Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey, readalong week No.3
16 August 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Chosen, Readalong Week No.3
Today is week No.3 of our readalong for Kushiel’s Chosen. This week our host is Allie at Tethyan Books. As you would expect – spoilers lurk below – so beware. All welcome, if you want to join the readalong or jump in with comments then please do so (here is the SCHEDULE). Questions and answers below.
1. Do you think Joscelin might have really considered using the “terminus” in the fight between the Unforgiven and the Yeshuites? How deep do you think his loyalty to the Yeshuite people goes, and why do you think he feels so driven to arm, train and protect them?
I don’t think he was considering the terminus to be honest. I thought his explanation to Phedre sounded reasonable.
I admit this whole issue with the Yeshuites puzzles me very much – other than that he seems to have found a new cause which also seems to be something that he needs himself – I’m not sure where it all came from but clearly it’s something he’s totally thrown himself into.
2. What do think of the differences between the culture of La Serenissima and the City of Elua, and the differences in how they conduct their political intrigue? Who would you favor for the next Doge?
I suppose La Serenissima is based on Venice so the differences don’t surprise me really. The fighting for example put me in mind of performances of Romeo and Juliet where the Montagus and Capulets fight in the street – did anybody else have that imagery running through their heads. In that respect I’m therefore guessing that the people of Serenissima are very passionate, they probably talk and argue quite loudly, they like to parade of an evening, they’re probably very ostentatious in their enjoyment – be so whatever that may be, they’re basically passionate about everything. I love it. They’re very different from the people of Elua who to a certain extent in this world seem very relaxed by comparison. I literally don’t have the first notion who would be the next Doge.
3. What do you think of Phedre’s plan to play along with Severio’s romancing? Do you think he is approaching the matter with more sincerity than his parents?
I find it really quite sweet to be honest – he seems to be totally sincere and it’s very touching. It’s also interesting to see how Phedre responds – thinking about it, she’s never been courted before so it’s really something of a novelty for her. I bet she’s never even considered being courted by a potential suitor. It’s quite a fascinating aspect of the story and makes you stop in your tracks and realise just how very different Phedre’s life has been so far.
4. There is a lot of fortune-telling in this section, from the Oracle in the temple to the astrologer. What do you make of the Oracle’s answer to Phedre? Why do you think the astrologer killed himself, and do you think he would he have been able to lead them to Melisande?
The Oracle’s answer was one of those answers that I kind of expected. In other words I have no idea what it means and it’s vague enough to make it appear to be real when anything happens in the future. I loved the observation that of course you find something in the last place you look! It made me have a proper giggle (also because I was reading it in a different way – I was taking it more that Phedre will not think of the place to look until a last resort – even so, it’s still true, once you find something you do stop looking! Still funny even now. I can’t believe that the astrologer killed himself – it’s like a self fulfilling prophecy – he predicted his own death if he crossed Melisande and so decided to kill himself so that couldn’t happen. Quite bizarre really.
5. Joscelin and Phedre meet a couple who have made compromises in order to build a happy life together. What do you think of their family, and does their example give any hope for Phedre and Joscelin’s future?
There’s is a puzzling relationship and it will be interesting to see how it moves forward. I admit that I really like the character Joscelin and I would be very sad to see him leave these stories so I seriously hope that they can find a way. But, all that being said, could I be any more chilled out about what he’s going through – probably not. It’s a big ask really to love somebody but to watch them go and have these assignations with others. I guess it boils down to the difference between making love and having sex and whether Joscelin can see it in that way.
The other participants are below – check out their answers too:
Allie at Tethyan Books
Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow
Grace at Books Without Any Pictures
Nancy at FaeStruck’s Reviews & More
James at James T. Witherspoon
Emily at Emma Wolf
Susan at Dab of Darkness
“My only love sprung from my only hate.” …
12 August 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Forbidden Love, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is once again taking us tough travelling through the tropes of fantasy. This week’s topic is:
FORBIDDEN LOVE
Even in Fantasyland parents are not always happy with their children’s choice of partners.
Most of the romances here are not intended to be the main story – they’re all pretty much asides. Also, there could be spoilers with some of these examples so beware.
- Hexed (The Sisters of Witchdown) by Michael Alan Nelson – I loved this it was a really good read. I will say this is not a romance novel! Not at all. But, as an aside there is a budding relationship that develops between the main character Lucifer who develops feelings for a young man accompanying her on a rescue mission. Why is this forbidden – well the rescue mission is to recover the young man’s lady love – awkward.
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown – in which Darrow and Mustang become involved in a relationship. Again, this is far from the central theme of the story. The reason it’s forbidden – Darrow and Mustang are from different ‘class’ structures all together. Darrow is a Red, born into the mines and Mustang is a Gold, born into one of the most elite and powerful houses. On top of this – well (spoiler alert) Darrow is all made up as a Gold – the treachery! Doubly forbidden.
- The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith – love in the most expected place – a vampire and a human. Absolutely forbidden – a vampire falling in love with it’s food, tsk.
- Angellfall by Susan Ee – Penryn and Raffe – what can I say, angels and humans – it won’t be the first time that the attraction has happened between humans and angels but, forbidden or denied or not, there is a lot of chemistry that is very readable taking place in these pages.
- The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – a strange world full of clairvoyants. Paige is kidnapped and taken to ‘Oxford’ where she will become a slave to a warden, one of the Rephaim. Mm, guess what happens next. Well, obviously they develop feelings for each other. Yep, didn’t see that coming! Again though, the romance isn’t the central theme of the book and in fact book 2 actually sees the two spending very little page time together. Of course, for the treachery and betraying their own kind both of them could be put to death.
- Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen – in which Cecile only goes and falls in love with the Prince. Wait, hold on a moment. That sounds too good to be true. Ahh, well, he’s a troll (not a cave troll thankfully). And the trolls may have abducted her because they needed a human to break the curse they’ve been living under. Yeah, not so dreamy any longer.
Finally, can we just take a minute to consider this:
No, not Fassbender, well, ,no… – Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre, okay, not a fantasy novel – but how forbidden was his love for Jane – very much so. It’s usually frowned upon to marry, when your first wife is alive and well and living in your attic! She was a tiny bit crazy though, so..
Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey, readalong week No.2
12 August 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Chosen, Readalong Week No.3
This is my very late post for week two of our readalong for Kushiel’s Chosen – but, I’m uptodate now so all is good. This week our host is Susan from Dab of Darkness. As you would expect – spoilers lurk below – so below. All welcome, if you want to join the readalong or jump in with comments then please do so (here is the SCHEDULE). Q&A follow:
1) Severio & Phedre have their assignation. Who do you think learned the more from it?
It was very interesting. To be honest I think Severio learned the most from the assignation. He kind of walks around with a bit of a grump on him most of the time and almost just plain ready to take offence with everyone. He’s like one of those people who has decided to be awful with everyone – before they be horrible to him. I think his time with Phedre has softened his edges a little bit – taught him that sometimes you reap what you sow so walking around with a sour puss face tends to put people off you a little. Plus, it’s not harmed his reputation.
2) Hanna from the Yeshuites tells Joscelin, ‘….this pain you suffer, you cling to it.’ Do you think that is true of Joscelin? What do you think of Joscelin teaching some of the young Yeshuite men to fight?
I think she hit the nail on the head to be honest. Joscelin does have a tendency to mope somewhat and cling to his ‘hurts’. I hadn’t realised that Joscelin was training the young Yeshuite men to be honest – maybe I should have picked that up as there was a reference at some point but I kind of missed it!
3) In this section, we really saw the pressure put on Marmion. Do you think Marmion’s punishment was just?
I actually found myself feeling a bit sorry for him – although that doesn’t mean I trust him. Anyway, the thing with banishing people is that it seems to be reversible so he could reappear at some point I suppose.
4) Phedre goes to Gentian House for some guidance through dream interpretation. What did you think of this? Have you ever had your dreams interpreted?
I quite like the idea of dream interpretation although i’ve never had my dreams interpreted. I do think that your dreams usually mean something – providing you can unravel them.
5) The plot has thickened in this week’s reading as Phedre & Joscelin dig further into the mystery of the escaped Melisande Shahrizai. Thoughts?
I’m actually really quite enjoying Joscelin and Phedre trying to piece together this mystery and I admit I was really surprised when they came up with the Cassiline link although I’m still not sure how they came up with that – it almost seemed a bit of a leap. I felt sorry for Joscelin – he felt so betrayed by it all didn’t he? It just demonstrates how very straightforward he really is.
6) Ysandre and Phedre carry out a bit of subterfuge. Do you think it is enough to fool Melisande, should she be paying attention?
I think Melisande will be paying attention to be honest. I think she probably still has spies everywhere and she plays a long game. She knew what she was doing when she sent back Phedre’s cloak and so I think she’s waiting for things to line up somehow.
The other participants are below – check out their answers too:
Allie at Tethyan Books
Lisa at Over the Effing Rainbow
Grace at Books Without Any Pictures
Nancy at FaeStruck’s Reviews & More
James at James T. Witherspoon
Emily at Emma Wolf
Susan at Dab of Darkness
Dawnbreaker by Jay Posey
Dawnbreaker is the third and final instalment of Jay Posey’s Duskwalker Trilogy. Three and Morningside Fall were the first two books and I confess that I had a number of reservations with No.2 but I can say that Dawnbreaker worked a lot better for me, I thought it was a good ending and Posey has written a story that knocks a few of my former qualms on the head. Be aware that this review may contain spoilers for the first two books in the series.
The story picks up almost immediately after Morningside Fall. Wren has been posted out to Greenstone under the care of Chapel, Mol and Charles whilst Cass and a few remaining survivors try to gather their forces and escape from Asher and his Weir.
Basically the author chooses a split route for this story with Wren and Cass who have been together throughout taking separate paths. Cass has taken the decision to hide Wren and try and lure out Asher. She has a number of her retinue present and they’ve come up with a suicidal plan to return to Morningside to recover urgently needed supplies. They will uncover a number of revelations along the way and in particular Cass has a moment of awakening herself.
Meanwhile Wren too has to make a difficult decision. We’re finally introduced to the mysterious character from No.2 and he bears a strange resemblance to Three. His name is Haiku and he was a ‘brother’ to Three. He offers to help Wren but this offer definitely comes with strings and will involve Wren leaving the temporary comfort and security which Charles and Mol’s home offers.
Briefly, I really enjoyed Three. It was such a unique reading experiences and I loved the character Three. This is perhaps why Morningside Fall was more of a struggle – having killed Three off we were left with Cass and Wren holding up the story and to be honest neither of them felt strong enough to do so. I really hate saying this but I have to be honest. Cass was never my favourite character, she kind of gets on my nerves the way she ‘mummies’ Wren and, well, Wren is still a very young boy and not really ready to step into the ‘shoes of the main hero of the piece. And, like I said, I liked Three so felt his loss.
Now, in steps Haiku and his strange ‘house’. He leads Wren into the wilderness and hooks him up with a kind of sensei character who begins to train him – which basically means deconstructing everything he ever thought he knew and starting afresh. I did really enjoy this element of the story – it has a Mr Miyagi ‘wax on, wax off’ feel to it. Don’t get me wrong – there isn’t time for years to pass which will leave us with an adult and much changed Wren but there are some differences and some revelations and maturing.
On the other side I felt that Cass worked much better when she wasn’t constantly fussing over Wren and she also has a bit of a moment (almost a guilty revelation) in which she realises there is some freedom in now being on her own. She’s confident that Wren is protected and she’s out on a mission to destroy Asher and this is something she decides she must do alone.
In that respect there was a sort of ‘coming of age’ feel to this instalment.
We also have Haiku, he’s a strong character and good to read. Even though he doesn’t play the main role he certainly plays a very cohesive thread to the story.
And we have the introduction of some very tough as boots characters who come to the aid of Charles, Mol and Greenstone in the hour of their greatest need.
I still had a few criticisms. Nothing major of course. I think the story could have been shortened slightly and I have to admit that as soon as Cass and Wren were reunited I found them once again a little grating. The ending was also a little quickly and quietly resolved and for those expecting major battles that could be a let down – personally I didn’t find the lack of massive battle scenes disappointing but just thought I’d chuck it out there.
Overall I enjoyed Dawnbreaker and thought it was a good ending – I think that Three remains my favourite character and favourite instalment of the series but this was a good ending.
I received a copy of this from the publishers through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Fangtastic Fantasy
10 August 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
This week over at the Broke and Bookish the topic for Top Ten Tuesday is:
Top Ten Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From’
We did already do a post that was similar to this not so long ago so I wondered if my choices would be similar, however, as I put my list together I noticed that the authors I’ve read quite a lot of are those with series – and strangely enough a good few of these long running series turned out to be about vampires. So, I’ve gone with five choices and stuck to that theme. These aren’t necessarily the authors I’ve read the most of (although the top two series definitely take the crown). :
- Charlaine Harris – The True Blood series. I think this went up to 13 books and I did complete the series. Very entertaining and good fun.
- Rachel Caine – The Moganville Vampires, which went up to about 15 books in total. This is a sort of YA vampire series really but the books were all very quick reads and some of the vampires were very entertaining to read.
- Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy series – I enjoyed this series and think it went up to six books – and, who am I kidding, Dimitry was very easy on the mind!
- Christine Feehan – her Carpathian series – okay, these are a bit saucy to say the least (no surprise with titles such as ‘Dark Desire’). I have no idea how many books are in this series – I read the first few.
- Stephenie Meyer – Yep, The Twilight series. Okay, by comparison this is only a small number of books – although there was an extra short story so five books in total (I think). I had to go there.
That’s it this week – I do have plenty of authors that I’ve read quite a few books of (Alice Hoffman, Sanderson, Gaiman, etc) but I thought I’d stick with a theme for this one.
Books and travelling with Lynn 