It’s a struggle to summarize this book because there are so many plot threads running through it. Dustfinger is still dead and Farid is determined to revive him, even if it requires working with the oily Orpheus. Mo becomes more and more like the Bluejay and not like the bookbinder he originally was. Resa becomes increasingly intent on returning to the real world. Elinor begins to hate her life among her books when she could be living in one. And Meggie? She’s still in love with Farid and mainly, very confused.
Like I said, there are almost too many plot threads running through this. It had been a while since the first two for me so it took me a good few pages to recall what was actually going on, let alone figure out who everyone was again. After that, the book dragged. I dreaded Elinor’s chapters in particular. The woman sat around complaining for a few pages each time until she finally got placed into the story, at which point she nearly vanished in the barrage of other characters. What was the point there? Meanwhile, Meggie, the supposed main character of this entire series, is relegated to the sidelines where her main focus is weeping about her father and worrying about who she actually loves. I read one professional review that said that while Cornelia Funke is actually a great storyteller, the books have lost their original focus. I agree with that.
That said, this book is still a great story once you get halfway into it, and it wraps up in a very satisfying way. I enjoyed the ending very much and I didn’t regret reading it or anything like that. I just didn’t quite get what I bargained for, and I can see the merit in wishing the story had ended with Inkheart. I think, however, that the series is still worth reading. It just has a few slow spots in the middle and I’m not sure it will keep a child’s interest. It did keep mine, though.
Ki’s husband and children died at the hands of harpys and her life has never been the same since. She cannot let them go. That is, until she meets a man named Vandien, who introduces conflict and companionship into her solitary life at a vivid contrast with her past encounters. On a trip which is reputed to be impossible over the mountains in winter, Ki is forced to confront the demons of her past and the impossible prospect of the future.
Megan Lindholm is another pen name of author Robin Hobb, whose works I absolutely adore. I believe this was written earlier and it certainly feels that way. It’s less epic and less of an intoxicating addiction. That doesn’t mean that it was bad. No, certainly not. This author just loves to torture her characters and Ki doesn’t escape at all. I think it may have hurt the story to have half of it told through flashbacks, but I’m not sure an adventure through snowy mountains would have been all that exciting on its own. It takes away some of the urgency for Ki to already be set in her ways and lonely, though of course we can still feel the heartrending pain of her loss in the writing. I guess what I’m trying to say here, and not saying very well, is that she writes better as Robin Hobb but this is still pretty good and I think I’d recommend it as a decent fantasy. It’s not going to be my favorite book ever, but I’d like to read the rest in the quartet.
I have been looking for some new, good fantasy for a while. I’ve started to feel like I’ve read all the greats that are out there, and while this may be wrong, it’s hard to find new stuff that is highly recommended. And since I’ve eschewed paying money for books right now, my only choices are in the library, and the selection isn’t too wide. So, I saw this omnibus of the first five Chronicles sitting there, and I’d heard the name Roger Zelazny before, so I decided to give them a shot.
Corwin wakes up in a hospital with no idea who he is, really, only knowing that he’s much healthier than he’s supposed to be and that he’s ready to leave. With nowhere to go, he finds the name of the sister who checked him in and goes to her house, vaguely remembering a place called Amber and a life where he reigned as a prince. At Flora’s house, he meets his brother Random again, and manages to convince both of them that he knows exactly what’s going on. Random helps him recover his memory once he knows the truth, and Corwin sets off to become king. This saga features a very confused and complicated family and a whole range of emotions, with war, romance, and drama aplenty.
It is exciting, but I can’t say that I was captivated by this work. For one thing, I didn’t really like Corwin. I did like his development over the five books and by the end I was enamored enough with him, but I didn’t feel that I could relate to him because he felt so detached. This is particularly so in the beginning when he is driven by one thing and his reasoning for it is foreign to me. These books are very plot-driven and while the events affect and change Corwin in noticeable and dramatic ways, I thought all the back-stabbing and confusion really detracted from getting to know the family in any meaningful way despite the fact that I spent 800 pages with them. Every 10 pages, something new would be revealed that changed who they were.
Beyond that, each book is short and while this is touted as one of its great features, I disliked it. I felt that there was less time to know everyone because so many events were crammed into each less than 200 page book. This would have been more effective, in my opinion, if it was actually longer. I did like the story and I did finish the book, but I have no intention of going out to get the rest of the chronicles. They have a clear ending point after these five and I’m content to leave it at that.
Only recommended if you like your stories full of plot, ever-changing characters, and short episodes rather than lengthy ones.
A year after the events in The Well of Ascension, the world is ending. Vin has accidentally released a hidden evil into the world, one that seems impossible to fight. Their only hope is to follow the Lord Ruler’s instructions and trust that he has the answer, but as things get increasingly worse, Vin and Elend get desperate in their attempts to thwart this new evil as this trilogy ends in an unexpected crescendo.
I’ve been waiting months for this book. I read and loved The Well of Ascension way back in January; I bought it in hardcover because I didn’t want to wait. Without question, Brandon Sanderson is the best new fantasy writer that I have read. He creates endearing, believable characters (I adore Vin), places them in a complex and unusual fantasy world, and has one of the most logical but still really awesome magical systems that I’ve ever come across. And he can certainly write. The story here is good and unpredictable. It feels like they must have the answers, and sometimes I could see them coming, but I could never work out what was going to happen next. The ending was similarly unexpected. I love how he picks up many threads from the beginning of the trilogy and weaves them in here. I can’t wait to read all three in sequence to see what I’ve missed. I really enjoyed reading this book, as it’s over 550 pages and I read it in about two days. I had to know what happened. At the same time, I’m a bit sad that it’s over, but certainly looking forward to more from Sanderson.
That said, I cannot deny that I did have one problem with it. A portion of the book is taken up with religious questions, mainly Sazed’s sections, and Sanderson draws conclusions in the book that I just can’t agree with. I’m not a person of faith and I don’t think faith is necessary to be happy; it does bother me that it’s implied here. Not only that, but these parts of the book move more slowly than the rest. I did not want to get back to Sazed and his musings. I think this is a personal preference issue; perhaps if I was still religious it wouldn’t bother me.
Obviously, I still loved the rest of the book. I thought about Vin and Elend while I was away from it and read it instead of doing my assignments. I’m waiting to get in the same country as the first two so I can reread them. As I said, there’s no denying that Sanderson has ridiculous amounts of potential and I can’t wait to see what he writes next. I just hope he keeps the slow religious musings out of it next time. This is definitely a series you shouldn’t miss if you enjoy fantasy.
Buy this book on Amazon. You can also visit Brandon’s website, which is really awesome, as it has his blog and annotations for the first two Mistborn books as well as sample chapters. His tour schedule is up there as well.
Many, many thanks to Dot Lin at Tor for providing me this book and to Brandon Sanderson for helping me get a copy. I will be holding a giveaway as soon as I have my second one!
On his fifth adventure, Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, have been separated. Laurence has been convicted of treason and is due to hang, while Temeraire is in a breeding ground to sire more Celestials for the English cause. Both are in despair, but as the situation grows dire with regards to France, they are once again called upon to serve their country – together – by fighting the French.I still really love the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence. I think it’s my favorite part of these books. They are so fond of each other, but their relationship feels very 18th century English to me; it’s a restrained affection, obviously there but subdued in the public eye. In any case, I like it and I think their devotion to each other raises their appeal as characters.
The last couple of Temeraire books were not as enchanting as the first two, especially the first one, and I considered giving up on the series; I got this one from the library, mostly because I saw it and I thought that it would be nice to find out what was happening without having to buy it. So I was pleased to find that some of the spark is back; this book has a greater emotional depth to it as Laurence is constantly struggling with his honor and what “the right thing” is. He’s disgraced and shamed and it’s a difficult time for him. In addition, his lost love Edith emerges again in this story, so it feels like his character is filling out as the series goes on. The return of the setting to Britain helps as well. Many of Temeraire and Laurence’s friends are back and can play a greater role in their lives, and besides that they seem to fit better in this setting. Perhaps that’s just my own affection for England speaking, but I do enjoy the story more here rather than the exotic locations. That’s unfortunate as I believe they’re moving once again in the next of the series.
I’m not sure I’d recommend starting out with the series; it’s certainly enchanting, but there is no sign of its ending and a few of the books are difficult to get through with no reward as yet. I think, however, that Novik is getting better as a writer and if you’ve read this far already, you might as well continue. Check it out on Amazon.
As you probably all know by now, I loved the first two volumes of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and I’m very anxiously awaiting my ARC of the third, The Hero of Ages. This is one of the few instances that I regret being in the UK, because otherwise I’d have read it a week ago!
Anyway, in lieu of my review, which will be here directly after the book I expect, here’s a new book trailer for the series featuring Brandon talking about why his fantasy series is different and what’s next for him:
Interested? You can also hear Brandon talk and have him sign your book on his book tour! Here is a list of the tour dates and locations.
Kvothe is a hero and a legend. It says so on the back of the book. Yet the story opens in a backwoods tavern and it takes us a while to learn who Kvothe is (or not, depending on how quick you are). As he begins his lengthy tale, we realize that this book covers his childhood and adolescence; he is not yet the great hero that is lauded and derided in songs and stories across the country. It leaves me wondering, how did he get to that backwoods tavern? What happened?
We’re not going to know yet, so let me review this book first.
Patrick Rothfuss has been hailed left and right as a fantasy god. Very few people dislike this book. I’m not one of them, I loved it. I can tell I’ll be reading it again when book two comes out next year. In fantasy novels, I love two things; complex characters and complex worlds. So it was important that I liked Kvothe most of the time and I found him to be a very believable teenage boy given a brain that is much too skilled for his age. I wished the best for him even as I dreaded the worst, and the foreshadowing meant I always knew the worst was coming. He is generally full of young hormonal male feelings, but as the story is told through his older self, they didn’t get to me that much. I found the world, and the history Rothfuss created, to be interesting and I can’t wait for it to be fleshed out further. I really hope Kvothe feels his Ruh blood and goes wandering about just so we can see a bit more of this world.
I don’t think this book is the best fantasy ever written, but Rothfuss has a lot of potential. This is excellent for a first time fantasy novelist and as I said, I just can’t wait until the next two are released so I can find out what happened. Firmly recommended to all fantasy fans and anyone interested in experimenting in the genre. Buy this book on Amazon.
Elizabeth Phoenix has always had special powers that she has never wanted. These powers lost her a job in the police force, caused the death of her partner, and made her realize that her first love cheated on her with another woman. When a beloved friend dies, Elizabeth discovers that she must embrace her powers and even acquire new ones to save the world.
Nothing wrong with that premise. I thought that there were many problems with this book, though. I did not like Elizabeth. It seemed to me that all she wanted was to have sex, over and over again, and not even exclusive sex. There were far too many scenes of this caliber in this book; roughly half of it seemed to be about Elizabeth’s desire and the fulfillment, or not, of said desire. I don’t know about you, but that’s not usually what I look for in a book; one or two is fine, but this was just too much. I get the feeling that she doesn’t actually care about anyone; she seems to interpret lust as love.
The rest of the book is spent learning about various types of magical creatures, both good and bad. There are way too many of them for one short book. It’s overwhelming and it’s difficult to be entertained when Elizabeth discovers something new constantly and the reader has to remember all that she’s learned, which isn’t made easy here.
For these reasons, I think this book is meant to be largely set-up for the rest of the series. It introduces many of Elizabeth’s enemies and her relationships with these two men, but it doesn’t go very far. It’s a quick read, but I spent a lot of it skimming past the sex and trying to figure out why what I was being told was important. I don’t think I’d recommend this one, and I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the series, either.
The Waverley family has always been a bit peculiar. Between the magic apple tree and the gifts each member of the family has, none of them can claim normality. Claire Waverley has never wanted to and after a tumultuous childhood, has been content to take her grandmother’s place as the now much smaller family’s head. Her sister, Sydney, is different, and has spent her early adulthood traveling the country, engaging in relationships with dangerous men. When Sydney fears her daughter Bay is in danger, she returns to Bascom and to her sister, for a reunion Claire never suspected and a pleasing change in circumstances for both women.
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be enchanting, which is conveniently also on the cover of my copy. The characters are charming, the small town is very typical of small towns with some magic involved, and the story is compelling (if somewhat predictable). I wanted Claire and Sydney to put aside their differences. I wished they’d get past their own problems and embrace happiness when it was offered. The romantic bits were sweet and suitable. It’s hard to put the book down; I could predict what was going to happen, but I really liked seeing it happen, too!
All in all, this is a quick, light read that will bring a smile to your face by the end. Buy this book on Amazon.
This Newbery Honor Book chronicles the adventures of Harry, a young girl who has just moved to Damar following the demise of both of her parents. Unexpectedly, Harry loves the desert land, but she dislikes her position as a ward. Little does she know what lies in store when the Hillfolk King, Corlath, comes for her in the night, but it is more than she ever dreamed.
Just like The Hero and the Crown, I loved this book. I was a bit worried when starting it, as it didn’t seem to be close to the same and I’d got my hopes up. As soon as Corlath kidnapped Harry, though, I was hooked. McKinley has a style of writing that makes her books feel like fairy tales, completely enchanting and absorbing. It’s so easy to feel Harry’s emotions and get caught up in her story, just like I could feel for Aerin in the last book. These are also great books for young girls. The heroines are empowering and can take control of their own destinies. Harry is no exception; when she knows that she has to do something, she doesn’t bow to the men in her life, and she accepts her possible fate.
Again, I wish I’d discovered these when I was younger! They were even written at the right time for my age group. Oh well. I’m definitely on the lookout for more YA McKinley novels. I’ll be recommending this one to everyone who is open to young adult fantasy. Buy this book on Amazon.
It’s a struggle to summarize this book because there are so many plot threads running through it. Dustfinger is still dead and Farid is determined to revive him, even if it requires working with the oily Orpheus. Mo becomes more and more like the Bluejay and not like the bookbinder he originally was. Resa becomes increasingly intent on returning to the real world. Elinor begins to hate her life among her books when she could be living in one. And Meggie? She’s still in love with Farid and mainly, very confused.
A year after the events in The Well of Ascension, the world is ending. Vin has accidentally released a hidden evil into the world, one that seems impossible to fight. Their only hope is to follow the Lord Ruler’s instructions and trust that he has the answer, but as things get increasingly worse, Vin and Elend get desperate in their attempts to thwart this new evil as this trilogy ends in an unexpected crescendo.
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On his fifth adventure, Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, have been separated. Laurence has been convicted of treason and is due to hang, while Temeraire is in a breeding ground to sire more Celestials for the English cause. Both are in despair, but as the situation grows dire with regards to France, they are once again called upon to serve their country – together – by fighting the French.I still really love the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence. I think it’s my favorite part of these books. They are so fond of each other, but their relationship feels very 18th century English to me; it’s a restrained affection, obviously there but subdued in the public eye. In any case, I like it and I think their devotion to each other raises their appeal as characters.
Kvothe is a hero and a legend. It says so on the back of the book. Yet the story opens in a backwoods tavern and it takes us a while to learn who Kvothe is (or not, depending on how quick you are). As he begins his lengthy tale, we realize that this book covers his childhood and adolescence; he is not yet the great hero that is lauded and derided in songs and stories across the country. It leaves me wondering, how did he get to that backwoods tavern? What happened?
Elizabeth Phoenix has always had special powers that she has never wanted. These powers lost her a job in the police force, caused the death of her partner, and made her realize that her first love cheated on her with another woman. When a beloved friend dies, Elizabeth discovers that she must embrace her powers and even acquire new ones to save the world.
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