I believe it was George Carlin that said the key to any joke is wherein lay the Colours in the Steel exaggeration. Most of the set
I believe it was George Carlin that said the key to any joke is wherein lay the Colours in the Steel exaggeration. Most of the set up must ring true or the specific absurdity that makes everything funny won’t have the impact. In many ways I believe fantasy fiction works the same way. It is okay by me if there are a few items that stretch the limits of credibility; it isn’t fantasy without something extraordinary going on. But even with these specific exaggerations I must believe in the rest of the world the author sets in front of me or the entire thing falls flat.
K.J. Parker is a master at making me overlook the exaggerations. Of course they are there; the protagonist of this book is afencer for hire in a city that relies on duels to the death in a courtroom setting. The main conflict comes from a nomadic group of people who almost instantaneously change into industry barons, all on the knowledge of one man who went to work in the city. Completely absurd? Sure, looking on it like that. But one hundred percent believable due to the way it is written, full of all the little things that fit together ever so nicely.
I recently commented that Parker’s books should be boring; they are full of the little details that should drive me nuts. Do I really need to know the entire process of sword making? Should I know when to use water and when to use oil, which is better for cooling at what stage? Is any of this really necessary? You bet it is. No idea why, but I loved every nitty gritty detail thrown at me.
What should a reader expect from The Colours in the Steel? Well, fans of Parker who may have skipped her early stuff shouldn’t be disappointed if they go back, it is a familiar ride. People who may not know her? Seems as good a place to start as any. The book is dark and gritty, just how I like it. Even characters that start off likable work their way into the unlikable stage, but that simplifies Parker’s characters too much. There is no easy way to view any of the characters. Some are not good people but immensely likable, others show nothing too apparently evil but never less are unlikable. But unlikable doesn’t have to be uninteresting; I was interested in every major character arc. (In later Parker books I have seen complete casts that are horrible people; it was actually a bit surprising to see a few nice people in The Colours in the Steel).
Dark humor a plenty, again presented in a subtle way. Loredan (have I mentioned the protagonist’s name yet? Well, there it is) finds a particular potent recipe for a weapon hidden in a book that also included necromancy and voodoo; and considered giving them a shot when said weapon worked better than expected. A list of stock letter offerings amused me in ways I can’t even begin to explain.
We see a just a hint of magic, though the practitioners of it will balk at calling it magic at all. We enjoy a couple of genius characters; one completely in charge and thus dealing with his own failings, the other answering to a group and getting blamed for everything.
This is not my favorite book by the author, but it was still damn good. With plotting so complex I would expect some logical inconsistencies to slip through but I never really understood what one character’s long term plan was; nor how he was so confident it could be pulled off. As the original plan fell apart and other options were explored I the issue took care of itself, but for a while it bugged.
Like other books by the author I was entertained throughout. The humor is dark and hits me right and the little details kept me trying to out think everyone in the book. As I received the whole series of course I will continue on, but being that this is Parker that was a foregone conclusion anyway.
“Your forward momentum is going to lead all your followers over a cliff someday.� “One the way down, you’ll convince ‘em all the
“Your forward momentum is going to lead all your followers over a cliff someday.� “One the way down, you’ll convince ‘em all they can fly.� “Lead on, my lord. I’m flapping as hard as I can.�
So this is the famed Miles Vorkosigan everyone has been going on about, staring in his first solo effort The Warrior’s Apprentice, henceforth to be known as A Series of Improbable Events. Talk about a snowball effect, escalation after escalation, climaxing into yet another escalation. After the two Cordelia books I will admit the pace caught me by surprise. I had no idea what to expect from this one, but a man just trying to keep up with the ever increasing house of cards he built worked just fine.
Physically unable to complete his military training (brittle bones make the physical challenge at academy a bit too much), Miles takes a vacation to Betan to see his Grandmother along with his shadowing bodyguard (familiar face Bothari) and the bodyguards daughter. But rather than getting to his grandmother the aforementioned escalations start up; finding a job for a veteran leads to commanding an army that assumes he is something more than he seems.
So here I am, often the man who is bothered with little pieces don’t add up, finding myself jumping in with both feet, riding with eyes wide open, and mixing metaphors like a kid in a candy shop. If bits and pieces of Miles crazy story didn’t add up, oh damn well. Because I would be shocked by anyone not caught up in his incredible ride, rooting for a man who may be less underdog than he originally shows. Sure I had trouble buying some of the coincidences, but when they lead to something this fun I can ignore them completely.
So when Miles helps talk a man down from a metaphorical ledge? I am excited.
And when he suckers a man into selling a ship with a patch of nuked earth? Fist pumping in the air.
And oh Jesus don’t think I wasn’t giving a minor cheer every..single..time that new recruits showed up to join his crazy unexpected mercenary group.
Bujold has proven to me that she can swing emotions with the best of them. There is no shortage of laughs here, less in a cheap joke style but with plenty of wit coming from both characters and situations. But she can make a reader challenge their own preconceptions of a situation over and over; in this case the continued story of Bothari, now with his daughter Elina in tow. I still can’t decide if Bothari’s actions make up for his past, or if Lord Vorkosigan did the correct thing in helping to hid Elina’s background. And throughout I wonder if I should even be rooting for Miles in this crazy endeavor; at what point is the cost too high for this game he is playing? (Though once it moved from game to pure necessity it was easier to decide).
Add in all the things that I have already seen Bujold do so well, especially making every character feel so damn real, and I am in love. I am THIS CLOSE to just reviewing Pratchett and Bujold in an alternating pattern until I am out of books. It is just too much fun.
The Clockwork Century was a five book series. Right? It is a completed series with five books. If I go to my library, get into the
The Clockwork Century was a five book series. Right? It is a completed series with five books. If I go to my library, get into the catalog, I can count the damn things. One, two, three, four, five. It is that easy and I would assume that like many series anything else involved with the series would be a throwaway story; short and only loosely connected.
So someone bring me the head of the marketing genius that hid the most entertaining story of the entire series as a special release! Oh I was aware of Clementine, but as I didn’t have an e-reader at the time and the special print run was running in the ‘way more than I would pay� range I assumed I could safely skip it. And to be fair, nothing happened in this book that was a required plot thread for understanding later books (though outside of Boneshaker, the same could be said of most the series). But still, I would have loved to meet Maria when I should have met her, several years ago when I first read Boneshaker!
I was expecting a short story; instead I got a short book. (200 pages counts as a novel, I even asked important people to verify that). But damn was it fun.
This was a fast paced chase, nothing more, but well-crafted and entertaining throughout. New Pinkerton agent Maria is sent to chase down and stop former slave current air pirate Captain Hainey, who himself is chasing down the thief who took off with his rightfully stolen ship. Eventually their paths cross and their goals are modified as the full extent of events surrounding the situation are brought out.
Priest has always managed to pull me into to her stories because she writes some of the most entertaining people on page. I knew to expect awesomeness from Maria due to her role in Fiddlehead and wasn’t disappointed. Morally ambiguous is a rough term, while she isn’t afraid to take a shot she is a good person. The smartest person in the book, and possibly the most dangerous. Hainey is amazing, I would almost forget he is a pirate looking for vengeance; I just want to hang out with him when the whole chase is done.
Recommended for fans of the series, but wouldn’t be a good starting place; events in Boneshaker are still probably need for the set up, but it could safely be read at any time after that. Outside of Dreadnaught this is the most ‘steampunk� of the series, the airship chase showed how fun that could be (and I couldn’t help but grin when Hainey finally lifted up the much talked about Rattler).
Proof that less can sometimes be more, this book stripped away all the unnecessary stuff and gave a very tight and very fun story back. Damn good.
“In a world of Gods and demons, monsters and superhuman warriors, cunning is the normal man’s last defense.�
A man proves very ha
“In a world of Gods and demons, monsters and superhuman warriors, cunning is the normal man’s last defense.�
A man proves very hard to kill. Falling from a building, pushed by demon or God, he finds himself in desperation racing for a cure the poison he inhaled during the drop, a poison he obviously knows something about. What chance he has at getting to a cure is ended abruptly by a shutter kicked into his head by Narin, law bringer of the Imperial City, jumpy in no small part due to the illicit tryst he is shouldn’t be involved in. Confronted by a god, Narin is tasked with finding out just what the poisoned man was involved in. In doing so he will be dragged into a plot much bigger than it originally appears.
Here is a book that is begging me to reread it. Not just because it was very good, which I have no problem saying right out front it was. But because it had those nagging little details that I want to go back and reset in my brain so I can figure out EXACTLY what was going on, what I missed, and what was just being left for the read to figure out. There is plenty here for fans to codex; a complex caste system based around a heavy control of firearms and magic, a cast of gods who’s ascension into heaven is not only documented but very much on the minds of the people, and plenty of tribal confrontations that could confuse even the most ardent fantasy fan. While not the most complex book I have read by a long shot, it is not a book to coddle the reader with early info dumps or heavy explanations.
Despite taking the lead on a very interesting investigation for the most part Narin was just along for the ride, relying on his friend Enchei or his boss, Lawbringer Rhe for inspiration, planning, and even action. If you insist on having the protagonist be the center of the universe find another book, without the intervention of the god Lord Shield he would have most likely have been an afterthought. But this didn’t bother me because the cast he was surrounded with was amazing.
Rhe was not an exciting character, but very interesting, a man that many thought was a possible choice for ascendency for near perfection as a lawbringer (something the gods had been known to do in the past for different professions). Smart and able, but still given a human touch and never perfect. Enigma Enchei follows a familiar fantasy trope, the old man who is more than he seems to be. But rather than drag it out for the whole book we learn what makes him special early on, leaving him free to be awesome rather than an annoying mystery (of course those caught off guard by him don’t know everything we know). And Kesh could have been a damsel in distress or love interest, brought into the investigation by her own tragedy, but instead was one of the most active members working against the big threat.
By far my favorite character line was the dangerous man who opens the book falling off a roof. Because you see, it is the first time I can remember actually enjoying an amnesia plotline. Maybe what makes it work is it is known immediately that the amnesia is the real deal, there is no backtracking or convenient pieces of information coming out of his mouth. But then again maybe it is because what he could know is so important to people who have no idea what has happened to him; both sides are constantly adjusting their plans based on info that a major character no longer has.
Add in some crafty foxes, an evil society, and the threat of a war between the clans as bad as a well-remembered ten-day war that nearly broke the city. Give it a shake and you have a well-crafted, original, and above all entertaining story. I admit to being surprised, I was hoping for a good tale but didn’t expect so much depth.
Some minor quibbles that could be nothing more than something to clear up on a reread or perhaps addressed in a sequel; a few loose ends concerning the fate of Narin’s affair and its consequences and I never quite did figure out was a certain group of Stone Dragon’s actual were. But they were very minor indeed.
4 Stars
Review copy received from Gollancz in return for an honest review....more
What was this book about? The question is not rhetorical, I am not really sure I can answer it adequately. The easy answer is it is
What was this book about? The question is not rhetorical, I am not really sure I can answer it adequately. The easy answer is it is about Fairies caught up in a sixteenth century witch-hunt; at least for half the book. From there it is a slow burning buildup to possible rebellion. Which sounds like a disjointed approach but the two halves transition seamlessly and do read as one tale. But it’s not really historical fantasy, only a small portion takes place in ‘the real world.� And it isn’t much of a Faerie tale; outside of longer lives the Sidhe live lives almost identical to the mortals many of them look down on.
The series is called Rebel Angels, and perhaps because of that I spent half my reading time drawing parallels between the land beyond the veil in which the Sidhe live to a bastardized garden of Eden. I have some nice notes about the parallels of exiled Sidhe and angels on earth; some ideas about how a religion could have grown from misunderstood fairies. Even had a nice heavenly revolt in the form of the protagonist’s building antagonism toward the Sidhe queen. At which point I actually Googled ‘Sidhe� and realized they were just a localized version of the same Fae present in fantasy all over. So all my comparisons are probably in my head. Oh well.
Seth makes an interesting protagonist; a bit of hothead, not always the sharpest around, but fairly competent and with a realistic mix of compassion and selfishness. His brother went from a bit too perfect in the early going to someone who had a few flaws; the brotherly love between the two was very strong. Likewise the young lady introduced in the prologue, at the time about to be burned as a witch, starts a prop to be saved and turns into half of a very bittersweet romance. One of the better played romantic angles I have read recently; the different life spans between Seth and the mortal girl provides some very interesting implications. Rare book that I wish had focused more on its romantic elements.
The story itself was strait forward enough, fast moving and easy to follow. My issue is deciding if I actually enjoyed it or not. It was good enough to keep reading but never surprised me, never mesmerized me, never really made me care. I spent more time thinking about the implications of Sidhe=Angel thing, and occasionally trying to figure out minor rules of this fictional universe (wait, was that a witchhunt in the land behind the veil?), than I really spent dissecting the main plot. I got lost when it came to characters; a strange place to find myself considering how small the cast really was. For instance one character in fairyland held an intense dislike of Seth and I couldn’t find if or where we were told why.
Eh, not every book works for every reader. With an interesting protagonist and different path than the typical English faeries , Firebrand should(and has) appeal to many people. But a lackluster plot didn’t do a whole lot for me and I have little interest in following through with the next book in the series.
I picked this book up because I can never resist figuring out if the hype is justified
Warning: This review contains a few spoilers
I picked this book up because I can never resist figuring out if the hype is justified or not, and currently there isn’t a YA book getting quite as much buzz as Divergent. It is very easy to see why it is so popular; a decent dystopian setting with a capable young heroine.
The set-up is fairly cool; five factions split up by dominate personality types. Those caring altruistic sort are part of Abnegation, those who favor bold moves are Dauntless, and so on. The book starts with main character Tris preparing to put on the sorting hat go through testing to see which faction she belongs to. Testing goes all wrong, she learns that not only is she DIVERGENT and fits into no faction, but that this is a dangerous thing to be and should be kept to herself. I smell Destiny!
My problem is I didn’t buy a single thing the author is selling, and to be honest I am not sure she did either. I said the factions are set up by dominate personalities because that is how it appeared at first. However it becomes increasingly clear that the author intended that the faction should determine the entirety of the personality; both the idea of a divergent and the big bad villainous plan depend on the faction personality being completely hardwired into the people of this futuristic Chicago. And the text just doesn’t support this.
Tris really shows nothing different than the characters she interacts with. Among the Dauntless she meets others who are caring, or logical (supposedly the domain of Erudite); in fact she seems to be interacting with PEOPLE. Judging by personality everyone should be considered Divergent; the faction leaders must constantly remind people of the path they need to take. Really the whole idea that no matter where they test the kids can pick their own faction completely invalidates the importance of the testing, and therefore the factions, completely. I don’t believe I am being facetious or overly critical here; when the entire Dauntless faction is put under a mind control only the Divergent are immune. Somehow the control worked on both people who TEST Dauntless, and those who CHOOSE Dauntless, but not those who don’t test right at all.
Throw in a bunch of annoying YA tropes and a bad book is confirmed. We get a cast consisting of 90% teenagers; even the Dauntless leadership team is only a couple years older than Tris and her training class. A world shrunk down for simplicity sake (Tris and her fellow Dauntless initiates have a class of nine this year, none of them memorable). The requisite boring love angle (it doesn’t matter that she is not the prettiest, he just can tell she is special). And of course be sure to slowly write off any important adults; pesky adults just get in the way of the story anyway.
I am not a big reader of YA, and I doubt anyone who is gives a damn what I think. But for those who, like me, venture into this territory only occasionally; don’t say you were not warned.
What was this book about? The question is not rhetorical, I am not really sure I can answer it adequately. The easy answer is it is
What was this book about? The question is not rhetorical, I am not really sure I can answer it adequately. The easy answer is it is about Fairies caught up in a sixteenth century witch-hunt; at least for half the book. From there it is a slow burning buildup to possible rebellion. Which sounds like a disjointed approach but the two halves transition seamlessly and do read as one tale. But it’s not really historical fantasy, only a small portion takes place in ‘the real world.� And it isn’t much of a Faerie tale; outside of longer lives the Sidhe live lives almost identical to the mortals many of them look down on.
The series is called Rebel Angels, and perhaps because of that I spent half my reading time drawing parallels between the land beyond the veil in which the Sidhe live to a bastardized garden of Eden. I have some nice notes about the parallels of exiled Sidhe and angels on earth; some ideas about how a religion could have grown from misunderstood fairies. Even had a nice heavenly revolt in the form of the protagonist’s building antagonism toward the Sidhe queen. At which point I actually Googled ‘Sidhe� and realized they were just a localized version of the same Fae present in fantasy all over. So all my comparisons are probably in my head. Oh well.
Seth makes an interesting protagonist; a bit of hothead, not always the sharpest around, but fairly competent and with a realistic mix of compassion and selfishness. His brother went from a bit too perfect in the early going to someone who had a few flaws; the brotherly love between the two was very strong. Likewise the young lady introduced in the prologue, at the time about to be burned as a witch, starts a prop to be saved and turns into half of a very bittersweet romance. One of the better played romantic angles I have read recently; the different life spans between Seth and the mortal girl provides some very interesting implications. Rare book that I wish had focused more on its romantic elements.
The story itself was strait forward enough, fast moving and easy to follow. My issue is deciding if I actually enjoyed it or not. It was good enough to keep reading but never surprised me, never mesmerized me, never really made me care. I spent more time thinking about the implications of Sidhe=Angel thing, and occasionally trying to figure out minor rules of this fictional universe (wait, was that a witchhunt in the land behind the veil?), than I really spent dissecting the main plot. I got lost when it came to characters; a strange place to find myself considering how small the cast really was. For instance one character in fairyland held an intense dislike of Seth and I couldn’t find if or where we were told why.
Eh, not every book works for every reader. With an interesting protagonist and different path than the typical English faeries , Firebrand should(and has) appeal to many people. But a lackluster plot didn’t do a whole lot for me and I have little interest in following through with the next book in the series.
Three children are introduced, their father recently murdered Emperor of the land. One child The Emperor's Blades(Adare, the daugh
Three children are introduced, their father recently murdered Emperor of the land. One child The Emperor's Blades(Adare, the daughter) is given a few token chapters but is largely forgotten; the story focuses instead on two boys going through their own separate hellish trainings. Kaden is the heir to the throne, currently living with a group of monks whose tortures will end up teaching him what he needs to survive (child abuse for success). Brother Valyn is in training to join an elite flying regiment of elite soldiers. Training consists of live exercises full of danger, a Starship Troopers bootcamp in fantasy land.
Perfectly pedestrian epic fantasy. Oh it does a few things different, employing a fairly diverse cast and a setting not based around a faux medieval Europe. I enjoyed this book for the most part, especially once the story finally got going. Unfortunately I am not sure anything important happens until about the sixty percent mark of the book. Before that it is more concerned with taking the idea of lessons hidden in chores to extreme levels.
Remember the old man from The Karate Kid? You know; “Wax on, wax off?� Did you ever think the training would have been more effective had he beat the living daylights out of the kid, maybe bury him up to his neck in sand for a week as part of his lessons? Rampuri Tan, Kaden’s teacher, knew this was the way to go. As a plot device it is ok; I guess. Not new or novel and doesn’t excite me, but I can see it working. As a plot device for a hundred pages it is repetitive and becomes laughable easy to spot. I found myself correctly guessing what new hell Kaden was about to be put through each time. And if I can guess the new brutality so easily after a hundred pages, why can’t Kaden figure it out after eight years? But aw shucks, look at that, Master Tan is just doing what’s best, and all of his training will prove useful at just the right time.
Valyn’s training was just as brutal but a bit more understandable being that he was training to be the elite of the elite in soldiering. His storyline was a lot more interesting as well, with a diverse cast of characters surrounding him and a few mysteries to deal with. He is tipped off about a plot against his family, one of the first on the scene of a murder connected to his regiment, and generally just more active in the story. But his plotlines are plagued with little annoyances as well. The author is prone to repeating introductions to ideas or characters that have perfectly acceptable contextual clues later in the story. For instance we were twice told in very introductory fashion about how nasty fellow trainee Yurl is; something I could have picked up just fine by his behavior. It was a jarring bit of writing that showed up more than once.
Get past this long introduction based around training (or maybe enjoy it more than I do) and the story gets quite a bit better. A decent amount of background info is introduced (in a much more natural way than some of the early characters introductions). Very little of the world’s background is actually relevant to the story itself, but a few tidbits picked up become important later on. Adare’s political fight back at the capital was interesting; appointed as a minister and working with the reagent she works against the suspected killer of her father. There just wasn’t enough of it, this very much being her brothers� story.
Eventually the brothers are reunited to face the danger of a conspiracy against their whole family. Some pretty exciting action scenes follow. For whatever issues I had there was nothing wrong with the way the author writes action, quick paced and exciting. Some of his secondary ideas (such as power leeches and the different religious sects of the land) got their chance to shine as well, keeping things a bit more unexpected while the action flows.
Perhaps another book I let myself get a little too excited about before reading. Early reviews seemed positive and how could I not love that cover? But the overly long training really pushed me away some; made even worse because I was effectively reading about it twice with the two brothers. There was an illusion of depth in the world building (enough that an appendix was added to explain cultures and old gods), but none of it really mattered as the story itself was very straight forward. Again, this wasn’t a bad book, and the action itself was very good. But I will be quite a bit surprised if this becomes the next big series everyone talks about. For me it was just thoroughly OK.
3 Stars
Copy for review received through NetGalley....more
Young orphan Nepenthe, adopted into the royal library as a child, works as a translator of ancient texts. While working on commissi
Young orphan Nepenthe, adopted into the royal library as a child, works as a translator of ancient texts. While working on commission that appears to be nothing more than a traders list a much more interesting text comes in. Written in an alphabet built around thorns, Nepenthe quickly becomes obsessed, hiding the book from others and seeing things in it that no one else can. Meanwhile the land around her has a newly coronated queen who is already facing a possible rebellion in one of her lands and a powerful magical user foresees an external threat to the land but is unable to pinpoint it. Add in a young mage falling in love and learning he is more powerful than anyone thought and you have a whole lot going on in three hundred pages.
And for the most part the book pulls it off. That is a lot of balls to keep in the air, but only a few were dropped by the author. I’ll deal with those first so I can get back to the things the book does right. There is a unnecessary love triangle, which thankfully didn’t get too ‘emo.� The main love interest I found completely bland; anything he provided to the story could have been handled by a nameless extra just as well in my mind. There are a few logic twisters; I wonder why every made up language is not only phonetic in nature but seems to have direct letter conversions. And the leap of faith that causes Nepenthe to end up with the book in the first place was a bit hard to buy.
But all of this is so easily forgivable because the book was so good in so many ways. Another example of a low action book can still have suspense and keep interest. The highlight came from what is revealed in Nepenthe’s translations, and ancient story involving a couple of legendary figures. I probably figured out the big reveal before I was supposed to but it didn’t upset me, it was a unique journey. The love story that takes place in the past was everything the one in the present wasn’t. Sweet isn’t the right word (in fact it is extremely one sided), but it is lyrical and exciting and passionate.
Did I say lyrical? Something about McKillip’s writing just worked for me. Not as lush in style as some of the masters of prose can be, but lyrical describes it fine. Some simple poems show a writer who knows that she is good but doesn’t feel the need to show off.
A book that is short and sweet deserves a review that is the same. Not for fans of action, and the short length doesn’t allow for the depth fantasy fans often expect. But a well written book is a well written book, no matter the length, and I love a story that dares to try something different (even more so when it finds success in its originality).
4 stars. My first time reading the author, but surely not my last. ...more
Act 1- In which we meet a bunch of personality quirks masquerading as characters. And some basic background is laid down.
A strange loner in a lighthouAct 1- In which we meet a bunch of personality quirks masquerading as characters. And some basic background is laid down.
A strange loner in a lighthouse learns one of his sperm bank donations has self-fertilized, a new immaculate conception, this time in a test tube. Meet Julie Katz, daughter of God, but unsure of her purpose. Dad plays the worried Jewish man and fears her divinity will make her a target. Best friend Phoebe thinks she should be out saving the world, rebellious teen with a big heart. And Julie herself will change personalities throughout the book like an actress playing multiple roles.
But wait! Is that some subtle foreshadowing I see? A few hints of what’s to come? Nope, my bad. I should be taking notes because you are literally having the devil make a list of things I should watch out for later in the book. Never mind, no foreshadowing here, just a big billboard.
Act 2- In which the daughter of God goes to hell, meets Jesus, and a reader starts checking the little status bar at the bottom of the Kindle..
So our favorite ambivalent deity travels with the devil into hell and learns that quite literally everyone is down there. They visit islands filled with people suffering specific punishments, which makes Julie sad but not angry enough to really show she cares. Major logistical issues start showing up, such as why the devil spends so much time promoting sin in the earthly world if everyone is coming down to him anyway.
A little bit of heavy handed philosophizing comes in there somewhere, having Jesus himself point out flaws in Christianity in oh, so clever ways. Most of this section seems to involve Julie and Jesus giving water to the damned. Oh, and somehow if a person dies in hell he truly is gone forever. It is supposed to make since, though I never figured out all the details.
Worst of all, for me at least, the section was boring. One third of the book and only a couple of scenes stand out at all. Moving on�
Act 3- In which the book starts to redeem itself, then falls horribly off the rails and defies all common sense.
Julie goes back to earth as a normal mortal. She starts doing some good in the world on a personal level. Some touching moments as she attempts to help Phoebe clean up her life. For a while there was something really clicking in this section as we saw Julie do more good without any of her god-power than she ever did when she had it. I thought the book was gaining a point, then once again got dragged back into a unfunny religious parody.
To be completely honest I didn’t buy into a single thing the author was selling me. A religious revival causing a splinter nation from the United States, a twentieth century auto-da-fe ignored by the international community, a voice command replacement limb. More heavy handed pointing out of inconsistencies in the Bible. Somehow the devil loses power in hell because Julie won’t be bad. Once again though, I never could figure out the damn details.
Act 4- In which there wasn’t really an Act 4 in the book, but Nathan felt the need for a conclusion to his review.
I think I would have loved this book late in high school. Every time he skewered a specific religious tenant I would have been “oh hell ya!â€� Hell, it is some of the same arguments every wannabe atheist starts throwing around when they rebel against religion. The early nineties must have been the time for books like these, browsing through Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ I found ‘Good Omens,â€� ‘Small Gods,â€� and ‘Lamb: The Gospel According to Biffâ€� all came out within a few years of each other.
I don’t mind the blasphemous nature of the book, I am hardly religious. But if that is the type of book you are looking for you would be better off reading one of the three I listed above. They were actually entertaining and coherent. This book was so heavy handed and self-assured I barely got through it. The areas where it redeemed itself (when Julie actually tried to do good) were too short and far between.
That’s it; I am tired of trying to review this book and will now blank it from my memory.
To the best of my knowledge what I just read is not a history book. I have checked a few other sources and found nothing to suggest
To the best of my knowledge what I just read is not a history book. I have checked a few other sources and found nothing to suggest that Harriet Tubman actually had any kind of extreme healing abilities. Nor could I find any reference of Stagecoach Mary having iron skin. An elaborate subway system crisscrossing the whole continent was likewise missing from my studies.
This book has a comic book feel (actually it would make a pretty cool comic), both in its quick pace and in set up. Apt, because the setup is X-Men in a post Civil War America. Tubman is one of many who are supernaturally ‘gifted,� and in the opening scenes is hired by John Wilkes Booth to rescue his daughter. By taking the mission Harriet is pulled into an elaborate plot against both her and the country. The action in this book goes off like a machine gun, one scene after another with very little of its word count going toward anything else.
A person’s enjoyment of this book is therefore going to be dependent completely on their tolerance for martial arts, gun play, and pure poundings. A new larger than life historical character is introduced, his/her super power is shown, and a new action scene unfolds. Rince and repeat. For instance we first meet Stagecoach Mary fighting off a pack of werewolves for a bit before being rescued in Hollywood style by an airship she didn’t know was coming dropping a rope.
For the most part it worked for me. I enjoyed all the little historical plugs, most that I recognized and a few I had to look up. It’s over the top nature didn’t grow old, though had the book been a longer one it might have. Like many good action books there is an undercurrent of humor that keeps things from feeling too brutal. And a couple of the characters really stood out; I enjoyed Harriet throughout, and got a kick out of Mama Maybelle, a titan of a woman willing to do just about anything for her loved ones.
However, intentional or not, the fast pace left very little room for any kind of depth. One villain was introduced and defeated so quickly I wonder why he was included at all. Rapid action scenes start to run together. Where some characters stand out, I lost track of others even within the fifty pages they disappeared because I had nothing substantial to remember them by.
Not a bad book, it had many of the same trappings as other by-the-numbers steam punk tales, just with better diversity among its characters. At times I wish that some of the descriptions of various monsters were shorter and the time spent building some of the secondary characters a bit longer. But these action tales work best in small doses, which thankfully is what the book provides. It also ended on a cliffhanger, leaving the possibility of more to come. Conclusion? A bit rough, but an enjoyable outing.
‘Heartwood� is an ambitious novel, but ultimately it fails. Rarely do I jump to the point so quickly, but there it is. It reads like a video game nove‘Heartwood� is an ambitious novel, but ultimately it fails. Rarely do I jump to the point so quickly, but there it is. It reads like a video game novelization, complete with an overly long info-dumping manual to start the book.
Representatives from all over the land are conveniently in one place for a summit that no expects anything from. Don’t worry, the reason for the meeting is unnecessary, it just was there to bring all the heroes into one place. We meet the books protagonist, one Chonrad, a valiant knight of destiny that everyone knows is noble and just. Don’t worry about him either; despite being the closest thing to a protagonist the book has he does nothing important though the entire book, until he walks into his role of destiny. We meet our cast of hard to tell apart characters; getting an overview of each land they belong to in long info dumps (complete with what sect of the religion they practice despite it mattering not at all). Then finally the story starts.
Basically it is a Legend of Zelda knockoff. A large group of water elementals attack the tree of life and rip out its heart. A historian finds a secret staircase that has been undiscovered for hundreds of years under a large chest. There he learns there are five places of powers that have been corrupted; conveniently one in each land that someone remembers with ease. Parties are set up, and people go out on Quests (always capitalized). Most go to clean up separate temples, while one group plans on using magic to turn into water elementals and get back their tree’s heart. Hell, there is even the bonus Quest of tracking down the wondering earth mage who can make flowers grow with a thought. Again; Tree of Life, secret room that is barely hidden, five corrupted temples. Oh, and an ancient battle of elements was in there somewhere. If I wasn’t so lazy I would have so many images from a certain N64 classic embedded into this review it would bog down the site.
I will give a little bit of credit for the way the author kept five different Quest parties going without the narrative ever getting too confused. But I won’t gush too much because while the narrative never got confusing it never really got interesting either. Every one of the Quests read exactly the way. Some kind of early trouble with bandits or whatnot, travel time with more info dumps about what food was packed or other page filling nonsense, and a way too easy conclusion when finding the corrupted temple (nodes of power, whatever). I won’t giveaway how the nodes are cleaned, but be assured once it is done the first time there is zero drama left in the rest of them. And don’t even get me started on the party that went back after the baddies who attacked the Great Deku Tree. So anticlimactic it may as well been left out.
What else? We see a group tortured and raped for information that the other quest parties give out freely to every person they meet. And like Gaga we see bad romance.
“You are a strange one, Chonrade, Lord of Barle,� she said, her voice husky. “You extract my feelings as if you are wheedling a whelk out of its shell. Nobody has ever had the power to affect me in all my years the way you have since your arrival only two days ago�
I always try to say something positive. Usually it is easy even in books I didn’t enjoy. A bit harder here but there were twin brothers who provided some of the most interesting dynamics. They had an interesting love hate bond that actually worked pretty well. Other than that, I have nothing. I hate to be pure negative, but at this point I feel it is my duty to warn people off this book. It’s not offensive, nor does it talk down to the reader or pander to anyone or any of the things that make it easier to bash a book. It just isn’t very good.
2 Stars
Review copy received from NetGalley. Quote provided is from advanced reading copy and may not be present in published version....more
Note: Today’s post will be written by the old fantasy curmudgeon. Just ignore him while he rants, he should be asleep by noon anywa
Note: Today’s post will be written by the old fantasy curmudgeon. Just ignore him while he rants, he should be asleep by noon anyway.
Eh, you kids today wouldn’t recognize good fantasy if it slapped you in the face. With your ‘secondary worlds� and your ‘punks� and whatnots. I tried to read a fantasy novel a week ago that took place entirely in one city. How the hell can it be a fantasy book without an epic quest? That is what I want to know. And don’t get me started on your ‘weird� stuff, acting like teenagers with dog collars on while you read about slate moths and zombies and god knows what else. Probably playing that heavy metal music while you do so, if I had my guess.
Now take this Andy Remic character, there is a guy that respects what camebefore. He follows tradition and doesn’t think he is better than the rest of us, forging brand new paths that none of us want to go down thank you very much. Take that new book The Iron Wolves. Ancient evil raises an army and storms the unbreakable fortress that provides the human lands their last hope. An old general gathers together his old company and travels through haunted woods and past plague lands to stop her. There is DESTANY involved, because the wolves share a secret curse that makes them the best hope.
He recognized right away what was missing from most new fantasy, Orcs! Tolkien showed us that orcs are gold; frankly if I don’t see an orc I don’t want anything to do with it. Even that young punk Jordan had orcs, even if he felt he was better than Tolkien and gave them some silly trolloc name. Good fantasy should involve a fight of humans against an overwhelming orc hoard, preferably at an ancient fotress with absurdly high walls. Hmph, that Martin fellow got the wall right but forgot the orcs. That is why his stuff will never be popular. And that’s why I see big things ahead for Remic. He didn’t just give us Orcs, but MUD Orcs. Raised by sacrifice, led by even nastier mud orcs and a beautiful magic lady, this is a force I can respect.
Now every good fantasy should have a fellowship. Don’t go calling me old fashioned, I don’t expect all my heroes to be goodie two shoes. But they do need to be good to each other; that’s important to the story. These Iron Wolves now, they are the real deal. Brutish, nasty, but heroes all. We know they drove back the last orc invasion and are called upon to do it again. Watching them get together again is half the fun. Did the fellowship of the ring get together at the Shire? NO, they have to meet up in different places. Remic gets that. You got the drug addict haunted by the memory of her dead sister. Some tough old brothers with their own feud. A couple of broken individuals better known for murder than their old heroics, you know, a mixed bag of nasty. They bicker, they get physical, they go barebones a time or two, and then they save each other and fight the orcs together, just like they should.
I want good fights or I am going home. Big battles where I can hear the weapons clanging, feel the change in the air during a charge, cringe at every splash of blood. What is it the kids are calling it?
Grimdark?
Eh?
Isn’t that what I said?
GRIMDARK?
Ok, what is the difference?
Fine. GRIMDARK. That’s fantasy that remembers how it’s done. Don’t stray from the proven path. Big nasty villain with untold magic, a fellowship with a quest, and lots of battles. That’s what you kids should be looking for. Not that your going to listen to me, no doubt you have some tale about a book within a book hiding behind your back. No respect.
Now that ending left a bit to be desired, I expect a little more UMPH from my conclusions. A bit anticlimactic, a bit too easy for our heroes; at least when it comes to the invasion. But like a first book should do this one ends on a cliffhanger; a little political intrigue involving a mad king. And I see the next book in the series involves the big tower that was being built in the background of this book; if that isn’t a good sign of things to come I don’t know what is.
Now let me tell you a bit about the women in this series. A couple of fighters in addition to the nasty mage lady. And at some point most of them got nekkid. It has been too long since I read a book that described� {And with that we will leave this old curmudgeon to ramble by himself, perhaps suggest he go up for a cold shower. And we promise to hide the scotch next time}.
4 Stars. Formulaic, and for fans of GRIMDARK only I am sure, but much improved over the author’s Clockwork Vampire series. Fast paced, good action and an interesting cast of anti-heroes....more
Minor spoilers of Shards of Honor are possible, you have been warned.
Wow, what a wonderful book. This just blows its predecessor ou
Minor spoilers of Shards of Honor are possible, you have been warned.
Wow, what a wonderful book. This just blows its predecessor out of the water. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Shards of Honor quite a bit. (And I realize that technically this is not the second book of the series, but it was packaged this way in my omnibus and who am I to argue?) I thought Bujold’s first book was full of heart, with a protagonist that quickly was proving to be a favorite. It was a page turner, a sci-fi book that read like a light fantasy; but it is managed to show a bit of depth beneath its light exterior.
But wow, amateur hour compared to Barrayar. This book showed several fronts, all in about three hundred pages, and each storyline got the depth it deserved without ever becoming real convoluted. A wonderfully funny start; Cordelia trying to fit in to her new place in a society that is alien to her. The relationship she shares with Aral, her husband, is absolutely perfect. Flirty and playful, occasional fights that don’t cause pages of brooding, with give and take from both sides. The story starts out as a fish out of water story as Cordelia navigates the court and learns what goes with her husband’s new position as regent to the boy emperor. Several favorite scenes come to mind, but the one where she tries to catalog all the unwritten rules about who can talk about sex to whom is one of the funniest passages I have read all year.
But just as I sit wondering if this supposed sci-fi book was going to be all dinner parties and playful banter a simmering pot boils over and the book quite naturally takes a new turn. An attempted coop moves the book down two incredibly interesting paths; the political side of what is happening and the adventure that goes with it. The politics were light but worth following, dealing mostly with Aral and what he needs to do to retake control. The adventure portions did what they needed to; keeping me turning pages at a furious pace to ensure everyone is going to be alright. This isn’t real dark fiction with a huge body count, but survival was not guaranteed for all characters and the danger felt real.
Where this book shines though is in characters. Trite to say, I know, but true. Outside of a few all too evil types all the adventures and plot twists seem to give at least one, sometimes several, characters just a bit more life. People act like people, not characters in a book, which I must admit even some of my favorite authors have trouble bringing across. Cordelia watches a conversation from afar and makes up her own dialog in her head. Not only was it hilarious, but it is totally something I have done when bored. Her fight for her unborn son will resonate with any parent; the way she project that protective nature on to another’s child (and the way she wasn’t the only one to do so) was heartwarming to say the least. I will have to see how the series develops, but two books in Cordelia has quickly become one of my favorite characters.
Much like the first book I could care less about Aral Vorkosigan, one of the few week points of the book as he often acted as Cordelia’s straight man, so instead I will focus on the background cast. Bothari specifically was incredible. A mentally damaged man with a horrible past, yet his fierce loyalty to Cordelia and awareness of his own issues make him a person one can’t help but like, yet pity. Never does a reader forget the man’s past and capabilities for more issues to come, but every time he shows the fortitude to get past his limitations it feels like a victory. Contrast Bothari, who is physically a superman but mentally a mess, with Koudelka who must come to terms with the fact that he will never physically be what he once was. Yet another plot line that could have felt trite if not played right, but for once I bought completely that he had to see himself as others saw him to understand things would be all right.
A book with great characters who feel more real throughout, a surprising amount of humor, and a pace that just didn’t slow down. Seriously, Bujold deserves all the praise she gets. I started with her fantasy, but this series has won another convert in me.
5 Stars. I am not sure the book did anything real unique or groundbreaking (though it is old, so maybe at the time it was groundbreaking). But I sure enjoyed the hell out of it....more
The reviewer is obviously stuck on this review. He even used a ‘ŷ±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� summery to start the review, and he never does that. He
The reviewer is obviously stuck on this review. He even used a ‘ŷ±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� summery to start the review, and he never does that. He has been staring at the opening to his review of ‘Faithâ€� for so long he has started talking to himself. Worse, some kind of internal narrator has turned on. Let’s zoom in closer and see if we can listen in.
The worst part is I don’t even know if I liked the book or not. On the whole I mean. Obviously I liked, even loved some of it, but did I enjoy the whole? A book that certainly didn’t deserve to end up forgotten as it seems to have been, but perhaps not as good as I had hoped based on others glowing reviews.
Ah, a rough start, but he seems to be falling into a familiar rhythm.
For over a hundred pages I was completely hooked. One hundred percent sucked in, near perfection in the form of a space battle. Pick your metaphor, Ahab and his whale, the Bismarck and the Hood, whatever you want; a cat and mouse game with two cats. Every move countered beautifully, an unknown chess master against a genius madman. This is not a low rent space battle where ship X shoots lasers at ship Y then describe the explosion. This was a tactical masterpiece. Loved it.
But?
The beginning of the book was pointless. Completely pointless. I spent forty pages reading about the captain’s trip from a crewmembers� house back to the port in a horse drawn carriage (well, some kind of sci-fi stock animal anyway). In a sci-fi book. For no good reason. It wasn’t exciting; it showed us nothing about the captain that wasn’t shown better in other places.. I kept waiting for it to prove important later, but it didn’t. Really, outside of the amazing long term battle much of the book was self-indulgent.
Really Nathan, you’re going to call someone else’s writing self-indulgent?
Take for instance the insertion of sexual metaphors into the battle. Nothing wrong with that, but the way it was handled didn’t really work for me. Some authors may have snuck it in artfully so I might not even catch it on the first read through. Some may have tried to do so, but handled it clumsily. The author here put it in, and then seems to have felt a need to put up giant signs pointing out that he did. ‘Look at this, over here! It is a metaphor for sexual penetration! Get it!?� Here is a quote from when they penetrated a breach with a warhead.
“She never cared about it exploding, She just wanted it inside Her. And we gave it to Her. Part of us is now part of Her.� Pg288
His head sinks back down, deep thought or perhaps he is falling asleep. Must be some heavy thinking going on in that simple brain..no wait, his head is back up and the fingers are reaching for the keyboard�
To be honest the ending kind of lost me too. It all got a bit too, meta. May be more a reflection on me than the book but once the two ships hit a stalemate in which their course was locked together some typical sci-fi ‘weird shit� slowed the book down dramatically for me. Perhaps I just don’t get it, or it proves that this book just isn’t for me, but it killed the momentum that was working so well.
So what do we have? I am of two minds. A whole lot of potential and certainly a book that should be read by a lot more people who like the genre. Notes should be taken by future writers on how to do a space battle right. But this crazy short book could be even tighter without some of the frivolous stuff taken out.
We wait with bated breath young man, what is your final verdict going to be? Does the book rise above your issues? Is it sunk completely? What are you going to do?
Screw it, I’ll just give it three stars and go get a beer.
Bravo! Beer is always the right choice when the going gets tough. Well done old boy, well done.
Note: What follows is a review of two books, The Lazarus Machine and The Osiris Curse. I have chosen to review them together becaus
Note: What follows is a review of two books, The Lazarus Machine and The Osiris Curse. I have chosen to review them together because I read them back to back on a weekend trip and there really isn’t enough to differentiate them into separate reviews.
The rules of steampunk are simple.
1. Set the story in Victorian England.
2. Put a slightly askew male character together with an all-to-aware plucky female character.
3. Have them solve a mystery that involves secret plots against The Empire.
4. Choose one or more of the following: Zombies, Mummys, Secret Societies, Vampires, and any literary characters that fit the time period you want.
Not groundbreaking, but not meant to be. Serial fiction with some by-the-numbers plots, full of adventure and banter. I can’t imagine anyone being fooled going in as to what they are going to get here, so why judge it for anything other than what it is supposed to be?
Tweed is a socially awkward teen genius that helps his dad pull cons off. Nightingale is low rung journalist searching for clues as to where her mother has gone. When Tweed’s dad is taken by what appears to be a once thought dead Moriarty fate works to bring these two unlikely partners together. Learning that they work well together, they fight, search and flirt their way through two books of adventure.
So the question is how well does the book do what its purpose seems to suggest? Does it provide entertaining escapism? Does the dynamic duo work well together and have a good line of banter? (Yes, I consider banter a requirement). I am a person who believes if I enjoy a book it is not a waste of time, no matter how light and fluffy, and for both books in this series I found myself entertained plenty.
What drives the series so far is Tweed and Nightingale as a duo. The series does a little better than some in establishing that the feminist rights movement has a good foothold in this alt world, so Nightingale’s awareness and ability to move within the world is a little less out of place than some Victorian fantasy tales. Tweed is suitable strange and in one facet surprisingly realistic; he is plenty confident in himself, even arrogant at times, yet finds him second guessing himself when in social situations. The pair provides the banter I love, perhaps a little too snappy under duress situations, but that is to be expected. They take turns rescuing each other, switch roles as mastermind of the operations, and in short just WORK. Their requisite romantic feelings are played just enough to be interesting without ever getting in the way of the rest of the story. The second book especially played it well, with some well-timed white knight comments made in relation to both of them.
Plot wise The Lazarus Machine was a better book. It had its share of WTF moments, with an eleven year old hacker really raising my eyebrows (yes, computers ran by punchcards). But it was set up quickly, introducing us to all the various influences that are canon in this alt-world. Tesla machines and Sherlock Holmes are almost assured in the genre; also present is Gibson’s Difference Engine and Frankenstein and his works. The dynamic duo find a plot against the queen, learn of a machine that can move a person’s soul, and of course end up saving the day. (Spoiler? Of course it is, but if you didn’t know it was coming by the end of the book I can’t help you).
The Osiris Curse was a bit weaker. Same fun ideas, same dynamic due, but not as interesting in plot. A missing Egyptologist may have stumbled on a secret that could change everything. Tesla is murdered in his lab. And Tweed and Nightingale stumble into yet another plot against the Empire. This time the team will follow the trail to Egypt, and then into the center of the world. The details were even more farfetched; coincidences came a bit too often, and major characters were painfully clueless at times. But it did have lizard men, so that could be a selling point for some. Not a bad book, it follows the same formula that made the first book endearing. Just not as good in my mind.
Chances are if you have read much steampunk you have a read a book just like these. George Mann, Philippa Balantine, and even Gail Carriger (with a bit more romance) have all written something with this formula. But if this is the kind of thing you like give it a run. It certainly worked for me, and made my down time this weekend fly.
Note: What follows is a review of two books, The Lazarus Machine and The Osiris Curse. I have chosen to review them together becaus
Note: What follows is a review of two books, The Lazarus Machine and The Osiris Curse. I have chosen to review them together because I read them back to back on a weekend trip and there really isn’t enough to differentiate them into separate reviews.
The rules of steampunk are simple.
1. Set the story in Victorian England.
2. Put a slightly askew male character together with an all-to-aware plucky female character.
3. Have them solve a mystery that involves secret plots against The Empire.
4. Choose one or more of the following: Zombies, Mummys, Secret Societies, Vampires, and any literary characters that fit the time period you want.
Not groundbreaking, but not meant to be. Serial fiction with some by-the-numbers plots, full of adventure and banter. I can’t imagine anyone being fooled going in as to what they are going to get here, so why judge it for anything other than what it is supposed to be?
Tweed is a socially awkward teen genius that helps his dad pull cons off. Nightingale is low rung journalist searching for clues as to where her mother has gone. When Tweed’s dad is taken by what appears to be a once thought dead Moriarty fate works to bring these two unlikely partners together. Learning that they work well together, they fight, search and flirt their way through two books of adventure.
So the question is how well does the book do what its purpose seems to suggest? Does it provide entertaining escapism? Does the dynamic duo work well together and have a good line of banter? (Yes, I consider banter a requirement). I am a person who believes if I enjoy a book it is not a waste of time, no matter how light and fluffy, and for both books in this series I found myself entertained plenty.
What drives the series so far is Tweed and Nightingale as a duo. The series does a little better than some in establishing that the feminist rights movement has a good foothold in this alt world, so Nightingale’s awareness and ability to move within the world is a little less out of place than some Victorian fantasy tales. Tweed is suitable strange and in one facet surprisingly realistic; he is plenty confident in himself, even arrogant at times, yet finds him second guessing himself when in social situations. The pair provides the banter I love, perhaps a little too snappy under duress situations, but that is to be expected. They take turns rescuing each other, switch roles as mastermind of the operations, and in short just WORK. Their requisite romantic feelings are played just enough to be interesting without ever getting in the way of the rest of the story. The second book especially played it well, with some well-timed white knight comments made in relation to both of them.
Plot wise The Lazarus Machine was a better book. It had its share of WTF moments, with an eleven year old hacker really raising my eyebrows (yes, computers ran by punchcards). But it was set up quickly, introducing us to all the various influences that are canon in this alt-world. Tesla machines and Sherlock Holmes are almost assured in the genre; also present is Gibson’s Difference Engine and Frankenstein and his works. The dynamic duo find a plot against the queen, learn of a machine that can move a person’s soul, and of course end up saving the day. (Spoiler? Of course it is, but if you didn’t know it was coming by the end of the book I can’t help you).
The Osiris Curse was a bit weaker. Same fun ideas, same dynamic due, but not as interesting in plot. A missing Egyptologist may have stumbled on a secret that could change everything. Tesla is murdered in his lab. And Tweed and Nightingale stumble into yet another plot against the Empire. This time the team will follow the trail to Egypt, and then into the center of the world. The details were even more farfetched; coincidences came a bit too often, and major characters were painfully clueless at times. But it did have lizard men, so that could be a selling point for some. Not a bad book, it follows the same formula that made the first book endearing. Just not as good in my mind.
Chances are if you have read much steampunk you have a read a book just like these. George Mann, Philippa Balantine, and even Gail Carriger (with a bit more romance) have all written something with this formula. But if this is the kind of thing you like give it a run. It certainly worked for me, and made my down time this weekend fly.
‘The Lure of Fools,� or Tropey McTroperson walks through Tropesville, is an epic fantasy novel in which absolutely nothing you have
‘The Lure of Fools,� or Tropey McTroperson walks through Tropesville, is an epic fantasy novel in which absolutely nothing you have not seen before happens. Behold! A farm boy with a thirst for adventure wishes for something more. Is he aware he is living in a fantasy novel? Perhaps
“He really did hate the so-called normal life of their small village. His childhood dreams were of traveling the world..�
But wait, there is more! He is also…wait for it…an orphan! And he grows up with a young girl his age who is also an orphan, and she might, just maybe, be harboring a crush on him that he is unaware of. Aw, young love. What of our young orphaned love interest? What is her story? She is also an orphan, and has raised her developmentally challenged brother since their mother died.
“Their widowed mother had lived a chronically tragic life. She prostituted for several years..�
Of course she did. There was some potential there with the brother, an avenue rarely explored in fantasy. But let’s just leave any thoughts of goodwill behind on that one, our young heroine (Maely) will soon be leaving the brother behind to follow her ONE TRUE LOVETM. (Side note, I honestly don’t done if the period should be before or after the TM and I am too lazy to Google it). Brother is quickly forgotten, brought up only a few times but never factoring into the story.
So Jerakan (our farmboy turned man of destiny) is in town when a group of baddies ride in. He knows they are bad, everyone in town can sense it. He goes home and tells his Uncle who goes into a frenzy because he has A PASTTM. Said Uncle digs out an old sword, hands it off to his teenage, naïve nephew, and tells him to go right back into town to join an adventuring party looking a magic source to hid the sword form the baddies. That’s right, right back to where the men who are searching for the sword were last seen.
So Jekaran goes on an adventure and Maely wants to follow. Knowing that girls are not allowed on the quest, she cuts her hair and puts on a hat, completely fooling Jekaran for most of the book with her clever disguise. Things go a little crazy, J-man bonds with the sword which turns him into super amazing warrior complete with backflips and somersaults while fighting, and a broken English speaking lizardman follows Jekaran because he has green eyes (which isn’t unknown in the land, but somehow marks him as the man of destiny).
OH, and the party is also joined by a flawless elf like creature (I smell a LOVE TRIANGLE) who is first seen by Jekaran as a group of men surround her and threaten rape. She joins the party because why not, destiny and whatever else have you. She wants to walk up to the king and warn him that one of her people is looking to wipe out all humans. What’s her plan?
“I must journey to your capitol city and meet with your king.�
I don’t know, I could be overly critical here. This was not a horribly written book, just not all that interesting to me. The most interesting aspect, a man turned to an avatar of death in the introduction, is completely absent form this volume; obviously his story is going to be bigger in future books but it was the only one I cared about.
Spoilers for the first two books are very possible.
Here I am again, for the third time, wondering how to review a book in Emma New
Spoilers for the first two books are very possible.
Here I am again, for the third time, wondering how to review a book in Emma Newman’s ‘Split Worlds� series. Obviously these books do something for me, I keep reading, nay, devouring them. I am not sure there is a series that once I get an entry in my hands I can read faster. And yet when done I always find myself in the same position; I know I enjoyed the journey but have a huge list of things to pick apart. Is this fair? Am I being too critical? Why do I keep reading a series that I consistently rate with three stars?
And the more I think on it I have come to a simple conclusion. I keep reading the series because the author does many of the “big things� right (characters and the unique world specifically), and my quibbles are mostly with the nagging little details.
Nagging little details. The story so far has followed Cathy as she fights against the patriarchal hell that is the Nether, an in-between land that the Fae use as a little political playground. And that is cool, and her fight makes up the bulk of the book and is interesting and I find myself cheering and etc. But I still can’t figure out what the hell it is about the Nineteenth century that this whole magical society decided to adopt. Why does Cathy need to fight this fight in the first place in a magical society that seems to lack none of the necessities? Cathy’s fight for equality for all the poor repressed citizens of the Nether is admirable and enjoyable, but by the end of the book I found many of the steps she took to be too easy. I am not sure I ever doubted her abilities, never felt any pressure for her. Worse, many, though by no means all, of those she rescues seem like hostages in a video game, no mind of their own until she touches them and they suddenly become people. You know, with feelings and desires of their own?
Nagging little details. A secondary storyline had to do with Max, an arbiter charged with keeping a treaty that STILL hasn’t been explained, three books in. He is also followed around by a Disney sidekick, a gargoyle, who is supposed to be carrying his soul do to circumstances in the first book. Because of this Max is supposed to be emotionless. But I don’t know if I ever have been convinced that the grudges he holds verse the puppets of the nether is anything other than buried emotion. Worse, I want to kick that gargoyle. Goody goody thing that he is, he still is supposed to be nothing more than an animated block of stone with Max’s soul. When did he become a dog? Several times he is seen “sniffing,� and then finding stuff. Do concrete blocks with human souls gain the super power of smell?
Nagging little details. Sam makes up the third portion of the story so far, at first nothing more than a man in the wrong place at the wrong time. We watched his marriage fall apart, got a few cryptic messages about a connection to Iron, and saw him attempt and fail to rescue some prisoners of one of the Fae, a Lord Poppy (who is also Cathy’s Patroon, or puppet master, or whatever one wants to call him). But the simple matter is I have not cared about him one lick through the first two books; he is a mopey guy who hasn’t really added to the story. Well big changes are coming and suddenly he is a man of destiny. That is fine by itself, but there was a whole lot of narrative convenience once he learns a few things, and the speed of his transformation didn’t work for me. Your mileage may vary on that one.
And once again I find these things bugging me more than they should, because they are hidden in a very enjoyable story. More and more I am seeing the series as a soap opera. Book three wrapped up some plot lines that started in book one and opened a few more that will no doubt take a few more to resolve. Some of the nagging little problems I had after book one have been rectified (such as thinking Cathy was the first women in the Nether to think about her place in society, when in fact we have learned a lot of curses and other nefarious plots kept the forward thinkers apart and/or hidden). Some links from book one still have not been explained, such as what the sorcerers� place in the world really is and why the Fae would ever agree to a treaty limiting their reach.
So going back to the questions at the beginning. I keep reading because I enjoy it, and recognize it for what it is. Slightly flawed, but so far worth the ride. Nice to see some resolution, though I was kind of hoping this was the last of a trilogy rather than the middle of what may be a never ending series. Newman has continued to keep me invested in the story, especially Cathy’s fight against the system she was born in and the political fighting between the Fae.
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