Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
Just finished reading Blood Song by Anthony Ryan which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m rather late to this particular party so there’s probably not a lot extra that I can bring to the multitude of already glowing book reviews that exist for this book but I’ll give it a go and add my voice to the growing chorus of praise!
At the start of the story we become acquainted with the Hope Killer – in captivity and being transported to face trial by combat. Vaelin Al Sorna is feared and hated. Feared because his talents with the sword and the prophecies spoken of him have turned him into something of a legend. Hated by the Alpiran’s after slaying their Hope in the war to unite the realms. During the voyage Vaelin begins to tell his story to the man accompanying him – Verniers, a chronicler of history who has already written much of the wars and subsequent capture of the Hope Killer. He’s about to be given the story from a different perspective.
And so we begin with Vaelin as a young boy, given by his father to the Sixth Order where he will learn how to become a warrior who serves the realm or die in the process of trying. A good portion of the book is spent with Vaelin as he faces various trials with the other boys who have also been ‘given’ to the Order. I really enjoyed this part of the story. There’s never a dull moment as we’re taken through the boys steps. They are driven hard by their masters and face strict trials which if they fail will mean eviction. This part of the story really cemented the feelings that I came to have for Vaelin and his fellow trainees. Like the boys themselves, as a reader, you can’t help but develop attachments. As they bond together into a tight knit group of hardened students you really do care for them more than you ever imagined and are fearful for them when they face their trials, until the ultimate trial by sword where they will face three convicts in a fight to the death!
We then move onto the second part of the story where the Order and Vaelin and his crew become embroiled in politics and plots where religion is used as a device to provoke war. Vaelin is manipulated by the King into a desperate situation, we begin to understand the nature of the magic, we traverse many miles across different landscapes, uncover various truths and go in search of ‘the one who waits’! I won’t really go any further into plot and I realise that’s barely scraped the surface but I don’t really think I can do the story justice other than to say that if you enjoy epic fantasy then you simply must read this book. That’s really all there is to it. Go and read it.
The swaying factor for me is that inspite of the fact that there’s nothing really ‘new’ here, and undoubtedly certain parts of the story will bring to mind certain aspects of other fantasy stories, the story telling voice is just wonderful. It’s almost hypnotic in it’s ability to sink you into the pages to the exclusion of everything else. I found myself sitting in bed until ridiculous o’clock just trying to get to the next chapter, and then the one after that! I was totally immersed and frankly resented any intrusion into my reading. I think you could accuse Mr Ryan of having a blood song of his own here – he’s practised his dark arts on me and held me in his thrall. Not that I object. This is such an interesting story, the pace is consistent. There’s plenty of action, bloodshed and intrigue plus a very engaging romance (that, believe me, plays only a very minor role) with another really well drawn character.
I thought the ending was excellent although it does leave me wondering where on earth the author is going to go with No.2! I’m intrigued and can’t wait to find out what’s next.
In terms of criticisms. Well, I did have a number of points where I thought certain elements put me in mind of other tales, in particular Rothfuss and Hobbs – but, they were only very fleeting thoughts that I quickly forgot as I read forward. This is by no means a copy and stands perfectly well on it’s own two feet! I think my main struggle was that the book was so damned big it was almost difficult to keep the pages open but that’s a niggle of a different variety and a lesson for me that seems to have been reinforced when reading Sanderson recently – read these tomes on your kindle instead!!
I would really recommend this book without hesitation and look forward to the next instalment. And, the beauty of being ‘fashionably’ late to this particular book gathering is that I don’t have to wait too long. In fact, with the next book due out in just weeks it’s the perfect time to pick this up – if you’re one of those few remaining people who haven’t yet done so that is.
The Maze Runner, readalong week No.2
This is week 2 of the Maze Runner readalong You’re not too late to join in and it’s a very relaxed schedule so if you fancy jumping on board (send an email to SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com). Details of schedule and participants at the end of the post. The usual obligatory spoiler declaration – if you haven’t read this and intend to do so then you might want to stop here. And now starts the Q&A:
Sultana
On page 102, Newt talks to Thomas about the importance of order in the Gladers’ society, saying ” ‘Reason we’re all sane around here is ’cause we work our butts off and maintain order. Order’s the reason we put Ben out–can’t very well have loonies runnin’ around tryin’ to kill people, now can we? Order.’ ” The Gladers are willing to go to extreme lengths to keep order in their society, so much that they would rather follow the rules and banish Ben to the Maze and Grievers then jail him and treat him for his lunacy. Discuss why you think that order is so important to the Gladers, and if you think that order and relative normalcy will last for them throughout the book. Well, I suppose it could be that they’ve had something implanted into their brain that makes them more pliable. Or, more likely, they’ve found out that they have to keep law and order themselves the hard way in order to survive. Any divergence from the rules could mean a problem for them all so it’s almost become a code – similar to ‘survival of the fittest’.
Katherine
Ben’s rants against Thomas were pretty interesting. I expected him to be worried that Thomas would destroy them or betray them or something — but instead he was upset that “He’ll wanna take us home…He’ll wanna get us out of the Maze.” All Thomas’s memories of the outside world seem to be “normal” memories…but could there be something terrible (personal or widespread) that would keep the boys from WANTING to ever get out of the Maze? Or did the Changing just poison Ben’s mind to think that? I really don’t know what to think here to be honest. I suppose it’s possible that all the boys have had their memories tampered with in different ways or it could be that they all think there’s something worse on the outside and that Thomas’s brainwashing hasn’t been as effective, maybe he’s more resistant. I don’t think there’s something terrible out there to be honest – after all, they’re being kept inside aren’t they. They’re prisoners.
Sam
On page 119 (Chapter 18), Thomas describes the sound of the Grievers as similar to engines and their smell like oil. Why do you think this knowledge was something he retained through the memory wipe? Maybe it’s difficult to eradicate memory that is inspired by all of the senses. Perhaps hearing and smell – could be more difficult. You do associate certain memories with certain smells or sounds – for example music.
Ashlee
Did the Creators throw a girl into the mix just to see how the boys would respond? Or do you think she has another purpose for being there? I think she’s in the mix just to stir things up! Even if that wasn’t the creators reason it’s probably going to be the outcome for sure. I hope that she’s not been put up there for some other twisted reasoning that I’m not going to even think about! That’s all I’m saying about that. Anyway, regardless, she’s surely going to stir up some trouble.
Barb
Thomas has seen two Beetle Blades with the word “Wicked” written on the side. One was in the forest right before Ben tries to kill him and one was while he and Alby are hiding in the vines of the wall. Thomas thinks the Beetle Blades are wicked, but perhaps the Beetle Blades are warning Thomas of impending evil (Ben and the the Griever). Do you think the Beetle Blades are trying to help Thomas? I never thought of that – I suppose they could also be telling him that he’s wicked?? Interesting train of thought that I’ll have to have a bit more of a think about. I suppose wicked could just be a name given to these little critters by their creators – maybe it means something w.i.c.k.e.d.??
Nicole
On page 89, we see a slightly evil or what Thomas says is disturbing and sinister. How do we feel about Chuck now? I see a much more hidden side to this character, he’s excited that they are banishing someone. it’s almost like Chuck was getting some grim satisfaction about what was going on. Maybe he feels bitter towards the others for always being shunned or maybe there’s another reason why he has no friends! eek!
Lynn
I’m curious why the boys are reluctant to talk about anything or give Thomas any information. It’s as if they’ve been conditioned! Why do you think they’re so reluctant to talk about what goes on in the Maze?? Surely it would be easier if they clued the ‘newbies’ in a bit better? I find this the most strange and irritating aspect of the book. Even from the pov of Thomas. I don’t understand why he’s not more inquisitive or why he doesn’t force the issue more?? And I also think it’s very perplexing why the boys don’t share information.
Schedule
Chapters 1-9 Read 27-April through 10-May. Submit Questions by 10-May. Post by 17-May Chapters 10-19 Read 11-May through 24-May. Submit Questions by 24-May. Post by 31-May Chapters 20-29 Read 25-May through 7-Jun. Submit Questions by 7-Jun. Post by 14-Jun Chapters 30-38 Read 8-June through 21-Jun. Submit questions by 21-Jun. Post by 28-Jun Chapters 39-51 Read 22-Jun through 5-Jul. Submit questions by 5-Jul. Post by 12-Jul Chapters 52-End Read 6-Jul through 19-Jul. Submit questions by 19 Jul. Post by 26 JulOther Participants to check out:
- Nicole @ Deep Thoughts && Rhyming Words
- Katherine @ Wrote Some Things
- Ashlee @ Life Faith Tea
- Sultana @ Heart of Sultana
- MovieGeek @ GeekedOutMovies
- Sam @ Taking on a World of Words
- Claudia @living on borrowed time
And they all lived forever after..
Every Thursday The Fantasy Review Barn takes us travelling through the tropes of fantasy. This week’s theme is Immortals and the following are where my travels have lead me this week.
1. Vampires – the most obvious I suppose but I’m going with the dark, mean and downright vicious predators – you won’t be making friends with any of these suckers (sorry, I couldn’t help it!)
Dracula by Bram Stoker – the daddy of Vampire stories? Gothic and spooky taking us to Transylvania. Don’t go wandering around this castle at night.
Lestat from Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire series – he’s a pretty unfriendly type, callous, cold and vindictive
Iuda – from Jasper Kent’s Danilov Quintet – OMG this guy is something else. Such a fantastic baddie. Smelly, violent down right nasty! Throw in a bit of history starting off during the Napoleonic war and there you have it – the Voordalak – a creature of myth and lore.
Mr Barlow (I had to go and look that name up!) the vampire from Salem’s Lot by Stephen King – scared the bejesus out of me when I first read this.
2. The Endless – these are not Gods, they don’t rely on a system of belief but instead embody certain aspects. Check them out over at Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. Their names:
Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium.
3. Elves – how long exactly do these people live – and, one question how come you never seen any really young elves, children, babies, etc. Anyway, foolish questions aside (they obviously stay indoors until they’ve grown into their ears!). The Elves of Rivendell, LoTR by JR Tolkien. It’s a really obvious one but I had to get it in here.
4. Gods – are they really immortal – they do depend on belief after all. But, I’ve included a story with a particularly sneaky one that I enjoyed recently. The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris – don’t know whether you can really trust this guy to actually be telling you the gospel truth but…
5. Fae:
Well, there are plenty to go for here but I’m going to go with Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series (image shown from No.2 in the series) – which I read quite a while ago and I think was my first introduction to fae not being as nice as you’re lead to believe in the Disney films! Also – The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint.
Finally (for me) Demons and Angels – one book containing both – Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson, readalong week 9
28 May 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Brandon Sanderson, Readalong week 9, Words of Radiance
We’re now on to week 9 of our readalong and the action and tension is so immense it really has been difficult to put the book down after the allocated chapters. This week’s chapters are, just, frankly, really excting! So usual obligatory sentence about bewaring of spoilers below – catoutofthebag spren are flitting about like nobobdy’s business.
So this week, Liesel over at Musings on Fantasia is our host and without further ado lets get to the Q&A. If you’ve read the book and want to jump in with your thoughts you’re absolutely more than welcome:
1. What did you think of Dalinar’s tactics, proving Kaladin correct by catching Amaram in a lie? What will happen, do you think, when they attempt to “try” him? To be honest this is exactly when I expected Dalinar to do. I thought he would play a tactical game with Amaram in order to catch him in a lie and this plan worked perfectly. Not sure how well a trial is going to go – I have a feeling that there is something here that Amaram isn’t quite revealing, it could be that he’s neither good nor bad – some sort of neutral force. It’s going to be curious to say the least. As Dalinar said himself, you can’t exactly imprison a man who has a shardblade!
2. Navani offers her services to Shallan with her mission to find the Oathgate. What do you think Navani’s intentions are? Will she help or hinder Shallan’s mission? This was a really interesting turn around. I thought it felt genuine and I was pleased that Navani admitted she’d been avoiding Shallan because of her own feelings of grief. At the end of the day Navani will be interested and intrigued to know what’s going on, plus as Dalinar’s partner she has an added interest in finding this hidden kingdom that Shallan is seeking.
3. Moash’s group is still planning to assassinate Elhokar. Do you think Kaladin will allow him to go through with it? I actually don’t think so. Kaladin is definitely conflicted by this himself – perhaps that’s why Syl left. If Kaladin really believes that killing Elhokar is the best course of action then that changes things slightly. However, I still think Kaladin will really struggle to come to terms with that particular course of action and this is why it’s not honourable. If it felt like the right course of action he wouldn’t have any qualms about it would he? There simply has to be another way! Perhaps Elhokar is cut out to be a King but being useless doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be poisoned, thrown off a balcony or have your throat slit in the night – does it? Am I just too soft?
4.The king approached Kal and asked Kal to teach him to be a hero? Do you see Kaladin attempting this? Does this change your opinion of the king? How? What a very strange development indeed! I don’t think Kaladin is going to have chance to attempt any such thing and besides which it’s not really something that can be taught is it. Perhaps Elhokar will simply be faced with a difficult challenges and make the right move. That could change things for him. It must be awful feeling so useless (even though he does kind of deserve to feel like that). Perhaps he will step up to the plate now – maybe he’ll simply step down as King – can’t see it somehow though. I don’t know if it does change my opinion of him really. I don’t particularly dislike him and I don’t think he deserves assassination however he is pretty bloody useless!
5. Dalinar tells Shallan to find the Oathgate, and that he might need to use the pathway as a retreat for the army. (No pressure or anything, though.) Do you think Shallan will find it? Do you think Dalinar will need to make use of it. Where do you think it will lead?
I think that the Oathgate will be found although exactly how I’m really not sure. I wonder if some from of words has to be spoken by a Radiant in order for this to happen – a bit like the gate to the Mines of Moria – wouldn’t open until somebody spoke the answer to the riddle. I hope they can make use of it – it seems like it might be their only chance although I could just be getting caught up with all the nervous excitement!
6. The battle action is very high where we left off. What do you think will happen when the Parshendi song ends? Will the high storm show up in full force and destroy the Alethi army? Will Dalinar’s troops manage to interrupt the song? Other predictions?
Oh my God! I really don’t know what to think next so my prediction will be that Dalinar’s army try to stop the Parshendi finishing the song, the fighting is starting to go very badly for the Alethi army, men dropping like flies as the storm begins to rage and all looks lost, Shallan finds the oathgate but doesn’t know how to open it! Simultaneously Kaladin prevents an assassination attempt on the King, Syl returns and Kaladin, powers restored, manages to fly to the assistance of the army. Unexpectedly, Jasnah, who was never really dead but faked her own death so that she could continue her search for the Oathgate unhindered has actually worked everything out and is one step ahead of Shallan – she’s managed to open the gate! There. How’s that for a prediction. Fanciful? yes, Possible? yes – this is fantasy after all! Oh, and I forgot – Szeth also turns up for his last ditch assassination attempt so we could possibly have four Radiants to face the voidbringers??? Unite them!
And, I’ve just had a really horrible thought – perhaps Mr Sanderson isn’t planning a triangle – perhaps one of our heros is going to die!!!!! Noooooooo.
Top 10 ‘Keepers’ from any book!
This week’s topic over at the Broke and Bookish Top Ten Tuesday’s is a freebie – so you can come up with whatever you like. Actually, I found it tougher to come up with a topic than I thought, in fact I tried about 5 other topics before this one! Ten ‘things’ items, characters, magical things, that you want to keep out of any book:-
- Oberon – I would totally steal this dog. From Kevin Hearn’s Iron Druid Chronicles Oberon is great fun, he has a sense of humour, he watches films, he obsesses about sausages and he’s a good friend and protector. Yes, I have no shame, I would steal this dog!
- Jean Tannen from the Gentleman Bastard series – I know, I know, but I love this guy and he’s a definite keeper. Thank you Scott Lynch.
- The pile of gold coins, jewels and other goodies that Smaug is sat on top of! I know that money can’t buy you happiness but I could certainly have a good time spending some of that! Finally, my own library! Just, can somebody distract the dragon first because being burnt to a cinder isn’t in the plan??
- My own spren – not figured out what type of spren would attach themselves to me exactly but I like the idea (bookworm spren?) – even if you look like you’re sometimes talking to yourself! Brandon Sanderson’s Way of Kings/Words of Radiance – spren are a bit like having your own personal fairy but are invisible to others if they choose to be so.
- I would quite like one of those Wardrobes that comes with it’s very own world at the rear – real escapism! The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis.
- Howl’s Moving Castle – it could take me to work every morning – just depending on which door I choose to open – in fact it could take me almost anywhere? Diana Wynne Jones.
- A Pensive – because sometimes my memory is like a sieve – JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series
- Sam Wise Gamgee – he’s a gardener right? Who has enough hours in the day. He could do my garden and he’d be happy, my garden would look great and, well, it’s one less chore in the day!
- Legolas – just because he comes in handy in a fix. Not that I’m planning on a war with the Dark Lord any time soon but this guy can bring down huge beasts, and shoot 20 orcs in a New York minute whilst skiing down a wall on top of a shield. Not quite sure when this will come in handy but, you never know! Plus he can clearly colour and straighten hair – that could be useful…. some day… or not!
- A Babel Fish – stick this fish in your ear (yuck, but) and you’ll be able to understand any language, even Vulcan, Vorgon, Elvish – you name it. A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Books and travelling with Lynn 