Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid is the second in The Austen Project series of novels which are modern retellings by contemporary authors of Jane Austen’s classics. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t have the baggage of my knowledge and love of the original as I had with the first, I much preferred this second outing to Joanna Trollope’s updating of Sense and Sensibility. Austen’s original story of Northanger Abbey tells the story of a sheltered young girl whose love of gothic novels leads her to make some very strange assumptions about the family of the young man she meets while visiting Bath. During the novel she learns to separate fiction from reality and to develop a better understanding of human motivations. What I liked The updating. I felt McDermid did a much better job than Trollope of bringing Austen’s characters into the 21st century. They felt modern and fresh and their motivations seemed in line with a modern teenager or young person. I could easily imagine sitting down to coffee with Cat and Ellie to discuss the latest novel. And as evidenced by John Thorpe and Frederick Tilney, men who are too full of self-importance to consider the wishes of the…
This week I suffered every bookworm’s worst nightmare; I have a TBR list of over 100 books (some of which I have been offered free to review) and I could not interest myself in any of them. This is because the book I really, REALLY wanted to read – AKA Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige – has not been released yet. I’m sure you avid readers can empathise with my dilemma. I flicked through several different books and just couldn’t get into any of them. In the end I managed to break out of my reading slump by picking up a book that is completely out of my normal genre – I’m currently reading The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak, a historical fiction set in Russia in the time of Catherine the Great. So far I’m really enjoying it. A full review will come soon. [book-info title=”Attack the Geek” author=”Michael R. Underwood”] One book I did manage to read this week was Attack the Geek by Michael R Underwood, which I received free to review from Netgalley. This is a novella in the Geekomancy series which had been on my radar for some time. I was intrigued by the…
This week I suffered every bookworm’s worst nightmare; I have a TBR list of over 100 books (some of which I have been offered free to review) and I could not interest myself in any of them. This is because the book I really, REALLY wanted to read – AKA Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige – has not been released yet. I’m sure you avid readers can empathise with my dilemma. I flicked through several different books and just couldn’t get into any of them. In the end I managed to break out of my reading slump by picking up a book that is completely out of my normal genre – I’m currently reading The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak, a historical fiction set in Russia in the time of Catherine the Great. So far I’m really enjoying it. A full review will come soon. [book-info title=”Attack the Geek” author=”Michael R. Underwood”] One book I did manage to read this week was Attack the Geek by Michael R Underwood, which I received free to review from Netgalley. This is a novella in the Geekomancy series which had been on my radar for some time. I was intrigued by the…
Alienated by Melissa Landers tells the story of Cara Sweeney, teenage high school student and Aelyx a young L’eihr visiting Earth. The concept is pretty straightforward. Some years prior to the story, the people of Earth had made contact with an alien civilisation the L’eihr. The two peoples have an amicable if distant relationship and in order to foster a greater understanding of their respective cultures a student exchange program has been initiated. Cara and Aelyx are chosen as two of the six young ambassadors for the program. I have to say I really loved this book and thought it was beautifully written. What I liked Character development. Both Cara and Aelyx undergo a great deal of character development throughout the book. Interestingly, Cara’s arc is almost the opposite of many young adult protagonists. She starts the book confident and sure of her path but as she goes through the challenges of the exchange, her self assurance is given quite a beating. However she still remains true to her word despite significant pressure. Aelyx’s journey is more of overcoming prejudice – he starts off determined to hate his human hosts and has an ulterior motive for joining the program. As…
Alienated by Melissa Landers tells the story of Cara Sweeney, teenage high school student and Aelyx a young L’eihr visiting Earth. The concept is pretty straightforward. Some years prior to the story, the people of Earth had made contact with an alien civilisation the L’eihr. The two peoples have an amicable if distant relationship and in order to foster a greater understanding of their respective cultures a student exchange program has been initiated. Cara and Aelyx are chosen as two of the six young ambassadors for the program. I have to say I really loved this book and thought it was beautifully written. What I liked Character development. Both Cara and Aelyx undergo a great deal of character development throughout the book. Interestingly, Cara’s arc is almost the opposite of many young adult protagonists. She starts the book confident and sure of her path but as she goes through the challenges of the exchange, her self assurance is given quite a beating. However she still remains true to her word despite significant pressure. Aelyx’s journey is more of overcoming prejudice – he starts off determined to hate his human hosts and has an ulterior motive for joining the program. As…
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars – The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher is the sequel to William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, a retelling of George Lucas’s space saga in the style of William Shakespeare. I would strongly recommend picking this up as an audiobook rather than ebook or hard copy – Random House Audio’s production is top notch with an excellent cast. It is far more like a radio play than an audiobook and the excellent cast does a wonderful job of telling the story. What I liked The source material. The original Star Wars trilogy is a darn good story. It contains a lot of strong themes which would have been as relevant in Shakespeare’s time as today: love, betrayal, youthful impetuousness, struggle against tyranny. Doescher therefore has a strong base on which to base his adaptation. It also isn’t too jarring, for example, when Han rails against Lando’s betrayal in Shakespearean language as it is a theme and emotion found in many of Shakespeare’s works. Yoda. On my first listen through I was a little disappointed that Yoda didn’t sound too different from the other characters. In the movies, he has a unique speech pattern and I was hoping…
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars – The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher is the sequel to William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, a retelling of George Lucas’s space saga in the style of William Shakespeare. I would strongly recommend picking this up as an audiobook rather than ebook or hard copy – Random House Audio’s production is top notch with an excellent cast. It is far more like a radio play than an audiobook and the excellent cast does a wonderful job of telling the story. What I liked The source material. The original Star Wars trilogy is a darn good story. It contains a lot of strong themes which would have been as relevant in Shakespeare’s time as today: love, betrayal, youthful impetuousness, struggle against tyranny. Doescher therefore has a strong base on which to base his adaptation. It also isn’t too jarring, for example, when Han rails against Lando’s betrayal in Shakespearean language as it is a theme and emotion found in many of Shakespeare’s works. Yoda. On my first listen through I was a little disappointed that Yoda didn’t sound too different from the other characters. In the movies, he has a unique speech pattern and I was hoping…
[book-info title=”Words of Radiance” author=”brandon-sanderson-2″] So, after 48 hours of audio, here is my full review of Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. This is volume two in the planned 10 book series of The Stormlight Archive and is the sequel to Way of Kings. There be spoilers ahead so please join me after the cut if you’ve read the book.
[book-info title=”Words of Radiance” author=”brandon-sanderson-2″] So, after 48 hours of audio, here is my full review of Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. This is volume two in the planned 10 book series of The Stormlight Archive and is the sequel to Way of Kings. There be spoilers ahead so please join me after the cut if you’ve read the book.
[book-info title=”Words of Radiance” author=”brandon-sanderson-2″] First of all my apologies about the incomplete Alienated review that went – briefly – live this morning. I have been so engrossed in Words of Radiance I didn’t get around to writing the Alienated review in time. It will be written after Words of Radiance. So, Words of Radiance. I am approximately 40% of the way through the 48-hour long audiobook version of Words of Radiance. Here are my initial thoughts on this first half. A full review will come later. There are some spoilers ahead so I’ll add a cut to be sure.