Lockstep by Karl Schroeder is a space opera sci-fi novel which tells the story of Toby McGonigal who wakes up after a drift into cold sleep to be confronted with a new and confusing world. He must learn about the lockstep and his place within this new society. I was given a free copy by Tor/McMillan to review. I should point out straight off the bat that sci-fi/space opera is not a genre with which I am very familiar. In some ways that is a good thing; I am not so clued in to the standard tropes of the genre, as I am with contemporary fantasy, which means I can approach the story with perhaps fresher eyes. On the other hand, I freely admit some of Schroeder’s subtleties may have been lost on me. What I liked The lockstep concept. Because I am not so familiar with the genre, it took me a little time to get my head around the lockstep concept, but once I did get the general picture I could really appreciate what Schroeder did. I’m not going to try to explain it – go read the book. What I did like about it was the…
Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist is the third book in the Riftwar Saga and together with A Darkness at Sethanon forms a kind of duology within the series. This first part tells the story of Prince Arutha’s search for the magical silverthorn plant to cure his beloved Anita from magical poisoning and of the growing threat of Murmandamus, I consider Feist to be one of the master storytellers of his generation. Let me tell you a story to prove it. I studied language and literature at university and after four years of deep literary analysis sucking all the enjoyment out of reading I refused to read anything more complex than a Cosmopolitan for many, many years after graduation. Not until, that is, a colleague loaned me Feist’s Shadow of a Dark Queen, the first in his Serpentwar saga. I completely DEVOURED it and the rest of the series. I was immediately drawn into Feist’s world of Midkemia and it reignited my love of reading that I’d all but forgotten. When I bought my first Kindle and made the switch to ebooks, a book by Feist was also the first book I bought to ease my transition to the new format….
I received a copy of The Pilgrims by Will Elliott from Tor McMillan free to review – thank you, guys! It tells the story of journalist Eric Albright and Stuart Casey, a homeless drunk, who stumble across a hidden door which leads them to the fantastical world of Levaal. Naturally, there is an evil overlord they have to defeat. As can be inferred from the ages of the protagonists, this is more adult contemporary fantasy than young adult. The language and attitudes of the two main characters is more mature than that of your average Twilight or Mortal Instruments. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. First off, I need to be totally honest and say I was unable to finish this book. I started it at least a couple of times, and even bought it on Kindle as I find hardback books bulky and awkward to read now after several years of Kindling. Yet, I was unable to get beyond the first third of the story. Now, I don’t believe this is a reflection on the story or the author; just that I, personally, was unable to relate to the characters enough to become involved in their adventure. it…
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare is the fifth in the Mortal Instruments series and the middle book of the second trilogy. It continues the plot points set up in City of Fallen Angels. We follow several plotlines; Clary’s attempt to infiltrate Sebastian’s and Jace’s fortress, Simon and the Lightwoods’ McGuffin hunt in an attempt to find a way to separate Jace’s soul from Sebastian’s and the furtherance of Sebastian’s dastardly plan. Clare also explores some of the relationships in depth, notably Alec and Magnus Bane and also Simon’s relationship with Izzy. Given the work put into them, I am rather nervous for these couples for City of Heavenly Fire. What I liked Pacing. One of my complaints about the previous book was that the pacing was not great. This was considerably improved in City of Lost Souls. Having set up the plot threads earlier, Clare was able to run with them and keep the narrative flowing. Relationship development. I really loved how the relationships developed in this book. I became invested in Simon/Izzy, Maia/Jordan, Magnus/Alec. Their actions and how it impacted their relationships came across as very believable. I was particularly touched by Izzy’s backstory…
Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a YA sci-fi novel and is the first in a series of four books based on classic fairytales. This first one is based on Perrault’s Cinderella. Many elements of the original are incorporated: the persecuted heroine, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, Prince Charming, a ball at the palace, the protagonist’s desire to attend thwarted by her stepmother, the pumpkin turned coach, footwear left on the palace step. Cinderella is an interesting choice for the basis of a YA novel. Generally speaking, YA heroines tend to be strong, proactive heroines (we’ll try to forget Bella Swan for a moment). This fairytale princess is the epitome of a passive character. In part, that is why the tale is so beloved. The idea that a fairy godmother could suddenly whisk you away from your humdrum existence to a life of luxury and privilege is very appealing to many people. it’s the ultimate rags to riches story. As a character though Cinderella is, well, boring. She does very little to earn her happy ending other than to be generally nice. Fortunately, that is one aspect that Meyer did change for her novel. Her Cinder is strong, assertive and willing…
I received a copy of The Godborn by Paul S Kemp free to review via Netgalley. I should preface my thoughts by noting that I am not very familiar with Kemp’s The Twilight War trilogy and when reading this book I often felt as if I were a new reader to the Wheel of Time who had picked the series up at book four. I had the impression that a lot of assumptions of previous knowledge about the world have been made and I often found it difficult to keep up. I suspect that if you are already up to speed, you will have quite a different experience reading this book than mine. This is reflected in the low rating I gave this book. The Godborn tells of Vasen Cale’s quest to reunite the shards of Mask’s divinity which had been split among three people and to prevent Shar’s reincarnation which would lead to world destruction. At least that’s what I think it was about. I wasn’t very clear. What I liked The premise. I felt the idea of pieces of divinity having to be collected and reassembled interesting and well done. What I disliked Lack of focus. The Godborn…
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is the story of, well, a golem and a jinni who find themselves in turn of the century New York. Recently awoken/liberated respectively they must find their feet in and adapt to the New World while avoiding threats which could destroy them. First of all, I would like to say just how much I loved this story. I loved the characters, the narrative, the setting. What I found rather interesting was the fact that, had the golem and the jinni been just ordinary immigrants instead of supernatural creatures, 80% of the story could have remained unchanged. It is much more a story of new immigrants to the States adapting to their new lives and country and friendships formed than a fantastical tale of the supernatural. That is not to say that the element of the fantastical did not add an extra layer of depth to the tale, but it is well grounded in reality. What I liked The characters. All the characters were beautifully written, from our two protagonists down to “Ice Cream Salah.” Due to circumstances beyond their control, the golem and the jinni find themselves alone in turn of the…
As I mentioned in my Clockwork Angel review, I had problems getting into City of Bones. I have now read it all, or rather listened on Audible, and I have to say my initial reactions have not really altered much. What I liked The worldbuilding. This, for me, is the highlight of the book, and probably what will keep my coming back for more. Clare has done an excellent job in defining her world and the history and beings in it. I loved hearing about the Nephalim, the Moon’s Children and Night’s Children and look forward to hearing more about them. The pacing. This was something I thought worked better than in Clockwork Angel. The plot setup was done efficiently and well, and the narrative tension was well maintained. It’s amazing how well the old trusted and true “good guys need to prevent the bad guys from getting their hands on the McGuffin” works! However, it does depend on the execution though, and I felt Clare did this excellently. The importance of this particular McGuffin, the Mortal Cup, was clearly defined as were the consequences of its falling into the wrong hands. What I didn’t like The main characters….
Codex Born by Jim C Hines is the sequel to Libriomancer which tells of Isaac Vainio, a libriomancer with the power to access magic from within books. If you have not read Libriomancer, I would strongly suggest you start there. While it is not impossible to enjoy the story without having read the first book, it builds upon concepts, characters and events detailed in Libriomancer. Codex Born continues Isaac’s story and develops what we know of libriomancy. Feel free to check out my thoughts on Libriomancer. What I liked Lena’s backstory. We learn much, much more about Lena Greenwood through brief snippets before each chapter. For me, this was one of the most beautifully written and touching parts of the books as she learns to come to terms with her nature and the accommodations she has to make to achieve a little freedom. The visual imagery. Hines has a real talent for describing scenes that had me flat out giggling like a schoolgirl with the picture it evoked in my mind. An example was “She appeared to be holding off a small swarm of bugs with a drinking straw and a yo-yo.” I’m snickering even now at that mental image….
The final pair of books I chose to read for BookTubeAthon 2013 were Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and Shannon Hale’s Austenland. I should disclose upfront that in preparing this blog post I rewatched the Mr-Darcy-wet-shirt scene multiple times – only in the interests of research, you understand. Both novels are romantic comedies and both explore the theme of overcoming character flaws in order to be open to love. In Elizabeth Bennet’s case that of prejudice and in Jane Haye’s a tendency to ignore the real for fantasy. P&P is of course also a wonderful character study and exploration of Regency mores. Austenland doesn’t attempt to live up to Austen’s standard here, choosing instead to explore the blurred line between romantic fantasy and reality. Elizabeth Bennet is a stronger heroine than Jane Hayes but the latter wins the reader’s sympathies precisely because of her vulnerabilities. She knows she has a weakness and is taking action to work on it. Other than their love of Mr Darcy, the heroines of both P&P and Austenland share a witty sense of humour. I was pleasantly surprised how well Austenland stood up to P&P in this case. Of course Hale can’t match Austen’s subtle wit…