Mother! I’ve turned the cooling unit back on. Mother!…… ’You bitch’
6 May 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: 'mothers', Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is taking us travelling once again through the tropes of fantasy. The topic this week: MOMS:
Everyone has a mother. Including people in fantasyland.
The head of family, mummy Scott – immortal vampire, incredibly strong, rules the family with an iron fist but is gradually becoming weaker. Generation V by M L Brennan
Lady Trent – may not seem like a pillar of virtue after she first has her son but in Voyage of the Basilisk the two really started to bond well and he actually brought out a different side. Lady Trent’s Memoirs by Marie Brennan
Penelope – Nevada’s mother from Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews – one kick ass mom!
Coraline’s other mother – the evil mum who wants to stitch buttons on for eyes – ouch! Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
Mrs Weasley – needs no introduction – just ‘not my daughter – you bitch!’
The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray
Just finished reading The Waterborne Blade by Susan Murray. This is the start of a new fantasy series set in a faux medieval world. I admit I was really attracted by the premise and the gorgeous cover. Having completed, well, I can’t really say that this is a series I will continue with to be honest. And it pains me to say that because I hate to give negative reviews and I really set out with great expectations for this particular book.
The story gets off to an immediate start with the King of Highkell, Trisilian, despatching is wife, Alwenna, to safety in the face of imminent attack by Vasic – traitor and would-be usurper. And so Alwenna begins her journey to sanctuary, accompanied by the King’s man Weaver and her maid. From there on the story becomes one of flee, capture, escape and flee again! It very soon becomes apparent that Alwenna has visions and also seems capable of wielding certain magic and in fact much darker magic is involved in the story towards the conclusion. In fact, I must confess in that respect the twist towards the end gave me a real surprise.
In terms of characters. The main two are Alwenna and Weaver who do spend a good deal of time in each other’s company. On top of this we have Vasic taking the role of baddie of the piece and a number of additional peripheral characters that join at different points during the course of the story.
So, why didn’t i love this. I certainly imagine that some people will do so to be honest. It’s quite an easy book to read although the constant travelling back and forth does become a bit tiresome. In fact, I started off thinking I would really enjoy this, even though Alwenna annoyed me almost immediately with her ridiculous demands, for example demanding to take a maid on a dangerous escape mission – just so that the proper formalities could be observed – get over yourself and stop putting people in danger. I actually quite like ‘road’ journeys – a fact borne out by my love of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and so I was puzzled as to why my interest dwained a little and I think this is due to the perception of ‘size’ with this world. It just really felt like a very small place. I know that’s probably not the best articulation of how I felt but I do think it gives you a good idea. The distances between A to B seemed easy traversed, there never felt like any real threats were encountered on the way and it just didn’t seem like the sort of place that a person could simply get lost or disappear into.
On top of that I became increasingly frustrated with Alwenna and Weaver. They knowingly walked into any number of situations which they ‘had a bad feeling about’ – just why! And, for goodness sake, Alwenna can see the future – how could she have had no idea of what was actually going on. Okay, i realise her visions became stronger after she received a certain ‘gift’ but she did already have ‘the sight’. I think my feelings towards both of them was that in spite of any number of reasons why they shouldn’t they continually made themselves into victims and I found it hard to comprehend. On top of that I just couldn’t become attached to them. They both had their odd moments of inspiration but overall I felt there was simply no chemistry involved between the two, the majority of the time they were at odds with each other and their eventual trist felt completely wrong and in fact a little bit cold and almost calculated. I also struggled with why Weaver, given the knowledge that he had now come by would step out of character so blatantly.
Now, this all seems terribly critical – which I hate. I really don’t think this is a bad book however I don’t really think it is for me. I simply had too many things that niggled me and frankly didn’t add up.
I received a copy of this book from the pubishers through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above opinion is my own.
Never say never…
5 May 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: 10 books, I will probably never read, The Broke and the Bookish, Top Ten Tuesday
This week over at The Broke and Bookish the Top Ten Tuesday topic under discussion is:
‘Ten Books I Will Probably Never Read’
I found this one surprisingly difficult because it just seems so defeatist admitting that I won’t read these books because you never really know. The books I probably won’t get to fall into a few areas – either I’ve had them for so long that they’ve lost their appeal somehow, they’re so huge that I find it daunting or I’ve seen the film already and so lost interest in the book:
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – I did buy a copy of this and tried the first few chapters but I seriously don’t think I will ever complete it. (Big Book Syndrome – BBS)
- Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time – which I feel bad about but the sheer scale of the series just distracts me. There’s a lot of love for this series though so part of me really does want to go there! BBS
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell – this is a book that has a lot of positive reviews but I’ve seen the film and it always puts me off reading the book. I have to read the book first.
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel – for the same reason as above – already seen the film.
- The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton – this book is suffering from being sat on the tbr for too long. I bought it ages ago and really liked the look of it but I find that the longer the book sits looking at me the more my interest dwindles.
- Looking for Alaska by John Green – another book that I bought eons ago!
- Part of a series that I’ve lost interest in – The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. Read the first two but don’t think I will complete the series.
- Tallula Rising (The Last Werewolf No.2) by Glen Duncan. Unfortunately this was another series that I started but just didn’t work out for me.
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – seen the film so won’t pick the book up now.
- The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone, readalong: final week
4 May 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Final week, Max Gladstone, Readalong, Two Serpents Rise
Today is the final week of our readalong of Max Gladstone’s Two Serpents rise. Lynn over at Little Lion Lynnet’s is our host this week. Without further ado lets get to the Q&A and if you haven’t read this book be aware that there will be spoilers below.
1. I think we all pegged Mal for being involved with whatever is going wrong in Dresediel Lex after the way Book 3 ended last week. How do you feel about discovering how deep that involvement goes?
Sort of disappointed to be honest – which I think just goes to show that I was really hoping that she wouldn’t be quite so bad or that somehow she’d manage to find some sort of compromise and would be redeemed. I wound up feeling like she was just as big a fanatic as Temoc and would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. I mean, I always had trust issues with Mal but I really didn’t expect her to be quite so extreme.
2. Caleb and Temoc have to work together to save Dresediel Lex (and the world) from certain destruction. Do you think they make a good team?
I quite enjoyed reading that element of the story and again was surprised that Temoc had such different intentions. Clearly he’d pulled the wool over my eyes as well as Caleb’s. I think Teo’s remarks about him not being a team player when they were running up the stairs was a good hint in that direction and also her distrust of him should have given me more of a clue but I just failed to pick it up and was really hoping that he was going to go all out to try and make Caleb’s suggestion work. He didn’t really end up making any friends in the end. Strangely, Mal and Temoc turned out to be very similar in the way they were prepared to go to such extreme lengths.
3. What do you think of the narrative’s overall treatment of Teo? Especially in light of her role in the finale?
I think Teo has been an interesting character to read and I was a bit surprised to be honest at her becoming such a victim all of a sudden. Again I didn’t see that coming at all – but, she managed to turn the situation around and with Caleb working with her summon up the Red King. I was pleased with the eventual outcome for both Caleb and Teo.
4. In the epilogue Caleb seems to have found a way to compromise between the ways of his father and the new world brought about by the God Wars. Do you think he’ll succeed in his goals?
It does seem like something of a dangerous idea but I really think he could make it work, The Red King seems inclined to help and Teo and Caleb make a good partnership.
You have to hand it to Max Gladstone for coming up with such an unusual world filled with strange creatures, magic and Gods and for managing to make his stories into something much more than you would generally expect. I’ve really enjoyed all the discussion that this book has inspired and so thanks to all the other bloggers for making this so interesting.
Other bloggers taking part:
Hexed (The Sisters of Witchdown) by Michael Alan Nelson
Just finished reading Hexed which was a really entertaining start to what promises to be a great new series of urban fantasy books (at least I hope there are going to be more books!)
This is a fast paced story with plenty going on. We get off to an immediate start after a young girl called Gina is abducted following a stop over gone wrong at the local spooky derelict house. This is no normal abduction though, Gina has been literally grabbed and pulled through a mirror by a witch – it doesn’t bode well! Her father, who witnessed the whole thing and is now only too aware of the supernatural world that exists around us, has been given a name for somebody who may be able to help retrieve his daughter. Clearly, calling the cops isn’t going to help – Gina’s father Buck is only too well aware of that as he is one. This is going to require a different touch. And this is how we’re introduced to Lucifer.
Lucifer is a thief, not of jewellery or other valuables, but of mystical, magical, enchanted things that she takes from people who would use them unwisely. She’s had a rough start in life which has resulted in her knowing how to handle herself. And, she’s been hexed. Unfortunately, Lucifer went too far and stole from the wrong person – The Harlot or Keeper of Secrets – not somebody you really want to get on the bad side of. On top of that Lucifer is low maintenance – the most girly thing about her is her bag of tricks and her soft toys – and I think we’d all love a bag of tricks like that!
So, why did I love this book. The writing is so readable. It’s the type of writing that just makes it look easy to write when actually it isn’t. Nelson definitely has a way with words and the ability to conjure a scene. On top of that he’s taken the ‘witch’ theme and come up with some really creative ideas. Possession by filcher demons, the harlot, the whole history behind Witchdown, the witches themselves and how they got to be so powerful – it’s just a really good story, well told.
The plot is literally about trying to recover Gina from the aether before it’s too late. She’s been dragged to Witchdown by one of seven all powerful witches and clearly they’ve not dragged her there to exchange beauty tips. Getting her back is going to involve a little bit of detective work, a little bit of thievery and a lot of near death encounters.
Lucifer is the main character. The name, which I’m sure you’ll be wondering about, is a nickname made up from the two names of her grandmothers Luci and Jennifer. Okay, maybe she could have come up with something a little less devilish but there it is and to be honest it kind of suits her (just as well though that her grannies weren’t called Penny and Issy, or Diana and Blossom, for example!). Then we have David, Gina’s boyfriend, who is also anxious to find her and keen to help with the search, although, his motives start to seem a little dubious as the book goes on! In that respect, I’m just going to throw in here that there’s an ‘almost’ love triangle coupled with a little bit of ‘instalove’ – yes, the most hated tropes of YA and urban fantasy, but, before you all run for the hills I will just say that it’s not really annoying in this instance – in fact there’s a sort of method in the madness going on here and not only does it serve to demonstrate how very much Lucifer longs to be just a ‘regular’ girl with a boyfriend, a fact we all tend to forget when we’re reading about the next kick ass female, but, also, it is used later on in the story to good effect.
I didn’t really have any criticisms – I did have a moment where I wondered why Lucifer would put herself into such dangerous situations to recover a girl that she doesn’t even know but I think that’s cleared up later in the book.
Overall a fast paced, amusing, highly creative and fun, alternating with scary, read with a very good ending. I sincerely hope there will be more.
I received a copy through Prometheus for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
