Two Serpents Rising by Max Gladstone readalong week 2
20 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Max Gladstone, Readalong week No.2, Two Serpents Rising
Today is the second instalment of our Two Serpents Rising readalong. The full details can be found here. If you want to take part then there’s still time. Just leave a comment.
This week is being hosted by the lovely Lisa from Over the Effing Rainbow.
The Q&A are below and please beware of spoilers.
1) So we’re halfway in, and we seem to have uncovered the culprit already… What did you make of the confrontation at Seven Leaf?
I sort of have mixed feelings here and I’m not sure why but I’ve left it for a while in order to reflect and all I can come up with is that I was a bit underwhelmed with the confrontation. I don’t really know why. It wasn’t the writing but I felt like it was a very quick confrontation and for some reason it didn’t create any tension for me personally and it didn’t feel like there was ever a real threat involved. The only thing I can come up with is that the whole thing was a set up for something else which maybe hasn’t occurred yet or maybe it was a way of raising a number of different issues about Mal and Caleb – such as the fact that Caleb isn’t totally defenceless or the whole issue with Mal and her ideas around atonement. I certainly didn’t see that coming. It was good that they both worked together though and let’s face it Mal couldn’t have succeeded without Caleb’s help.
2) Temoc is still turning up at random, and still protesting his innocence. Doth he protest too much…?
I think you could be forgiven for thinking he protests too much but somehow I believe him. And now I’ve said that I’ve no doubt I’ll be immediately proven wrong but I don’t dislike him somehow. He’s clearly not perfect but he doesn’t give me the creeps.
3) The Red King. Discuss.
This guy could easily give you the creeps but again, at the moment, I’m a little on the fence with him. There’s something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on yet. I’m puzzled about him sending Caleb on the mission to Seven Leaf with Mal. Does he mistrust both of them? I wonder if he knows more about Caleb’s original withholding of information about Mal or maybe he just suspects something because they’ve come out about being in a relationship. It does feel like he’s testing Caleb.
4) And let’s not forget Mal! I confess, I did not see any of those surprises coming. What do you think of Caleb’s ‘sweetheart’ now?
She certainly has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. I’m really enjoying the way theyre both ‘pinging’ off each other and even though this ‘romantic’ element isn’t the main focus for the story I’m really enjoying the way it’s being included. There is definitely a lot of electricity between the two – and a lot of secrets. Mal’s part in brokering the deal and testing out the security at the water plant – not sure what to make of that yet. Can we trust her? I think that’s the main question really. She originally made out that she was simply out to get a bit of a rush with her extreme sporting – but that wasn’t really true. Then again, she wasn’t involved with Caleb at the time – I wonder whether her feelings for him are going to interfere with things for her one way or another. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Part of me really wants everything to go okay and part of me wonders whether Mal has a different agenda of her own.
You have to love the creativity of Max Gladstone. He comes up with such a lot of unusual concepts. I love the ways of getting about in this one – particularly the flying. And, more particularly, the huge dragonfly like creatures that clasp onto your back and carry you – whilst sucking out a little of your soul. Yeah, you’d want to be careful about just how long your journey was!
That’s it for me.
This is the schedule if you’re interested in jumping on board:
1st Post Date: April 13th Book 1: chapter 1-Interlude: Fire, hosted by Dab of Darkness
2nd Post Date: April 20th Book 2: chapter 16-Interlude: Dreams, hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow
3rd Post Date: April 27th Book 3: chapter 29-Interlude: Tea, Hosted by Violin in a Void
4th Post Date: May 4th Book 4: chapter 36-Epilogue, hosted by Little Lion Lynnet’s
When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord
Just finished reading When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord. I really enjoyed this. It’s something of a coming of age tale with very dark undertones. It simply drew me in and kept me fascinated for the entire journey. Frankly, this was unlike any coming of age story I’ve read before provoking all kinds of thoughts and notions as I read along.
The story is narrated by Lumen, a mother and wife now living quietly in American suburbia. She takes us back to her childhood town, Pale Miranda, a strange place where the moon holds sway over the teenagers. This isn’t perhaps quite as it seems – this isn’t a supernatural story where the teenagers become werewolves but more a story that looks at children going through puberty into adulthood and in the process allowing their most basic desires to run wild. I like the take on the supernatural theme with the moon holding sway and truly bringing out the monsters from these otherwise regular teenagers.
Lumen has been brought up by her father, her mother having died when she was but a baby. They have a close relationship and Lumen is practically the perfect daughter. She’s a model student, never home late and excels at most everything. In terms of developing maturity however Lumen is definitely way behind and gradually all her friends and schoolmates fall under the ‘breach’ as they mature. Lumen is convinced, in fact almost determined, that she won’t fall foul of the breach but the simple facts are that once the breach grips you it won’t be denied.
This isn’t one of those books where there seems to be masses of action and yet it totally gripped me, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I was fascinated by what was taking place and equally mesmerised by the writing style.
In terms of characterisation there’s plenty to focus on and numerous different relationships that find their own moment in the spotlight. We have the relationship between Lumen and her father. It’s plain to see that Lumen’s dad has never really got over the death of his wife and is still held in a state of thrall even after all these years. I thought it was interesting seeing the relationship change as he realises Lumen is becoming an adult. There’s this developing awkwardness between the two as he finds it more difficult to cope with the fact that his daughter is growing up. There are the classmates and close friend – Polly, although from being young Lumen was always something of an outsider, accepted begrudgingly into the class circles purely because of Polly. Then we have the two young men of the story – Peter, who all the girls in school simply adore and Blackhat Roy – a wild young man who barely needs the moon to bring out his dangerous side.
Then there’s the whole issue of ‘breaching’. A strange phenomenon that only occurs in Pale Miranda and during which the adults stay inside behind closed curtains. It’s not something to be questioned too deeply, more a look at maybe how parents not only see their children sometimes as little monsters but also how they sometimes turn a blind eye and resign themselves to certain rites of passage. This book takes a much more intense look at that and magnifies it for the purpose of the story.
It probably will put people in mind of Lord of the Flies but really it’s a different take completely as this story isn’t about an absence of authority or rules. These children/young adults run wild during the night and during the day return to their regular daily lives, everything seemingly back to normal and the strange behaviour incited by the moon, whilst maybe not forgotten, certainly put aside. It kind of put me in mind of the strange and unexplained behaviour from The Secret History combined with the unusual character of Merricat encountered in We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
Basically, Lumen is a fascinating character – she has a certain innocent childlike exterior, almost ethereal, but this belies a certain darkness and cold detachedness that runs just beneath the surface and sometimes comes out in the strangest ways.
There are a number of revelations along the way and quite a dramatic ending!
I would definitely recommend this book
I received a copy from the publishers through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
‘I’m free. I’m free. Quick. Quick. Wish for something outrageous. Say, “I, I want the Nile.”‘
15 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Awesome magic, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn we are once again travelling through the tropes of fantasy with Nathan. This week, I admit I struggled a bit and so some of my suggestions might not quite fit ‘awesome’ magic.
AWESOME DISPLAYS OF MAGIC
Sometimes magic can be subtle. Who wants that? Big explosions or acts of creation, death and destruction or acts of awe inspiring wonder. If your world has magic then why not show it off?
Pug – from the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist – I think this is my only example of awesome magic – don’t ask me to explain why – but basically there’s a lot of serious magic in the first three books (I haven’t read further than that at the moment).
Howl’s moving castle – I love the magic in this book – and I do think it’s awesome – living in a moving abode with doors that open into different places – so okay, I think I had two.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman – there’s one scene where the witch turns a goat into a man and creates a whole Inn with roaring fires and hot bath tubs – it’s a little bit impressive.
The Witches by Roald Dahl – those witches are not messing about – turning boys into mice – not to mention killing lots of children – nasty! And, they have a plan to kill ALL the children – that’s big magic – not nice, but big! Watch out for the sweet shops.
The Curseworkers by Holly Black – I’m not going to elaborate though because it would be a spoiler but things pretty much get transformed in the most unexpected ways:
Honorary mentions
Gandalf, LotR and The Hobbit – although, and don’t all beat me up now, but, his magic never seemed overly impressive to me – there it is, I said it – what’s the point of having a wizard who can only create fireworks, light up his staff in the dark, and shout ‘you shall not pass’ when the baddies arrive. Okay, you all know I love Tolkien but as far as impressive and awesome magic it’s not going on with Gandalf – unless he’s keeping his ‘big’ magic hidden (although he did fight with a Balrog and come back as a white wizard).
The World of Harry Potter – okay, I’m not going to give all the examples but there is some good examples of magic – people being transformed into creatures, bones being turned to jelly, etc, etc, not sure if it’s awesome but there it is.
Madame Mim and Merlin – so good the battle they have – I call that some pretty good magic – not only thinking on the hoof but trying to best each other!
Two Serpents Rising by Max Gladstone, readalong week 1
15 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Max Gladstone, Readalong week no.1, Two Serpents Rising
Hi everyone, sorry I’m late with this one but life just conspires sometimes!
So, the first week of the Two Serpents Rising readalong is upon us. Susan from Dab of Darkness is our lovely host (over here) and the details for the readalong are here. You know you want to join us!
Without further ado, other than to add an obligatory spoiler alert, here are the Q&A for this week:
1) Poison in the Bright Mirror reservoir! What are your thoughts on the infestation? Then an explosion later on! Any ideas of who is the culprit yet? Are the two events related?
That was a bit mind blowing wasn’t it – I certainly didn’t see that coming at all – makes me have second thoughts about walking round reservoirs. I can’t help thinking the reservoir and the explosion are linked – it’s just too much of a coincidence and it will be interesting to see if Mal is being used or is involved. I hope that she’s not involved as it would be a bit obvious.
2) Let’s talk about Mal and the sport of cliff running. Care to compare this sport to one here in our real world? What do you think Mal gets out of the sport?
I suppose she gets to be rebellious to a certain extent – she seems to come from a privileged home so it seems that this is her little break out. Also, I suppose she gets a massive rush of adrenalin and a certain number of cool points as she does seem to be rather a daredevil. I’m not sure what sport it reminds me of – other than perhaps something I saw about people jumping roofs – but I could have just made that up or dreamt it or something.
3) Are you enjoying the deities and culture this book is infused with? Has any of the architecture wowed or frightened you?
The first book was impressively creative so there was a lot to live up to and I think so far this one is definitely doing well to live up to it. And, in spite of the clue in the title – snakes, really!! Yes, between the serpents and reservoir monster – omg! Both scary – and what was the whole thing with the slaughterhouse. Talk about watch this space.
4) The Red King is a pretty serious guy. Will he make the deal with Alaxic concerning the powerhouses known as Achel & Aquel?
I think it’s too soon for me to call at the moment. There is definitely something big afoot but I’m really clueless to be honest. The Red King though – what a description heh! Wouldn’t really like to meet him alone in a dark alley – he just sounds creepy.
5) Finally, Caleb has a wealth of scars, linguistic skills, and a complex relationship with his father. Discuss!
This is very intriguing to me. I wouldn’t say that Caleb seems unduly jumpy or scared when his dad is around so I’m kind of discounting certain things, I suppose. And he doesn’t seem to hate his dad – they just clearly don’t agree with each other – which no surprise there given what his dad is up to – and certainly his dad’s got a terrible reputation which does rather get in the way of Caleb’s work. It’s complicated to say the least.
A great start to the series – I feel like I’ve been very bad this week though – I’ve not really given this a detailed examination so looking forward to everyone elses’ comments.
Sorry for being absent. Loving the book so far though.
Top Ten Tuesday. Book quotes that count.
A quick TTT post this week with no graphics or links as I’m away. This week we are looking at book quotes and how they relate to you or have an impact. Mine are below:
‘All children except one grow up.’ PeterPan by J M Barrie. Make that one child you and stay young in your heart and your reading.
‘Few things worth having can be got easily’. Prince or Thorns by Mark Lawrence. In other words if you want something you have to work for it.
‘You keep nasty chips’. Gollum from tolkien’s Lord of the rings. Stick to the healthy eating!
‘To each his own fear’. Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. One persons fear of spiders is another persons fear of heights. They’re all real!
‘Inconceivable’. The Princess Bride. A phrase I use far too often when somebody doesn’t agree with me about a book I love!
Beware of Doors! Pretty good advice from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.
No, try not. Do, or do not. Yoda. Words of wisdom indeed.
I don’t have to beat you, I just have to keep you here until Jean arrives. The Liea of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Always have a back up plan
That’s it for me this week. Sorry for the hasty post and lack of links but this is done a bit on the fly.
