenetic action, suspense and tension. There is a lot of destruction featured and the ruination of LA and the fallout from the earthquakes is starkly depicted and harrowing. But, no matter how dark it gets and there are moments of darkness for China Shop Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air never loses its sense of entertainment. And, for those wondering, yes, there is plenty of random sh#t flying through the air included too.
Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air is a disaster movie in the guise of a book with a spunky super-powered heroine on the hunt for a terrible toddler, what’s not to love?!?! Follow Teagan and her special brand of crazy as she takes you on a non-stop blockbuster thrill ride of super-charged and mayhem-filled madness.
In the first book in The Frost Files, The Girl Who Could Move Sh#t With her Mind. Teagan Frost was attempting to learn how to use and control her psychokinetic powers. Working as part of a team of misfits for the government under the front of a removals company known as China Shop Movers. Dreaming of opening a restaurant. Learning that she isn’t the only person in the world with superpowers. And then, the icing on the cake, after a mission goes wrong, a dead body is found, Teagan is framed for murder and has twenty-four hours to try to prove her innocence and uncover the truth. I recommend picking the first book up, it is pure and unadulterated high-octane fun that is filled with technicolour mayhem and I liked it, I liked it a lot. Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air takes everything that was good about the first book, polishes it, shines it, improves upon it and raises the stakes making it bigger, bolder and louder. I had an absolute blast and I loved it!
A few months have passed since the end of The Girl Who Could Move Sh#t With her Mind and Teagan is dealing with the emotional fallout as best as she can. She is still dreaming of one day becoming a chef and opening a restaurant. Her PK (psychokinetic) powers have grown stronger and she has more control over them. And, after the events of the first book brought them closer together she is getting along better with the rest of the China Shop team. While it is definitely not plain sailing for Teagan her life seems to be heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for it all to come crashing down on her and China Shop in spectacular and destructive fashion. In Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air, challenges, hard times, loss and tough choices will find Teagan and the rest of the China Shop team battered and bruised, tattered and torn and physically and emotionally broken.
Located on the San Andreas fault line LA is prone to earthquakes. When one destroys San Bernadino, on the surface, it seems like another natural disaster. A terrible tragedy with hundreds dead. But, a natural disaster that, sadly, couldn’t have been avoided. Then, not long after the first earthquake hits another one strikes. The long-predicted ‘Big One’ which causes severe post-apocalyptic scale damage to the whole of LA and the surrounding area for hundreds of miles. Only, the earthquakes aren’t natural. They are being caused by Matthew, a genius four-year-old who, like Teagan has superpowers. Matthew is on the run with Amber, his mother and was caught by a security camera from a nearby garage placing his hands on the ground at the epicentre moments before the original earthquake started. Only China Shop have seen the video footage and no-one else knows the truth. That the earthquakes are being caused by a malicious and menacing little monster on one hell of a temper tantrum. Matthew isn’t throwing his toys. He is moving earth and causing earthquakes, on purpose. Done with glee in his eyes and a twisted smile on his face because he can, because he enjoys it and because it is fun.
Even after unleashing the ‘Big One‘ on LA Matthew is disappointed with the results and he wants more death, more destruction and more devastation. The clock is ticking for Teagan and China Shop. In the aftermath, across the wreckage of LA and beyond they race to stop Matthew before he causes another cataclysmic earthquake, one that will destroy the entire West Coast of the US.
The story in Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air unfolds mostly through Teagan in the first-person with occasional chapters written in the third-person by Amber and Matthew to round the story out. Teagan flourishes in her role as the main character and narrator of the story with her blunt, foul-mouthed, impulsive and sarcastic personality and her wise-ass inner thoughts. On occasion, she can also be self-centred and her China Shop teammates have no problem in telling her this and laying the truth bare for her. She is very much concerned with herself, her own problems and doesn’t always treat people well. But, her bonds are deepening with the team, she is growing and she is learning to be more concerned about others. I guess, Teagan, at times, can be a bit of an asshole. But, just because she has a superpower it doesn’t mean that she is superhuman, she’s not. She is human and with all the flaws that being human includes. You will root for her and you will care about her and about China Shop.
The rest of China Shop aren’t just extras in what could be the ‘Teagan’ show. They are all important to the story and are a wonderful bunch of colourful and eclectic characters. The dynamics between the team, the banter, the back and forth, the bickering and the occasional falling outs. Through it all and the events that will stretch them to their limits, they are there for each other and they have each other’s backs.
The writing in Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air is neon-bright, spirited and packed full of colourful language, humour and energy with moments of deep emotion. The pacing breakneck and intense from start to finish. The story is full of frenetic action, suspense and tension. There is a lot of destruction featured and the ruination of LA and the fallout from the earthquakes is starkly depicted and harrowing. But, no matter how dark it gets and there are moments of darkness for China Shop Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air never loses its sense of entertainment. And, for those wondering, yes, there is plenty of random sh#t flying through the air included too.
Random Sh#t Flying Through The Air is a disaster movie in the guise of a book with a spunky super-powered heroine on the hunt for a terrible toddler, what’s not to love?!?! Follow Teagan and her special brand of crazy as she takes you on a non-stop blockbuster thrill ride of super-charged and mayhem-filled madness.
July 10, 2020
Despite Orbit putting it directly in the email I was sent, I didn't realize this was book two in a series. Thankfully, in the end, it didn't matter. It feels like it was deliberately written so you can just waltz into book two and understand what's going on. That said, there are a ton of spoilers for book one, including major plot points, character deaths, and other things that might ruin your enjoyment if you intend on reading the first one. I personally don't give a shit about spoilers, so all it did was intrigue me about perhaps going backward and reading The Girl Who Can Move Sh*t With Her Mind.
This is a story about a woman living in LA who happens to have psychokinetic powers, works for a secret government agency, and has to try and save the world.
Teagan is able to move inorganic matter with her mind like metal and plastic, but she has no grip on organic things like trees or the earth. It turns out there's a four-year-old kid who is her opposite, he can move organic shit with his mind. He's also cruel and psychotic. That sounds strange to say about a toddler, but he definitely is one of the least likable POVs I've read in a long time. He enjoys watching people hurt, he wants to hear them scream and cry. He likes burying people and killing them via suffocation, he pummels dirt into people's mouths choking them to death. He's evil. He has no attachment to his mother, he uses and abuses her to get what he wants. He sets off earthquakes on purpose just to watch the world burn. He's also a super-genius, he's not a regular four-year-old which made him even less relatable and unsympathetic as a character.
It's up to Teagan and her team to find this kid before he sets off an earthquake that could be "The Big One" and cause untold destruction all across California, Oregon, and Washington.
I had a hard time liking Teagan, she wasn't a bad person but she's definitely self-centered and a little rough around the edges. I would absolutely love doing all the things that the people around her suggested she do - go up in space and mess around with probes and space station stuff. Help people after natural disasters by finding those buried under rubble. There are lots of ways Teagan could help out humanity, but what she wants to do is cook good food. She wants to be a professional chef and doesn't have much interest at all with using her powers in any paradigm-shifting way. The thing of it is, if the government had it their way, Teagan would be locked away and subjected to intense, involuntary experimentation. The one thing standing in the way of that is the little group she works for keeping her busy helping out the government take down bad guys. Without their protection, she would have to go on the run. This little group that's protecting her needs her undivided attention to bring down the bad guys, so opening up a cafe is out of the question for Teagan, and she's a little bitter about it all.
This is a very light and breezy book, I got through it almost in a day, and if I wasn't so busy it would have been a read-in-one-sitting kind of book. I'm not sure how well some of these jokes and references will age. There are references to things like the last season of Game of Thrones and how everyone hates it, current tv shows and music, and also mentions Donald Trump. I don't tend to enjoy references when there are too many of them, but that's a personal taste kind of thing. This has a readability quality to it that makes it super accessible. It doesn't require learning about a whole fantasy culture's government, or religion, or magic systems. The magic system here is familiar, as is the world. You can fall right into it and plow through until the end.
This won't be for people who don't like crude jokes, language, or references, either. Honestly, some of this felt like it was just said for the shock value. One of the characters threatened to blackmail another character with the fact he was watching bukkake porn in the cafeteria. It just felt a little shoehorned in made to raise the eyebrows of the reader. In this scenario the world was tearing itself apart, there are hundreds of thousands dead after an earthquake, the survivors are all scrabbling to try and make sense of what happened... who cares that some dude was watching porn and where? I'm not offended, it just felt like things like that were too random to make sense and it didn't strike me as compelling blackmail material.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed, crude, wild ride of urban fantasy adventure. I think this could have a lot of appeal to the right audience, but I'm not sure if I was the target audience or not. On paper, it sounds like it would work well for me, but I think the fact that I never warmed up to Teagan made this difficult for me to enjoy fully. This was a well-written book that just wasn't for me.
Ratings:
Plot: 12/15
Characters: 13/15
World Building: 12/15
Writing: 13/15
Pacing: 13/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 6/10
Final Score: 80/100 or 4/5 stars on Goodreads.
This is a story about a woman living in LA who happens to have psychokinetic powers, works for a secret government agency, and has to try and save the world.
Teagan is able to move inorganic matter with her mind like metal and plastic, but she has no grip on organic things like trees or the earth. It turns out there's a four-year-old kid who is her opposite, he can move organic shit with his mind. He's also cruel and psychotic. That sounds strange to say about a toddler, but he definitely is one of the least likable POVs I've read in a long time. He enjoys watching people hurt, he wants to hear them scream and cry. He likes burying people and killing them via suffocation, he pummels dirt into people's mouths choking them to death. He's evil. He has no attachment to his mother, he uses and abuses her to get what he wants. He sets off earthquakes on purpose just to watch the world burn. He's also a super-genius, he's not a regular four-year-old which made him even less relatable and unsympathetic as a character.
It's up to Teagan and her team to find this kid before he sets off an earthquake that could be "The Big One" and cause untold destruction all across California, Oregon, and Washington.
I had a hard time liking Teagan, she wasn't a bad person but she's definitely self-centered and a little rough around the edges. I would absolutely love doing all the things that the people around her suggested she do - go up in space and mess around with probes and space station stuff. Help people after natural disasters by finding those buried under rubble. There are lots of ways Teagan could help out humanity, but what she wants to do is cook good food. She wants to be a professional chef and doesn't have much interest at all with using her powers in any paradigm-shifting way. The thing of it is, if the government had it their way, Teagan would be locked away and subjected to intense, involuntary experimentation. The one thing standing in the way of that is the little group she works for keeping her busy helping out the government take down bad guys. Without their protection, she would have to go on the run. This little group that's protecting her needs her undivided attention to bring down the bad guys, so opening up a cafe is out of the question for Teagan, and she's a little bitter about it all.
This is a very light and breezy book, I got through it almost in a day, and if I wasn't so busy it would have been a read-in-one-sitting kind of book. I'm not sure how well some of these jokes and references will age. There are references to things like the last season of Game of Thrones and how everyone hates it, current tv shows and music, and also mentions Donald Trump. I don't tend to enjoy references when there are too many of them, but that's a personal taste kind of thing. This has a readability quality to it that makes it super accessible. It doesn't require learning about a whole fantasy culture's government, or religion, or magic systems. The magic system here is familiar, as is the world. You can fall right into it and plow through until the end.
This won't be for people who don't like crude jokes, language, or references, either. Honestly, some of this felt like it was just said for the shock value. One of the characters threatened to blackmail another character with the fact he was watching bukkake porn in the cafeteria. It just felt a little shoehorned in made to raise the eyebrows of the reader. In this scenario the world was tearing itself apart, there are hundreds of thousands dead after an earthquake, the survivors are all scrabbling to try and make sense of what happened... who cares that some dude was watching porn and where? I'm not offended, it just felt like things like that were too random to make sense and it didn't strike me as compelling blackmail material.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed, crude, wild ride of urban fantasy adventure. I think this could have a lot of appeal to the right audience, but I'm not sure if I was the target audience or not. On paper, it sounds like it would work well for me, but I think the fact that I never warmed up to Teagan made this difficult for me to enjoy fully. This was a well-written book that just wasn't for me.
Ratings:
Plot: 12/15
Characters: 13/15
World Building: 12/15
Writing: 13/15
Pacing: 13/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 6/10
Final Score: 80/100 or 4/5 stars on Goodreads.
November 4, 2020
Ahoy there me mateys! It be Sci-Fi- Month!! This be a book two. While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the first book in this series, the girl who could move sh*t with her mind, then ye might want to skip this. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .
The first book in the series was super fun and I was so looking forward to getting me hands on the next installment of Teagan Frost's adventures. While book one was a popcorn book of awesome, this book had some problems that made it really feel like a middle book that just exists to only set up the final showdown. I am conflicted because the plot really pissed me off at times and yet I still want to read the next book!
I still love Teagan and her crazy, snarky self despite her incredibly selfish choices in this. While the first book stretched believability, this story didn't really have any. The four year old baddy doesn't think about consequences ever even though he is a genius. Teagan makes ridiculous choices that a) go directly against saving the world, and b) should have killed her. The actual plot of the book really fell flat for me. And the ending twist was actually dissatisfying. I am not sure what I wanted book two to be but it wasn't this. According to the First Mate I was yelling out loud about character choices and author plot choices as I read. But I still want to read book three. Go figure. Arrrr!
The first book in the series was super fun and I was so looking forward to getting me hands on the next installment of Teagan Frost's adventures. While book one was a popcorn book of awesome, this book had some problems that made it really feel like a middle book that just exists to only set up the final showdown. I am conflicted because the plot really pissed me off at times and yet I still want to read the next book!
I still love Teagan and her crazy, snarky self despite her incredibly selfish choices in this. While the first book stretched believability, this story didn't really have any. The four year old baddy doesn't think about consequences ever even though he is a genius. Teagan makes ridiculous choices that a) go directly against saving the world, and b) should have killed her. The actual plot of the book really fell flat for me. And the ending twist was actually dissatisfying. I am not sure what I wanted book two to be but it wasn't this. According to the First Mate I was yelling out loud about character choices and author plot choices as I read. But I still want to read book three. Go figure. Arrrr!
August 21, 2020
I enjoyed The Girl That Could Move Shit With Her Mind thoroughly, and there were definitely aspects of this book that I enjoyed a lot as well, but some parts simply fell flat. As a 19 year old woman living in the Greater Los Angeles Area, I would’ve thought that this book would speak to me more. The little joys I get when I hear them mention Watts Towers or the 405 or Angeles National Forest are definitely a bonus in the book, as its fun reading about characters being around the same areas you are. And although the location was very relatable to me, there were many times I felt as though it was hard to relate to the characters — ESPECIALLY when it comes to Teagan’s approach to her romantic relationships. The development of her relationship with Nic certainly seemed rushed in the previous book, but I figured it would be more fully developed throughout the series. Instead, the beginning of the book involves her being absolutely enamored with Nic (to the point where it was annoying to read) only to completely stop liking him 30 pages later. Then the feelings with Jonas seemed incredibly out of the blue given they had only met each other for an hour or so before she leaves him... only to start saying “I can’t stop thinking about Jonas” like 100 pages later as if they had really had all that meaningful of a conversation to begin with. Additionally, the beginning felt like it dragged on quite a bit, the climax felt fairly nonexistent, and the denouement dragged on for far too long.
This is a fairly stream-of-consciousness review so I apologize for any poor grammar, but I do feel as though this book let me down somewhat. I will most likely read the third book if it comes across my radar, but I will not be actively looking for it.
This is a fairly stream-of-consciousness review so I apologize for any poor grammar, but I do feel as though this book let me down somewhat. I will most likely read the third book if it comes across my radar, but I will not be actively looking for it.
July 27, 2020
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The nitty-gritty: Another fun entry into Ford's Frost Files series, get ready for earthquakes, snarky characters, an evil genius child, and plenty of sh*t flying around.
I had a blast reading last year’s The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind , and I’ve been really looking forward to the sequel. Last week, when I found myself in a bit of a reading slump, I decided to pick it up, knowing it might do the trick. And it did, in spades! Jackson Ford delivers a high-octane sequel that’s just as much fun as the first book, and even now, having finished it, I’m a little sad that my time with these characters has come to an end—at least until the next book comes out. And even though this is book two in the series, I can safely assure new readers that you can easily pick this one up without having read the first book. Ford does a good job of inserting some of the more important backstory elements in an unobtrusive way, although I urge you to read the first book since it’s so much fun.
Teagan Frost has psychokinesis, or “PK” as she calls it. She has the uncanny ability to move inorganic objects with her mind, and after spending two years in a secret government testing facility in Waco, Texas, Teagan now works for a woman named Moira Tanner. Tanner rescued her from the Waco facility in exchange for joining a crack team of civilians who help take out threats to national security. It’s kept Teagan off the government’s radar—who would love to get their hands on her and use her unique abilities for nefarious purposes—but she’s not completely “free” since she has to follow rules and basically do whatever Tanner wants her to do.
When the story opens, Teagan and the rest of the crew—Reggie, Africa, Annie and Paul—have been tasked with stealing a top secret list from a German millionaire named Jonas Schmidt, before he sells the damaging information to the highest bidder. Schmidt’s private jet is waiting for him at the Van Nuys airport while he meets with his clients, and Teagan and her friends must break into the jet before he returns and steal the list from the plane’s safe. Unfortunately, in the middle of the operation, a devastating earthquake hits Los Angeles, sending the city into turmoil. Reggie, who is back at headquarters monitoring the event, has noticed some odd occurrences just prior to the quake and suspects that the earthquake may have been caused by a little boy who seems to be able to control soil and rocks with his mind.
Making their way through an apocalyptic landscape full of broken freeways, toppled skyscrapers and shell shocked, suddenly homeless people, Teagan and her friends set out to stop the boy before he strikes again.
Once again, Ford tackles another of California’s more potent fears, this time earthquakes. For anyone who has been through an earthquake of 6.0 or greater, you’ll be gritting your teeth while reading, because Ford does a great job of describing the chaos, uncertainty and despair of going through such an event. Because this book is, shall we say, over the top, Ford’s earthquakes seem bigger than life, but earthquakes over 8.0 are possible and have in fact occurred, and so everything about the earthquakes in this story rang true. The author claims that he’s never visited Los Angeles himself, but I have to applaud him for getting a lot of details right. The characters traverse the city by bicycle, ATV and on foot and we get to see some familiar landmarks like the Getty Center, downtown LA, Watts Towers, the Santa Monica Pier and many more. My favorite location was Dodger Stadium, where FEMA has set up a rescue operation to offer food and shelter to those displaced by the quake. Ford of course had no idea that Dodger Stadium would end up being used as a COVID-19 testing facility in real life, and I loved that eerie parallel. I also have to mention that Ford throws in a line about last year’s now famous Ridgecrest, CA earthquake, which was a magnitude of 7.1 and caused terrible damage to the residents of the small town. What’s notable about that fact is that I was born in Ridgecrest and my parents still live there. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen “Ridgecrest” in a published novel, and I have to admit I’m pretty thrilled about that!
Random Sh*t is a non-stop thrill ride full of chase scenes, airplane hijinks, assassination attempts and much more. Not to mention there is a psychotic four-year-old—who just happens to be scary smart—gleefully trying to bring California to its knees. Matthew—the little boy—is accompanied by his mother Amber, a weary and terrified young woman who is desperate to protect her child while coming to grips with the fact that he wants to destroy the Western Seaboard. I ended up really liking Amber, who goes through a lot of growth during the story and finally shows some backbone, despite the fact that her own son is manipulating and controlling her.
The downside of so much action is that the author is always trying to top himself, and the action sequences tend to get more unbelievable as the story goes along. There are also quite a few outrageous coincidences that made me roll my eyes, but because this is speculative fiction, and because I was having so much fun, I didn't mind too much.
While the action and coincidences may seem unbelievable and over the top, Jackson Ford’s characters and humor were spot on. I laughed out loud a lot while reading this book, and that’s pretty rare for me, I have to say. Teagan isn’t always the most pleasant person to be around—she’s dealing with several relationship issues in this story and they’re a bit tedious at times—but damn she’s funny! Some of my favorite scenes were the ones where Teagan, Annie, Africa and Reggie are bickering about one thing or another, and when Jonas Schmidt makes an appearance, there’s even more funny dialog when Teagan gets caught in the act of breaking into his safe.
I did have a few issues with the book, however. Just like The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With her Mind , I spotted quite a few British spellings and terms in the ARC I read, although I suppose it’s possible those will be scrubbed in the final book. I have nothing against the British, mind you, but when the characters are Americans living in Los Angeles—my city—I get very picky about the details. We don’t say “Cali” for California, and we don’t say “move state” when we’re thinking about moving to another state. There was also a smattering of British spellings like “favourite” and “tyre” I’m pretty sure, which were mightily distracting alongside Ford’s excellent physical descriptions of Los Angeles. It might be petty and stupid, but hey, it’s something that bugged me and I wanted to mention it.
Ford wrangles a pretty big cast of characters, and he doesn’t spend enough time with all of them, unfortunately. Some only appear briefly, and the reader is left with lots of questions. One new character that I absolutely loved—Jonas Schmidt—is only given a few brief scenes, which was disappointing, since Ford gives the reader the impression that Schmidt is going to be an important part of the story. We do get a hint that he might be back in the next book, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The last chapter is a big teaser/lead-in to the sequel, where we meet several new characters who not only had an impact on Teagan’s past, but will probably be central to the plot of book three. If Ford was trying to drive his readers crazy by leaving us hanging at the end, then I have to say he succeeded!
But as far as sheer enjoyment goes, this book succeeds spectacularly, and that’s exactly what I needed this past week. Teagan and her motley but lovable crew of misfits are one of my favorite found families in current fiction, and I’ll be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series, Eye of the Sh*t Storm .
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Read my review of The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her MindThis review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
I had a blast reading last year’s The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind , and I’ve been really looking forward to the sequel. Last week, when I found myself in a bit of a reading slump, I decided to pick it up, knowing it might do the trick. And it did, in spades! Jackson Ford delivers a high-octane sequel that’s just as much fun as the first book, and even now, having finished it, I’m a little sad that my time with these characters has come to an end—at least until the next book comes out. And even though this is book two in the series, I can safely assure new readers that you can easily pick this one up without having read the first book. Ford does a good job of inserting some of the more important backstory elements in an unobtrusive way, although I urge you to read the first book since it’s so much fun.
Teagan Frost has psychokinesis, or “PK” as she calls it. She has the uncanny ability to move inorganic objects with her mind, and after spending two years in a secret government testing facility in Waco, Texas, Teagan now works for a woman named Moira Tanner. Tanner rescued her from the Waco facility in exchange for joining a crack team of civilians who help take out threats to national security. It’s kept Teagan off the government’s radar—who would love to get their hands on her and use her unique abilities for nefarious purposes—but she’s not completely “free” since she has to follow rules and basically do whatever Tanner wants her to do.
When the story opens, Teagan and the rest of the crew—Reggie, Africa, Annie and Paul—have been tasked with stealing a top secret list from a German millionaire named Jonas Schmidt, before he sells the damaging information to the highest bidder. Schmidt’s private jet is waiting for him at the Van Nuys airport while he meets with his clients, and Teagan and her friends must break into the jet before he returns and steal the list from the plane’s safe. Unfortunately, in the middle of the operation, a devastating earthquake hits Los Angeles, sending the city into turmoil. Reggie, who is back at headquarters monitoring the event, has noticed some odd occurrences just prior to the quake and suspects that the earthquake may have been caused by a little boy who seems to be able to control soil and rocks with his mind.
Making their way through an apocalyptic landscape full of broken freeways, toppled skyscrapers and shell shocked, suddenly homeless people, Teagan and her friends set out to stop the boy before he strikes again.
Once again, Ford tackles another of California’s more potent fears, this time earthquakes. For anyone who has been through an earthquake of 6.0 or greater, you’ll be gritting your teeth while reading, because Ford does a great job of describing the chaos, uncertainty and despair of going through such an event. Because this book is, shall we say, over the top, Ford’s earthquakes seem bigger than life, but earthquakes over 8.0 are possible and have in fact occurred, and so everything about the earthquakes in this story rang true. The author claims that he’s never visited Los Angeles himself, but I have to applaud him for getting a lot of details right. The characters traverse the city by bicycle, ATV and on foot and we get to see some familiar landmarks like the Getty Center, downtown LA, Watts Towers, the Santa Monica Pier and many more. My favorite location was Dodger Stadium, where FEMA has set up a rescue operation to offer food and shelter to those displaced by the quake. Ford of course had no idea that Dodger Stadium would end up being used as a COVID-19 testing facility in real life, and I loved that eerie parallel. I also have to mention that Ford throws in a line about last year’s now famous Ridgecrest, CA earthquake, which was a magnitude of 7.1 and caused terrible damage to the residents of the small town. What’s notable about that fact is that I was born in Ridgecrest and my parents still live there. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen “Ridgecrest” in a published novel, and I have to admit I’m pretty thrilled about that!
Random Sh*t is a non-stop thrill ride full of chase scenes, airplane hijinks, assassination attempts and much more. Not to mention there is a psychotic four-year-old—who just happens to be scary smart—gleefully trying to bring California to its knees. Matthew—the little boy—is accompanied by his mother Amber, a weary and terrified young woman who is desperate to protect her child while coming to grips with the fact that he wants to destroy the Western Seaboard. I ended up really liking Amber, who goes through a lot of growth during the story and finally shows some backbone, despite the fact that her own son is manipulating and controlling her.
The downside of so much action is that the author is always trying to top himself, and the action sequences tend to get more unbelievable as the story goes along. There are also quite a few outrageous coincidences that made me roll my eyes, but because this is speculative fiction, and because I was having so much fun, I didn't mind too much.
While the action and coincidences may seem unbelievable and over the top, Jackson Ford’s characters and humor were spot on. I laughed out loud a lot while reading this book, and that’s pretty rare for me, I have to say. Teagan isn’t always the most pleasant person to be around—she’s dealing with several relationship issues in this story and they’re a bit tedious at times—but damn she’s funny! Some of my favorite scenes were the ones where Teagan, Annie, Africa and Reggie are bickering about one thing or another, and when Jonas Schmidt makes an appearance, there’s even more funny dialog when Teagan gets caught in the act of breaking into his safe.
I did have a few issues with the book, however. Just like The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With her Mind , I spotted quite a few British spellings and terms in the ARC I read, although I suppose it’s possible those will be scrubbed in the final book. I have nothing against the British, mind you, but when the characters are Americans living in Los Angeles—my city—I get very picky about the details. We don’t say “Cali” for California, and we don’t say “move state” when we’re thinking about moving to another state. There was also a smattering of British spellings like “favourite” and “tyre” I’m pretty sure, which were mightily distracting alongside Ford’s excellent physical descriptions of Los Angeles. It might be petty and stupid, but hey, it’s something that bugged me and I wanted to mention it.
Ford wrangles a pretty big cast of characters, and he doesn’t spend enough time with all of them, unfortunately. Some only appear briefly, and the reader is left with lots of questions. One new character that I absolutely loved—Jonas Schmidt—is only given a few brief scenes, which was disappointing, since Ford gives the reader the impression that Schmidt is going to be an important part of the story. We do get a hint that he might be back in the next book, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The last chapter is a big teaser/lead-in to the sequel, where we meet several new characters who not only had an impact on Teagan’s past, but will probably be central to the plot of book three. If Ford was trying to drive his readers crazy by leaving us hanging at the end, then I have to say he succeeded!
But as far as sheer enjoyment goes, this book succeeds spectacularly, and that’s exactly what I needed this past week. Teagan and her motley but lovable crew of misfits are one of my favorite found families in current fiction, and I’ll be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series, Eye of the Sh*t Storm .
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Read my review of The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her MindThis review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
April 7, 2023
loved this book! i think i liked the 1st book more? but this was still very good! can't wait to read the next one :)
June 24, 2024
There are real consequences for these characters and I was surprised by that. Very intriguing world building and I’m sad that the libraries don’t have book three as an ebook
August 11, 2020
3.75/5
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
Cette série est un espèce de mélange entre Charlie de Stephen King et les X-men .
Le premier tome avait une intrigue tellement marquée urban fantasy que ça m’avait énervé parce que j’avais l’impression qu’on se foutait un peu de ma gueule en mettant ça en science-fiction par snobisme. C’est une des raisons qui ont fait que je ne l’avait pas vraiment apprécié.
Ce tome ci par contre se démarque bien plus et sort de cette impression la. Du coup ça passe mieux. On est sur du thriller de science-fiction avec des gens aux super pouvoirs. C’est classique mais ça fonctionne bien.
Alors nous suivons Teagan Frost, une jeune femme qui a été modifié avant sa naissance pour lui donner le pouvoir de la psychokinésie. Elle a grandit avec ses parents et ses frères et sœurs, tout aussi modifiés dans ce que ceux ci appelaient « la crèche ». Mais tout n’a pas bien fini et Teagan a passé la majeur partie de sa vie dans un labo du gouvernement.
Teagen peut déplacer tout ce qui n’est pas matière organique, mais tout ce qui l’est lui échappe totalement.
Une fois adulte elle a passé un contrat avec le gouvernement pour pouvoir avoir une vie plus libre mais toujours encadrée. Elle fait partie d’une équipe chargée de missions secrètes sous le couvert de société de déménagement. Tant qu’elle se conduit bien, n’expose pas ses pouvoirs et suis les ordres sans discuter, elle est tranquille, mais l’épée de Damoclès reste toujours au dessus de sa tête.
Alors que l’équipe est en plein dans une mission pour récupérer une liste de noms d’espions et de comptes de la CIA qu’on sait transiter à un certain endroit un certain jour, Los Angeles est victime d’un gros tremblement de terre …
Puis d’un second, encore plus puissant … Et les informations de l’équipe finissent par confirmer que ces tremblements de terre ne sont pas naturels, mais ont été déclenchés par quelqu’un …
Y aurait-il une autre crèche comme celle de ses parents quelque part? C’est ce qu’il va falloir découvrir en plus d’arrêter le fou furieux qui met la cote des états unis à feu et à sang, et ce avant qu’il ne déclenche le « big one » !
On est sur un livre avec pas mal d’humour, surtout sur les relations entre les personnages.
Contrairement à ce qu’on pourrait penser au vu du titre et de la citation que je mets juste en dessous, il n’est pas rempli de vulgarités mais sait les utiliser a bon escient pour faire réagir quand il le faut.
(on est au moment ou le premier tremblement de terre vient d’avoir lieux, un de leurs voisin n’arrête pas de parler des données scientifiques concernant le sujet …)
<[…]And people think quakes like these relieve pressure on the fault lines, but actually—”
“Dude.”
“—it’s only a ten-thousandth of the total—”
“Dude.”
“… Yes?”
My mouth can’t decide between Go fuck yourself and Stick your dick in a blender, so what comes out is, “Go fuck your dick in a blender.”
Not my strongest comeback, I know. He gawps at me as I trudge back to my house.>
Bon, on est vraiment sur un livre d’action, qui ferait d’ailleurs un bon film je pense. Il ne faut donc pas non plus trop en attendre. Mais si vous aimez les blockbusters hollywoodiens, avec de l’action spectaculaire et des personnages pas parfait, et que vous voulez retrouver cette sensation dans un livre, il sera pour vous.
Après ce n’est pas exempt de défauts, bien sur. Je n’ai pas trop aimé le personnage du milliardaire au bon cœur qui aide l’héroïne avec une possible romance dans le futur. Ça semblait limite de trop dans l’ensemble sans parler du fait que je n’aime pas les introduction de personnages qui ne servent à rien sauf pour teaser une romance. A voir pour la suite, bien sur, l’auteur pourrait tout à fait me surprendre. Mais pour l’instant ce n’est pas gagné sur ce point.
Du coup on peut dire que c’était une bonne lecture de manière distrayante. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée et comme livre de transition entre deux autres plus complexe il passe très bien car le rythme est bon et ne nous laisse pas le temps de penser à autre chose.
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
Cette série est un espèce de mélange entre Charlie de Stephen King et les X-men .
Le premier tome avait une intrigue tellement marquée urban fantasy que ça m’avait énervé parce que j’avais l’impression qu’on se foutait un peu de ma gueule en mettant ça en science-fiction par snobisme. C’est une des raisons qui ont fait que je ne l’avait pas vraiment apprécié.
Ce tome ci par contre se démarque bien plus et sort de cette impression la. Du coup ça passe mieux. On est sur du thriller de science-fiction avec des gens aux super pouvoirs. C’est classique mais ça fonctionne bien.
Alors nous suivons Teagan Frost, une jeune femme qui a été modifié avant sa naissance pour lui donner le pouvoir de la psychokinésie. Elle a grandit avec ses parents et ses frères et sœurs, tout aussi modifiés dans ce que ceux ci appelaient « la crèche ». Mais tout n’a pas bien fini et Teagan a passé la majeur partie de sa vie dans un labo du gouvernement.
Teagen peut déplacer tout ce qui n’est pas matière organique, mais tout ce qui l’est lui échappe totalement.
Une fois adulte elle a passé un contrat avec le gouvernement pour pouvoir avoir une vie plus libre mais toujours encadrée. Elle fait partie d’une équipe chargée de missions secrètes sous le couvert de société de déménagement. Tant qu’elle se conduit bien, n’expose pas ses pouvoirs et suis les ordres sans discuter, elle est tranquille, mais l’épée de Damoclès reste toujours au dessus de sa tête.
Alors que l’équipe est en plein dans une mission pour récupérer une liste de noms d’espions et de comptes de la CIA qu’on sait transiter à un certain endroit un certain jour, Los Angeles est victime d’un gros tremblement de terre …
Puis d’un second, encore plus puissant … Et les informations de l’équipe finissent par confirmer que ces tremblements de terre ne sont pas naturels, mais ont été déclenchés par quelqu’un …
Y aurait-il une autre crèche comme celle de ses parents quelque part? C’est ce qu’il va falloir découvrir en plus d’arrêter le fou furieux qui met la cote des états unis à feu et à sang, et ce avant qu’il ne déclenche le « big one » !
On est sur un livre avec pas mal d’humour, surtout sur les relations entre les personnages.
Contrairement à ce qu’on pourrait penser au vu du titre et de la citation que je mets juste en dessous, il n’est pas rempli de vulgarités mais sait les utiliser a bon escient pour faire réagir quand il le faut.
(on est au moment ou le premier tremblement de terre vient d’avoir lieux, un de leurs voisin n’arrête pas de parler des données scientifiques concernant le sujet …)
<[…]And people think quakes like these relieve pressure on the fault lines, but actually—”
“Dude.”
“—it’s only a ten-thousandth of the total—”
“Dude.”
“… Yes?”
My mouth can’t decide between Go fuck yourself and Stick your dick in a blender, so what comes out is, “Go fuck your dick in a blender.”
Not my strongest comeback, I know. He gawps at me as I trudge back to my house.>
Bon, on est vraiment sur un livre d’action, qui ferait d’ailleurs un bon film je pense. Il ne faut donc pas non plus trop en attendre. Mais si vous aimez les blockbusters hollywoodiens, avec de l’action spectaculaire et des personnages pas parfait, et que vous voulez retrouver cette sensation dans un livre, il sera pour vous.
Après ce n’est pas exempt de défauts, bien sur. Je n’ai pas trop aimé le personnage du milliardaire au bon cœur qui aide l’héroïne avec une possible romance dans le futur. Ça semblait limite de trop dans l’ensemble sans parler du fait que je n’aime pas les introduction de personnages qui ne servent à rien sauf pour teaser une romance. A voir pour la suite, bien sur, l’auteur pourrait tout à fait me surprendre. Mais pour l’instant ce n’est pas gagné sur ce point.
Du coup on peut dire que c’était une bonne lecture de manière distrayante. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée et comme livre de transition entre deux autres plus complexe il passe très bien car le rythme est bon et ne nous laisse pas le temps de penser à autre chose.
July 5, 2020
I'm grateful to the publisher for an advance e-copy of this book via NetGalley.
Whew. What a chase...
Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air (the asterisk is part of the title, not censorship by me) is a welcome return to the messed up LA of Teagan Frost. This book is the second in the series, following The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with her Mind, in which Teagan's already bizarre world was turned upside down and one of her closest friends killed. Do stop and read that first if you haven't, because there are some major spoilers for the first book here.
Still with me?
OK, well, if you have read Girl you'll know that book was basically A Bad Day for Teagan Frost, and so you won't be surprised that Teagan is about to have Another Very Bad Day at work. If you think your working life has been hard over the past few months, then let Teagan show you just how much worse it can get. Of course, to match her, you'd have to have psychokinetic powers courtesy of experiments on you by your parents; to have been arrested and imprisoned in a Secret Government Lab; and then to have been released on licence, with the condition that you use those powers For Good as part of a team disguised as furniture removers, who break and enter, plant bugs, and retrieve all sorts of dodgy stuff for said Government.
In Random Sh*t the impact goes wider than in Girl, placing Teagan's beloved city of LA in danger (and indeed, the threat goes further). This is in many respects a more focussed story than the first one, essentially a chase in which the China Shop, the cover name for Teagan's team, receives blow after blow - while still not having recovered from the events of the first book - even as they're needed more than ever. All the time, they must keep on the trail, against a ticking clock, hampered by the chaos that's already been caused, tired, hungry and depleted in numbers.
Ford limits the viewpoints here, keeping the story very simple and very intense. We see Teagan's extended (and increasingly frantic) narration, and those of the two antagonists, and that's just about all - but this allows Ford to spend a lot of time developing their characters. Teagan is, as before, a mass of contradictions: still mourning Carlos, despite what he did to her, ambivalent about boyfriend (or not-boyfriend?) Nic (I don't like Nic. He's not the man Teagan needs.) She is impulsive, swears (a lot) that she's relaxed at and reconciled to her messed up life history (she's not) and still dreaming of opening that restaurant. She tends to treat all those around her very badly, and is given a few home truths, but it's hard to hold it against her, especially given the pressure she's under here
The two people that Teagan and her crew end up hunting... I don't want to say too much about them. There's a complex relationship there. One of the two is a young boy, albeit a gifted young boy, and Ford captures that perfectly, I think: the transitions from vulnerability and need to howling monsterdom (that's any young child but the circumstances here add a new dimension of menace to his tantrums). The other is his mother, who's definitely had the dirty end of the stick in life and again, I think the mixture of love, roiling guilt, the absence of perspective, were all very true to life for a parent of any young child: with an added dimension here.
The story is, as I have said, basically a chase. Time is running short, and disaster looms. We know from fairly early on what the stakes are, so there's little mystery. Rather, the tension comes from the volatile mix of characters and the roles they're cast in. Teagan, who faces an awful moral dilemma. Annie, who's been hurt badly and wants revenge. The boy and his mother. The friends and relatives whose location is unknown due to a catastrophe feature, not part of the story but exerting a pull on everyone, distracting attention and energy. It's a very well imagined, scary portrayal of a disaster and the very human reactions to it that you'd get.
Behind all this, Ford IS advancing the deeper premise of these novels, with some new facts revealed and a couple of characters coming onto the scene who I'm sure will appear again - enigmatic German tech billionaire Jonas Schmidt; the mysterious Director; and more. Together they hint at new directions for China Shop, new enemies and allies perhaps and - worst of all - new emotional blows for Teagan, as if the poor woman hadn't already been through enough.
Just can't wait for the next book...
Whew. What a chase...
Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air (the asterisk is part of the title, not censorship by me) is a welcome return to the messed up LA of Teagan Frost. This book is the second in the series, following The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with her Mind, in which Teagan's already bizarre world was turned upside down and one of her closest friends killed. Do stop and read that first if you haven't, because there are some major spoilers for the first book here.
Still with me?
OK, well, if you have read Girl you'll know that book was basically A Bad Day for Teagan Frost, and so you won't be surprised that Teagan is about to have Another Very Bad Day at work. If you think your working life has been hard over the past few months, then let Teagan show you just how much worse it can get. Of course, to match her, you'd have to have psychokinetic powers courtesy of experiments on you by your parents; to have been arrested and imprisoned in a Secret Government Lab; and then to have been released on licence, with the condition that you use those powers For Good as part of a team disguised as furniture removers, who break and enter, plant bugs, and retrieve all sorts of dodgy stuff for said Government.
In Random Sh*t the impact goes wider than in Girl, placing Teagan's beloved city of LA in danger (and indeed, the threat goes further). This is in many respects a more focussed story than the first one, essentially a chase in which the China Shop, the cover name for Teagan's team, receives blow after blow - while still not having recovered from the events of the first book - even as they're needed more than ever. All the time, they must keep on the trail, against a ticking clock, hampered by the chaos that's already been caused, tired, hungry and depleted in numbers.
Ford limits the viewpoints here, keeping the story very simple and very intense. We see Teagan's extended (and increasingly frantic) narration, and those of the two antagonists, and that's just about all - but this allows Ford to spend a lot of time developing their characters. Teagan is, as before, a mass of contradictions: still mourning Carlos, despite what he did to her, ambivalent about boyfriend (or not-boyfriend?) Nic (I don't like Nic. He's not the man Teagan needs.) She is impulsive, swears (a lot) that she's relaxed at and reconciled to her messed up life history (she's not) and still dreaming of opening that restaurant. She tends to treat all those around her very badly, and is given a few home truths, but it's hard to hold it against her, especially given the pressure she's under here
The two people that Teagan and her crew end up hunting... I don't want to say too much about them. There's a complex relationship there. One of the two is a young boy, albeit a gifted young boy, and Ford captures that perfectly, I think: the transitions from vulnerability and need to howling monsterdom (that's any young child but the circumstances here add a new dimension of menace to his tantrums). The other is his mother, who's definitely had the dirty end of the stick in life and again, I think the mixture of love, roiling guilt, the absence of perspective, were all very true to life for a parent of any young child: with an added dimension here.
The story is, as I have said, basically a chase. Time is running short, and disaster looms. We know from fairly early on what the stakes are, so there's little mystery. Rather, the tension comes from the volatile mix of characters and the roles they're cast in. Teagan, who faces an awful moral dilemma. Annie, who's been hurt badly and wants revenge. The boy and his mother. The friends and relatives whose location is unknown due to a catastrophe feature, not part of the story but exerting a pull on everyone, distracting attention and energy. It's a very well imagined, scary portrayal of a disaster and the very human reactions to it that you'd get.
Behind all this, Ford IS advancing the deeper premise of these novels, with some new facts revealed and a couple of characters coming onto the scene who I'm sure will appear again - enigmatic German tech billionaire Jonas Schmidt; the mysterious Director; and more. Together they hint at new directions for China Shop, new enemies and allies perhaps and - worst of all - new emotional blows for Teagan, as if the poor woman hadn't already been through enough.
Just can't wait for the next book...
January 10, 2023
Finished reading: January 9th 2023
"But it's like the ending of Game Of Thrones. You can wish as much as you want, but it will still suck, and it will suck for all eternity."
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
April 25, 2021
Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air, the second book in Jackson Ford’s The Frost Files series.
This is a really enjoyable and action packed continuation of the series. The premise being there are people with special abilities, super powers if you will. But this isn’t Avengers level of superheroes. Most people in this present day America, specifically Los Angeles don’t know these people exist. If anyone has seen or remembers the tv show Mutant X, it has similarities to that.
In comes our returning main character of Teagan Frost. She is part of a secret government group known as China Shop. They carry out covert missions, taking advantage of Teagan’s psychokinesis powers (she can move stuff with her mind). After events in the previous book: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, Teagan believes she is the only person with powers.
Our main plot here involves Teagan not being the only one with powers. This revelation is groundbreaking in more ways than one. The discovery of Matthew, a young child prodigy that has control over earthquakes. With Los Angeles being on the San Andreas fault this just the beginning of the problems Teagan and China Shop will have to deal with.
We swap between three main perspectives throughout the book: Teagan, the young lady trying to figure out her powers and purpose, she just wants to be a chef. Her character is great. Easily likeable with her snarky and sassy charm. It also through her that we get to see the other characters part of China Shop. We don’t get chapters from their point of view.
The other main points of view we swap between are: Matthew himself. It’s interesting to see the events from his point of view and his motivations to set off the earthquakes; Amber, Matthew’s mother is the other point of view. It’s interesting to see her motivations and how she internally struggles with being the mother and looking after her child, but also comprehending what he can do.
This book doesn’t pull it punches. It’s high octane but there are consequences to the earthquakes. It also isn’t your typical super powered affair. But the fun tone that shines throughout this book shows awareness of the genre. There are fun references all over the place.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, a great continuation of the series that ups the stakes. It also further develops the character of Teagan. I look forward to seeing what the third instalment brings. A bonus being that you could easily jump into the series here without reading the first book. Although you would be missing out on a fantastic first entry into the series.
This is a really enjoyable and action packed continuation of the series. The premise being there are people with special abilities, super powers if you will. But this isn’t Avengers level of superheroes. Most people in this present day America, specifically Los Angeles don’t know these people exist. If anyone has seen or remembers the tv show Mutant X, it has similarities to that.
In comes our returning main character of Teagan Frost. She is part of a secret government group known as China Shop. They carry out covert missions, taking advantage of Teagan’s psychokinesis powers (she can move stuff with her mind). After events in the previous book: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, Teagan believes she is the only person with powers.
Our main plot here involves Teagan not being the only one with powers. This revelation is groundbreaking in more ways than one. The discovery of Matthew, a young child prodigy that has control over earthquakes. With Los Angeles being on the San Andreas fault this just the beginning of the problems Teagan and China Shop will have to deal with.
We swap between three main perspectives throughout the book: Teagan, the young lady trying to figure out her powers and purpose, she just wants to be a chef. Her character is great. Easily likeable with her snarky and sassy charm. It also through her that we get to see the other characters part of China Shop. We don’t get chapters from their point of view.
The other main points of view we swap between are: Matthew himself. It’s interesting to see the events from his point of view and his motivations to set off the earthquakes; Amber, Matthew’s mother is the other point of view. It’s interesting to see her motivations and how she internally struggles with being the mother and looking after her child, but also comprehending what he can do.
This book doesn’t pull it punches. It’s high octane but there are consequences to the earthquakes. It also isn’t your typical super powered affair. But the fun tone that shines throughout this book shows awareness of the genre. There are fun references all over the place.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, a great continuation of the series that ups the stakes. It also further develops the character of Teagan. I look forward to seeing what the third instalment brings. A bonus being that you could easily jump into the series here without reading the first book. Although you would be missing out on a fantastic first entry into the series.
April 10, 2021
Amber and her four year old son flee New Mexico before government agents overrun the school. On their way to California Matthew finds a fault line and triggers an earthquake. This just whets his appetite for bigger releases of his earth moving power.
While Teagan and the China Shop group go on an undercover mission, there is a second larger quake and Reggie discovers the cause of the first one. [For the last four or five days I've got in my head the Los Angeles is a disaster area, but John that's only in the book.] Back to the review, the mission doesn't go perfectly, but the quake thing in much more important. They have to find Reggie to discuss what to do. Transportation and communication systems have been hit hard. They make do with what they can find. They catch a break that allows them track down where Matthew has been. Which in turn allows them to figure out where he's going. Setting up a climactic confrontation.
I'm not a fan of collateral damage in superhero movies. In this story our heroes can't magically save buses full of children from plummeting off bridges to their death. They have to deal with the busted roads and traffic jams just like ordinary citizens. Much more real. If they can catch up with the kid they are faced with a moral dilemma. This kid is bent on destroying whatever he can. Do they have to kill him? Fast read, action packed, the characters have great depth, I love Teagan, I'm a bit squeamish about the collateral damage. 4.75 stars.
While Teagan and the China Shop group go on an undercover mission, there is a second larger quake and Reggie discovers the cause of the first one. [For the last four or five days I've got in my head the Los Angeles is a disaster area, but John that's only in the book.] Back to the review, the mission doesn't go perfectly, but the quake thing in much more important. They have to find Reggie to discuss what to do. Transportation and communication systems have been hit hard. They make do with what they can find. They catch a break that allows them track down where Matthew has been. Which in turn allows them to figure out where he's going. Setting up a climactic confrontation.
I'm not a fan of collateral damage in superhero movies. In this story our heroes can't magically save buses full of children from plummeting off bridges to their death. They have to deal with the busted roads and traffic jams just like ordinary citizens. Much more real. If they can catch up with the kid they are faced with a moral dilemma. This kid is bent on destroying whatever he can. Do they have to kill him? Fast read, action packed, the characters have great depth, I love Teagan, I'm a bit squeamish about the collateral damage. 4.75 stars.
August 27, 2020
As mentioned Random Sh*t Flying Through The Air is the follow up to The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind. We pick up six months or so after the events of the first book, and Teagan is trying to get back on track. It appears her powers are getting stronger, which hasn't gone unnoticed.
We are also introduced to a new character. A four year old boy, who also has powers. While Teagan can move inorganic material, this young boy has the power to move earth. Not only that but he appears to enjoy using his power not for good - but for evil. Throw in the fact that he is super intelligent and we have a recipe for disaster.
Teagan is having dinner with a... eh, let's call him a "prospect" when an earthquake strikes. While the area she lives in is mostly undamaged other parts of California have been destroyed. Unable (well, banned from) to use her powers in public Teagan is frozen by indecision, which sends her would be lover running to help, while she has to return to work at China Shop (i.e. her super secret spy job - you'll know this if you've read book one).
No points for guessing what is causing the earthquakes, and what the story becomes - but this is an absolutely fantastic follow up. Teagan has improved greatly as a character, and has grown into her role as would be "hero". I found her far more rounded this time - and even though I really enjoyed the first book, I think the author has taken her to a different level here. She also shows much more of a relationship with her team this time round.
Our secondary character is the mother of the aforementioned little boy (Matthew). Her name is Amber, and she tells us what exactly Matthew is up to throughout. Hint: he isn't playing with colours like most four year olds...
The story is fantastic. While there is no mystery to "who is doing this?" There is plenty of action and humour to make up for it. I don't remember one scene that I thought felt out of place, nor do I think any characters didn't fit to the story the author was trying to tell. I loved seeing the view points of both the good guys and the bad guys, it felt like a real cat and mouse chase.
I really enjoyed this one, and I can't wait for the series to continue. Highly recommended.
We are also introduced to a new character. A four year old boy, who also has powers. While Teagan can move inorganic material, this young boy has the power to move earth. Not only that but he appears to enjoy using his power not for good - but for evil. Throw in the fact that he is super intelligent and we have a recipe for disaster.
Teagan is having dinner with a... eh, let's call him a "prospect" when an earthquake strikes. While the area she lives in is mostly undamaged other parts of California have been destroyed. Unable (well, banned from) to use her powers in public Teagan is frozen by indecision, which sends her would be lover running to help, while she has to return to work at China Shop (i.e. her super secret spy job - you'll know this if you've read book one).
No points for guessing what is causing the earthquakes, and what the story becomes - but this is an absolutely fantastic follow up. Teagan has improved greatly as a character, and has grown into her role as would be "hero". I found her far more rounded this time - and even though I really enjoyed the first book, I think the author has taken her to a different level here. She also shows much more of a relationship with her team this time round.
Our secondary character is the mother of the aforementioned little boy (Matthew). Her name is Amber, and she tells us what exactly Matthew is up to throughout. Hint: he isn't playing with colours like most four year olds...
The story is fantastic. While there is no mystery to "who is doing this?" There is plenty of action and humour to make up for it. I don't remember one scene that I thought felt out of place, nor do I think any characters didn't fit to the story the author was trying to tell. I loved seeing the view points of both the good guys and the bad guys, it felt like a real cat and mouse chase.
I really enjoyed this one, and I can't wait for the series to continue. Highly recommended.
July 17, 2020
Random, erm, stuff certainly does fly through the air in this, the second novel to feature Teagan Frost, whose power is growing even as her power over her own life gets ever more tenuous…
Once again this is a rip roaring adventure with a lot of highs and the occasional WTAF moment, a wildly entertaining rollercoaster read that totally grips from first page to last.
It randomly involves a creepy sinister child, buildings collapsing, aeroplanes making hard landings and of course random sh*t through the air. And you know, rolling around on the ground. And in the ground. And…Oh whatever, you get the picture.
It is an emotional read too at times, so invested do you get in the characters well being – there is a brilliant group dynamic going on as well as a genuinely absorbing and utterly riveting storyline.
More like this would be good. Thank you.
Recommended.
Once again this is a rip roaring adventure with a lot of highs and the occasional WTAF moment, a wildly entertaining rollercoaster read that totally grips from first page to last.
It randomly involves a creepy sinister child, buildings collapsing, aeroplanes making hard landings and of course random sh*t through the air. And you know, rolling around on the ground. And in the ground. And…Oh whatever, you get the picture.
It is an emotional read too at times, so invested do you get in the characters well being – there is a brilliant group dynamic going on as well as a genuinely absorbing and utterly riveting storyline.
More like this would be good. Thank you.
Recommended.
August 25, 2022
I started this book with a lot of unanswered questions about the first book. Unfortunately these questions were ignored up until the final chapters of the book. When they were eventually addressed, it only raised more questions. However, this does intrigue me to read the next book(s)!
I disagree with the people who said that this book was tedious. All the events that happened did “contribute” to the main storyline.
I disagree with the people who said that this book was tedious. All the events that happened did “contribute” to the main storyline.
August 19, 2025
I got bored of this one. I was hoping there would be more high-stakes action with Tegan and other people with abilities. The whodunit goose chase was a bit old after the first book. Plus Matthew was super annoying and I couldn't justify Amber's lack of action to do something sooner.
February 22, 2024
I didn't like this book much. Bits were annoying, bits were a bit boring. I think the author thought to himself; X-Men, cooking and hip hop. And came up with this. It took me ages to finish this 🤮
May 11, 2024
A page-turner for sure! A little brain candy, a lot of action, and twists and turns all make this one of my new favorite series.
June 22, 2020
I think I liked this even more than the first one! A really fun romp with a lot of mad shit happening, and some feelings sprinkled in for seasoning. Features one of the most "love to hate them" characters I've ever come across.
Full review to come!
Full review to come!
January 9, 2020
Teagen, The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, is back and things are looking up for her. She's got a steady job working for the China Shop a cover ops team based in L.A. under the guise of a moving company, her friend Nic is getting closer to getting closer, and nobody is trying to arrest her for murder, which was a thing in the first book. She's Teagan is the most self-absorbed hero ever to brandish special powers, but she's getting better. Of course that can't last.
L.A. is used to quakes, but when a sizable one levels San Bernadino, it's time to take notice. What nobody notices except Reggie, the hacker/team lead for the China Shop, is that someone with powers like Teagen's managed to get caught on video laying hands on the ground at the exact epicenter of the quake. Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but a hyper-intelligent child with massive psychokinetic powers probably comes a close second.
The good news is that the San Bernadino quake didn't reach the full potential of the "Big One" L.A. has been dreading for decades. The bad news is things are just getting started, and the worse news is that an L.A. quake isn't the worst thing that could happen.
Teagen and the team are going to have their hands full.
I liked the first book pretty well, but I literally couldn't put this one down. Teagen is still annoyingly about herself, as everyone around her points out at some point, and which she vehemently denies, but she's opening up to the people around her, and there's hope for her yet. First though, time to save the world.
LA, on the other hand, isn't looking so good right now.
L.A. is used to quakes, but when a sizable one levels San Bernadino, it's time to take notice. What nobody notices except Reggie, the hacker/team lead for the China Shop, is that someone with powers like Teagen's managed to get caught on video laying hands on the ground at the exact epicenter of the quake. Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but a hyper-intelligent child with massive psychokinetic powers probably comes a close second.
The good news is that the San Bernadino quake didn't reach the full potential of the "Big One" L.A. has been dreading for decades. The bad news is things are just getting started, and the worse news is that an L.A. quake isn't the worst thing that could happen.
Teagen and the team are going to have their hands full.
I liked the first book pretty well, but I literally couldn't put this one down. Teagen is still annoyingly about herself, as everyone around her points out at some point, and which she vehemently denies, but she's opening up to the people around her, and there's hope for her yet. First though, time to save the world.
LA, on the other hand, isn't looking so good right now.
April 20, 2020
My review will appear in Booklist. I liked this one better than the first - Teagan's character is deepening, and we're seeing more of her relationship to her coworkers. The plot was tighter, too. I'm now eagerly awaiting the next one!
July 8, 2020
To read more reviews, check out my blog keikii eats books!
Quote:
Review:
Seven percent of the way through the book, I thought to myself, "Daaamn, that's what you're supposed to do at the END of the book, not the beginning!" And the book just kept getting even more crazy from there.
I was not expecting this level of buildup on this series. I was expecting it to stay fun and action packed, but mostly focus on the problems related to just the main character, Teagan. No. No, that isn't what happened. Earthquakes happened. Large earthquakes. Powerful earthquakes.
Which is the entire premise of Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air. A four year old super genius with the the ability to move and manipulate the earth has found out that he can cause earthquakes by tapping into the energy trapped within Earth at fault lines. And he couldn't have picked a worse place to find this out: in the middle of the Los Angeles metro area.
There is a lot of disaster relief. A lot of tragedy. And a lot of trying to keep their head together. Natural disasters are hard on people at the best of times and this is not the best of times. Plus all that entails going after a four year old, mentally and emotionally.
I liked a few things about Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air. I liked some of the new characters. I think they'll add something to this series that was missing up until this point. I liked the idea of an evil child genius. And I actually liked the multiple perspectives. I think it largely worked.
It is just that I struggled to get into this book, every step of the way. I had a lot of trouble reconciling some of the plot with what I know. I just struggled with the entire premise. I just have a difficult time believing that events would play out this way. Also, I don't particularly care for disaster movies, books, tv shows, etc. It is not a genre I gravitate to. Like I said earlier in the review, I didn't expect this series to go in this direction.
The direction I did expect it to go into, the parts where it focused on the trials of Teagan becoming something less of a being owned by the government and her own person? That is in here. Yet...I also didn't like the way that was handled either. It made me feel a little gross. And some of that I was meant to feel, but...I don't think some of it was. And there was also some more about Teagan's powers, and others like her. And there was a lot of growth for the series in all directions.
And I think a lot of my problems with this could be summed up by the fact that we the reader don't even know what magnitude the earthquake is until the very end of the book. Which would be all anyone would be talking about in real life. It would be the first thing any two people meeting for the first time would talk about.
I really wanted to like this. I enjoyed the hell out of The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind. I enjoyed the series that was set up in that book. I'm just not certain I got that promised series with this book. I'm willing to give it another shot, but I ended up disappointed with book two. I'm left confused about what Jackson Ford is trying to set up and do, because it feels like there was one plan and now there is another one.
ARC received from the publisher. This did not affect my review.
Quote:
"What are you saying?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
File that with Stay calm and Your ass looks fine in that dress under Things that never result in the intended effect, ever.
Review:
Seven percent of the way through the book, I thought to myself, "Daaamn, that's what you're supposed to do at the END of the book, not the beginning!" And the book just kept getting even more crazy from there.
I was not expecting this level of buildup on this series. I was expecting it to stay fun and action packed, but mostly focus on the problems related to just the main character, Teagan. No. No, that isn't what happened. Earthquakes happened. Large earthquakes. Powerful earthquakes.
Which is the entire premise of Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air. A four year old super genius with the the ability to move and manipulate the earth has found out that he can cause earthquakes by tapping into the energy trapped within Earth at fault lines. And he couldn't have picked a worse place to find this out: in the middle of the Los Angeles metro area.
There is a lot of disaster relief. A lot of tragedy. And a lot of trying to keep their head together. Natural disasters are hard on people at the best of times and this is not the best of times. Plus all that entails going after a four year old, mentally and emotionally.
I liked a few things about Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air. I liked some of the new characters. I think they'll add something to this series that was missing up until this point. I liked the idea of an evil child genius. And I actually liked the multiple perspectives. I think it largely worked.
It is just that I struggled to get into this book, every step of the way. I had a lot of trouble reconciling some of the plot with what I know. I just struggled with the entire premise. I just have a difficult time believing that events would play out this way. Also, I don't particularly care for disaster movies, books, tv shows, etc. It is not a genre I gravitate to. Like I said earlier in the review, I didn't expect this series to go in this direction.
The direction I did expect it to go into, the parts where it focused on the trials of Teagan becoming something less of a being owned by the government and her own person? That is in here. Yet...I also didn't like the way that was handled either. It made me feel a little gross. And some of that I was meant to feel, but...I don't think some of it was. And there was also some more about Teagan's powers, and others like her. And there was a lot of growth for the series in all directions.
And I think a lot of my problems with this could be summed up by the fact that we the reader don't even know what magnitude the earthquake is until the very end of the book. Which would be all anyone would be talking about in real life. It would be the first thing any two people meeting for the first time would talk about.
I really wanted to like this. I enjoyed the hell out of The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind. I enjoyed the series that was set up in that book. I'm just not certain I got that promised series with this book. I'm willing to give it another shot, but I ended up disappointed with book two. I'm left confused about what Jackson Ford is trying to set up and do, because it feels like there was one plan and now there is another one.
ARC received from the publisher. This did not affect my review.
August 18, 2020
Alrite, this one was fun - fast-paced, riveting fun with a definite expansion of the world of Teagen Frost and an escalation in terms of the overall story arc as well - this was a good book 2
This book sees Teagen and her cover unit, China Shop face an opponent like they havent encountered before - a 4 year old who can cause earthquakes. This escalation in power-wielding abilities plays alongside political considerations surrounding the lead of China Shop as well as Teagen's own ambitions outside work as well not to mention Teagen's personal love life as well as her snippy relationship with her co-workers
What that does is make this book pretty entirely compelling - there is always something or the other that keeps on happening. While pretty much following the 1st person narrative, there are breaks with the narrative from the eyes of the 4 year old as well. The character dynamics are well done as well - Teagen remains as impulsive, headstrong, cocky, sarcastic as in the previous book but shes also now able to move away from being a loner to being accepting of the group and kind of blend in as well. Her dynamics with her team is one of the stronger points of the book and makes for good reading - there is a definite growth, most notably with Anne, Africa & Reggie
The plotting is fast-paced and the consequences of actions very believable without the plot dragging at all. The larger conspiracy also plays out well in drip-feed with the author definitely building this up for something big - I hope we get to that sooner as well.
If there's things to flip out, it has to be the ending - almost seemed like a cop out. The resolution for the baddie is weak and kind of disappointing - maybe the author is saving the ammunition for the next book but it did grate
Nonetheless, the way the book ended vis-a-vis the larger conspiracy, definitely makes one very interested to know what happens in the series and looking forward to that
This book sees Teagen and her cover unit, China Shop face an opponent like they havent encountered before - a 4 year old who can cause earthquakes. This escalation in power-wielding abilities plays alongside political considerations surrounding the lead of China Shop as well as Teagen's own ambitions outside work as well not to mention Teagen's personal love life as well as her snippy relationship with her co-workers
What that does is make this book pretty entirely compelling - there is always something or the other that keeps on happening. While pretty much following the 1st person narrative, there are breaks with the narrative from the eyes of the 4 year old as well. The character dynamics are well done as well - Teagen remains as impulsive, headstrong, cocky, sarcastic as in the previous book but shes also now able to move away from being a loner to being accepting of the group and kind of blend in as well. Her dynamics with her team is one of the stronger points of the book and makes for good reading - there is a definite growth, most notably with Anne, Africa & Reggie
The plotting is fast-paced and the consequences of actions very believable without the plot dragging at all. The larger conspiracy also plays out well in drip-feed with the author definitely building this up for something big - I hope we get to that sooner as well.
If there's things to flip out, it has to be the ending - almost seemed like a cop out. The resolution for the baddie is weak and kind of disappointing - maybe the author is saving the ammunition for the next book but it did grate
Nonetheless, the way the book ended vis-a-vis the larger conspiracy, definitely makes one very interested to know what happens in the series and looking forward to that
August 2, 2022
Possible Triggers:
Death
Summary:
This is the second book in the ‘Frost Files’ series, starting a few months after where the last book left off.
Characters:
There are two main PoV’s with an occasional extra point of view thrown in so that you can experience relevant things happening in the story.
Positives:
+ I cackled hysterically after we learned who the main baddy was going to be in this story.
+ LOVED that last chapter of the book being included. Holy crap, the plot thickens! What kinda hijinks is this gonna add in the next two books. Can’t wait to see how Teagan responds to what we learned.
+ This is a mix between your favorite superhero cartoons (X-men! New Mutants! Champions!) and the newer Marvel movie stuff, but make it all probably rated ‘R’.
+ Love all the pop references.
Negatives:
- I didn't love some of Teagan's decisions in regards to confronting the antagonist. I understand why. It makes complete and total logical sense as to why. I’m just not the biggest fan of that kind of response (this happens SO much in cartoons and tv shows), something something, ‘actions speaking louder than words’. Reading this out loud seems so… vague, but if you read the story, you’ll KNOW what I'm talking about.
Final Thoughts:
This was such a fun read. I flew through this book and basically dragged the poor thing everywhere I went over the few days it took me to finish it. I remember really enjoying the first one because of the fast pace and epic battles (along with the ridiculous main character) and this was absolutely more of the same. Highly recommend if you want something fun. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book. I’m hoping for a repeat appearance of a character.
Death
Summary:
This is the second book in the ‘Frost Files’ series, starting a few months after where the last book left off.
Characters:
There are two main PoV’s with an occasional extra point of view thrown in so that you can experience relevant things happening in the story.
Positives:
+ I cackled hysterically after we learned who the main baddy was going to be in this story.
+ LOVED that last chapter of the book being included. Holy crap, the plot thickens! What kinda hijinks is this gonna add in the next two books. Can’t wait to see how Teagan responds to what we learned.
+ This is a mix between your favorite superhero cartoons (X-men! New Mutants! Champions!) and the newer Marvel movie stuff, but make it all probably rated ‘R’.
+ Love all the pop references.
Negatives:
- I didn't love some of Teagan's decisions in regards to confronting the antagonist. I understand why. It makes complete and total logical sense as to why. I’m just not the biggest fan of that kind of response (this happens SO much in cartoons and tv shows), something something, ‘actions speaking louder than words’. Reading this out loud seems so… vague, but if you read the story, you’ll KNOW what I'm talking about.
Final Thoughts:
This was such a fun read. I flew through this book and basically dragged the poor thing everywhere I went over the few days it took me to finish it. I remember really enjoying the first one because of the fast pace and epic battles (along with the ridiculous main character) and this was absolutely more of the same. Highly recommend if you want something fun. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book. I’m hoping for a repeat appearance of a character.
October 26, 2020
Warning: although I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews (or at least hide them), the stuff that is worth talking about in this book is all spoiler, from the second paragraph onwards. The executive summary is that it's a fast-paced thriller with a likeable protagonist, but has Problems that mean that I'm done with the series.
The biggest problem for me in this book is that it made me want a child to die. Literally - I wanted a four-year old child to be killed. The child in this case is Matthew, the antagonist for our protagonist Teagan and her team, who can not only create earthquakes with his own telekinetic powers, but positively relishes doing so. He is lacking in any empathy whatsoever, has no self-control and hurts people (and kills them) for fun.
And what he wants to do is set off earthquakes. In California. He's also a genius and after learning about tectonics, he deliberately triggers the San Andreas Fault, and then goes after an even bigger fault called Cascadia (which I'd never heard of, but Wiki says is A Thing). His mother is completely unable to control him - he's never been told 'no' by anyone around him and has, as a result, learned to be sociopathic and compassionless.
Yes, a horrible person - but a four year child. And the author made me want him dead, and be disappointed when Teagan prevented this from happening. And I'm not sure I like that.
Also, is the moral of the series that unless you're held in indentured servitude by the government, with the threat of vivisection hanging over you, any superpowered person will automatically be awful? Every powered person we've encountered so far in the series, other than Teagan (who just wants to be a chef), is a monster - an impression not lessened when we find out about the Director of the "school" that created Matthew right at the end.
Also, Teagan seems to be losing members of her team at the rate of one a book. While Carlos's betrayal and demise in the first book was well-done, and a good twist, Paul was killed off just to show that Matthew is a Bad Person.
The book was well-written and is a good thriller, in that it keeps you engaged and keeps you turning the page. But I'm not engaged in the world any more at all.
The biggest problem for me in this book is that it made me want a child to die. Literally - I wanted a four-year old child to be killed. The child in this case is Matthew, the antagonist for our protagonist Teagan and her team, who can not only create earthquakes with his own telekinetic powers, but positively relishes doing so. He is lacking in any empathy whatsoever, has no self-control and hurts people (and kills them) for fun.
And what he wants to do is set off earthquakes. In California. He's also a genius and after learning about tectonics, he deliberately triggers the San Andreas Fault, and then goes after an even bigger fault called Cascadia (which I'd never heard of, but Wiki says is A Thing). His mother is completely unable to control him - he's never been told 'no' by anyone around him and has, as a result, learned to be sociopathic and compassionless.
Yes, a horrible person - but a four year child. And the author made me want him dead, and be disappointed when Teagan prevented this from happening. And I'm not sure I like that.
Also, is the moral of the series that unless you're held in indentured servitude by the government, with the threat of vivisection hanging over you, any superpowered person will automatically be awful? Every powered person we've encountered so far in the series, other than Teagan (who just wants to be a chef), is a monster - an impression not lessened when we find out about the Director of the "school" that created Matthew right at the end.
Also, Teagan seems to be losing members of her team at the rate of one a book. While Carlos's betrayal and demise in the first book was well-done, and a good twist, Paul was killed off just to show that Matthew is a Bad Person.
The book was well-written and is a good thriller, in that it keeps you engaged and keeps you turning the page. But I'm not engaged in the world any more at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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