Icefall by Gillian Phiip
8 June 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Gillian Philip, Icefall, No.4 of the Rebel Angel series.
Just finished reading Icefall by Gillian Philip which is the fourth and final instalment of the Rebel Angel series. It’s a sad day, the series has wrapped up and frankly I had tears in my eyes reading the finale. And that isn’t a spoiler of any kind. I was just so impressed with the imagery, the pure delight in words and the way GP brings the scene to life but also, more than that, the final outcome which brings everything together in such a satisfactory way.
A few years ago, I picked up Firebrand and fell in love with two brothers, totally different and yet each devoted to the other. A little bit wild and living beyond a veil, unseen by mortals, the sithe. I can’t really put my finger on it but this book just drew me in and I loved it. I won’t deny that Seth MacGregor is a shameless piece of mind candy but this series is so much more than his gorgeousness. GP takes a story about a sithe clan, she weaves her own magic and draws you into their world and then she throws you back into the real world! She brings to life the most amazing, desolate, harsh and brooding landscape and then lights it by the people who live there. Their loyalty and fierce devotion to each other are really quite beautiful to read about.
I’m not going to give away the plot for Icefall at all. It’s brutal in parts. It certainly doesn’t hold back and, as you will already know if you’re read the previous books, GP pulls no punches when it comes to favourite characters falling foul of their enemies. We start with Seth and his remaining clan living in the mortal world. They of course are drawn back to the world beyond the veil in order to meet various challenges and from there all out bloody war breaks loose. I’m not going to pretend here – you can’t read this as a self contained book! Okay, you need to go to the beginning and start from there. The relationships are complex and involved and GP is not one of those authors who gives long historical flashbacks – she expects you to hit the ground running and know what the hell she’s talking about and so if you haven’t read the others you’re going to have a busted nose. I respect this. I like the fact that I need to have read the other books and I really respect that I don’t get given a back story every time I pick up the latest edition.
I won’t deny that, at first, it took me a little while to get into this particular instalment and I began to have a sneaking suspicion that I was going to be disappointed. Thankfully I was absolutely wrong with that train of thought. Yes, it took me a little while to get into the story at first but on reflection, and with the knowledge of how the story develops I think the contrast between the first and second part of the story adds a whole new poignancy to the ending. And what undoubtedly kept me reading was GPs ‘word craft’. I love the way she sinks you into a place. You are totally immersed. Imagine yourself in a blank white room, nothing is there, your mind has little wires and strobes attached to a computer. You tap a few things into the keyboard and immediately a whole world springs to life on the walls around you. This is what GP achieves. She sinks you into the world. Even if it’s unattractive, harsh and unkind you are going there! And it’s not just the imagery, you can literally imagine yourself on a windswept beach with the wind whipping your hair and the sea crashing against the rocks, the spray breaking upon your face. The crashing sounds of the surf, the saltiness in the air. That’s just a tiny fraction. She pulls you into the lives of these fierce warriors who cling so desperately to each other in a world they’re trying to protect and hang on to even as they face the inevitable fact that their existence is moving in ever decreasing circles.
Anyway, I let myself get carried away there for a moment! This series has been one of my favourites. I won’t deny that there are bleak times. There are times when your eyes will fill and sting as you try to deny the tears. You will undoubtedly see loved ones lose their own battles but you will form attachments to this strange clan that will make leaving them so much more difficult to do.
On top of that – I love the resolution. I always worry with the last in a series that I will feel disappointed or cheated Or that things will miraculously come together in a very sugary fashion. It really isn’t something that I needed to worry about however and I’m only surprised at my own foolishness for even entertaining that idea with this particular author! The ending is just insightful and there’s an underlying message really – things move on, constantly – get used to it and roll with the times.
I would certainly recommend this series. It’s about the fae – but probably not as you’ve ever read about them before. They’re battle scarred and sometimes foolish. They live in a world where I would definitely struggle to survive! but boy do these people love each other with a fierceness that is almost bewitching to behold.
Well done to the author for such an entertaining series. If you want to read a little bit of a supernatural fantasy that is scattered with realism and frankly a little bit grimdark then give this one a go.
I received a copy of this courtesy of the author/publisher. The above is my own opinion.
Tough travelling
Every Thursday The Fantasy Review Barn takes us travelling through the tropes of fantasy. This week’s guide to Tough Travel sees us looking at Invisible Colleges. Here goes:
Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan. Tyen studies at the Academy which is situated in the Capital of Leratia. At the Academy a strange mix of magic and archaeology seem to go hand in glove. Tyen seems a fairly gifted student who becomes the focus of attention when he uncovers a sentient book on a dig in a remote part of the world. The book quickly becomes an object of desire putting Tyen at risk – even from his own professors. One of two story lines that start off the first book in the Millennium’s Rule Trilogy.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Really needs no introduction but…. The story begins with Kvothe, an innkeeper, telling his story to a Chronicler where we eventually learn of his time as a student at the nation’s University – a very old and mysterious place where students can be taught anything from sympathy to alchemy. The University is built on top of an ancient city which is now a labyrinth of underground tunnels where Kvothe finds a secret entrance to the Archives – (which is very handy – as the archives were his main motivation for joining the University in the first place and yet in a cruel twist he finds himself banned from the place!)
Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio – Agatha Heterodyne is the long lost daughter of a hero. The story is an alternate history based in a European ‘type’ setting. At the start of the story Agatha attends the Transylvania Polygnostic University – a struggling student who seems to make a lot of mistakes. The university seems to be run by madcap scientists. I’m not quite sure how magical or not some of the inventions are (and to be honest the University doesn’t play a major part) – but it seemed to fit! Described as Gaslamp Fantasy by the author – I enjoyed this – it’s good fun.
Totally-obvious-but-how-could-it-not-make-the-list – Harry Potter. Based at Hogwarts school of Magic which is reached by train from platform 9.5. To give this a slightly different twist I thought I’d look at the hidden classroom – the Room of Requirement where HP teaches magical defence to Dumbledore’s Army in preparation for the return of ‘you know who’. A sort of a school within a school – okay, maybe the Room of Requirement is a bit of a stretch!
The Study books by Maria Snyder. In Poison Study Yelena is an orphan who finds herself in prison and due to execution – rather than be executed she becomesa food taster. Anyway, long story short Yelena has magical abilities and in the second book she attends an Academy to learn how to fosucs them! Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study – don’t really need any explanations do they!
I know there must be loads of fantasy schools/colleges and Universities out there – so feel free to chuck in your suggestions!! I struggled with the magical aspect.
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson, readalong week 10
4 June 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Brandon Sanderson, Readalong week 10, Words of Radiance
Okay, this is the final week and chapters for Words of Radiance. I confess that I feel sad that it’s all over and even more sad when I think of the insufferable wait we now all have before we find out what’s going on! As in previous weeks, feel free to jump in with any comments if you’ve already read this and, of course, if you haven’t then beware of spoilers below – dishonourable spren are lurking with malicious intent. This week, Sue, over at Coffee Cookies and Chilli Peppers is our lovely host so stop on by and check out the other comments and links.
1. Phew! Kal proves to be the honorable hero that we wanted him to be and decides to save Elhokar. Did you agree with his reasoning? Do you think the king can actually improve, or will Lopen’s mother need to beat him with a spoon? I think there could be potential spoon beatings, however, I think Kaladin did the right thing – you can’t assassinate someone for being useless after all! I think Elhokar needs to grow up a little is all. He clearly wasn’t ready to be king and didn’t want to take over what he thought of as his father’s role.
2. Dalinar has bonded with a very grumpy Stormfather: I have to admit that I did NOT see that coming! Were you more surprised to find that the Stormfather is a spren or that he would agree to bond with Dalinar? That was the biggest surprise for me. I truly didn’t see that coming at all . I suppose now, with the beauty of reflection, there were hints, not least of all in the name. Still, I just didn’t see it. Is Adolin going to be the odd one out then?? I think he could start to feel resentment which would be a shame because I like him and hope he doesn’t turn a bit more evil.
3. Shallan is now a fully recognized Radiant and has saved pretty much everyone we care about. Then we discover that she killed her mother, but that her father took the blame. Were you surprised by this revelation? Does it make you more sympathetic to her father or not? I actually toyed with thoughts that Shallan had killed her mother. Something didn’t sit right about the way she would stand up for him when her older brother was becoming more aggressive towards him. I can’t say it makes me have any sympathy for her father to be frank. I’m sure he had ulterior motives for taking the blame. He probably wanted to ensure that Shallan would have a good marriage that would assist the family.
4. Eshonai has fallen into a chasm and the Parshendi seem to have been defeated on the Shattered Plains. What do you think of their chances for the future? Will the Parshmen rise as an army of Voidbringers because of the Everstorm? It seems so – I suppose there has to still be some threat as the storms are still raging and it appears that the storm transforms the Parshmen?
5. There were plenty of revelations about plots and plans. Do you have a clearer picture of how it all fits together and who is doing what? Do you think that Moash will survive far into the series? I think Moash still has a part to play somehow. I must confess I was disappointed with him! I need a little bit more time to think about all the plots and plans. Not quite got my head around the ending yet but it will be interesting to read everyone’s thoughts. Perhaps it will help me untwist a few things. Need to go and analyse in a bit more depth.
6. Yay! Syl has returned, and now Kal is a full Radiant. Please discuss the epicness of his transformation and subsequent fight with Szeth. That was the other big surprise. I didn’t realise that the sprite became the blade. It was awesome. The whole scene. I mean, we knew, didn’t we? that Kal would come good and that Syl would not be gone for good but even so, there was air punching! The fight scene with Szeth was Sanderson’s usual unbelievable style and quality and just brilliant to read. All that fighting in the clouds and darting here and there!
7. The strange man in black is revealed to be the Herald of Justice. Any comments upon him, his nasty talking sword and his decision to resurrect Szeth? I’m just going to say – I got a bad feeling about this! Don’t know why. Can’t justify myself and he’s called the Herald of Justice so I’m hoping he’s going to be a force of good. We’ll see.
8. Argh! Jasnah is back from the dead! Discuss, with many exclamation marks!!!! Yep, I danced a jig! Did you read my predictions last week! I knew that she wasn’t out of the story. I was trying to justify in my head why I thought so but all I could come up with was that the scene where she died was too quick – almost brushed over. The other thing I did wonder is if she maybe has talents similar to Shallan – in other words she was able to replicate herself somehow so it wasn’t her body that we saw being murdered? She would still have had to survive the shipwreck, etc, but it could be a possibility? So happy though.
9. Finally, this book ended with lots of questions. Will killing Sadeas alter Adolin? Why is he called THE Lopen? Why are the other Oathgates locked? So many questions that I now seem to have – more than answers for sure! I just don’t know how we’re going to stand the wait!!! And Adolin. I’m gobsmacked. No. Really. I am. Did you see that coming? I don’t like Sadeas but I’m not sure of what to make of that scene. Something felt almost a little bit off about Adolin. I hope he’s not going to become all resentful of the others abilties or jealouse – or worse!
And so, the end! It’s been an amazing readalong – I’m so happy to have read this in company because I think I would have missed so many details reading it alone. It’s a mega epic book and it deserves good company and plenty of debate. It’s been brilliant. 😀
The Sea, the sun and the sand (or a nice terrace maybe!)
This week’s topic at the Broke and Bookish is Top Ten Beach reads. Well, I don’t really do beaches very well – sand, you just can’t live with it plus I get restless and want to go a mooching. I do however like chilling on balconies and terraces after all the trekking about (usually with a tall glass of something cold). So this is going to be my top 10 balcony books. Also, I don’t really do romance very often so I’m going to stick to fantasy – but, in the spirit of this week’s topic I’ve stayed away from the grim and the dark. This way, I can check out your books and cherry pick the odd romance that looks too good to miss!
1. The Tropic of Serpents (A memoir by Lady Trent) by Marie Brennan. I’ve used a bit of creative wordery here – the word ‘tropic’ having a summery feel. Okay, this is a book about dragons, but it’s a quite light hearted memoir of the adventures of Lady Trent. This is No.2 of the series that got off to a great start with A Natural History of Dragons.
2. The Martian by Andy Weir – well come on now – you can’t get much further away for a holiday. A break, not just from your job, the house, routine, etc. A break from the world! This comes highly recommended!
3. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman – I really like Alice Hoffman, she usually manages to inject some sort of fantasy aspect into her novels whilst quite often still making you feel like you’re not reading fantasy.
4. Days of Blood and Starglight by Leigh Bardugo – well, this probably doesn’t sound like a holiday read but I’ve had this and the second book for ages and holidays are perfect for catching up! Plus, if you remove ‘the blood’ from the title you have ‘Days of Starlight’ which almost sounds romantic. Okay, I just want to catch up with this series. Actually – there is romance in this book – so win for me!
5. Moon’s Artifice by Tom Lloyd – I’m keeping with the theme above – I’ve now got the stars and the moon. Throw in the candlelight and wine and you have romance!! Right there. This is another recommendation that I’m looking forward to.
6.. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – not even going to try and come up with a reason for putting this on my summer reads – simply, I have to read it as I have No.2 as well and No.3 soon due out!!!
7. Sworn in Steel by Douglas Hulick (Tale of the Kin book 2). Looking forward to this but need to carve out the time!! This is what holidays are for.
8. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M Valente. This sounds like a lovely adventure. Plus, leading revels sounds fun and on top of that the Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was awesome and whimsical all rolled up into one.
9. Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce – because I’ve had this for ages and it does look so good.
10. Dr Sleep by Stephen King. Not really expecting this to be a light read. I rushed out and bought the hardback as soon as it came out and still need to read it. Plus, it has the word ‘sleep’ in the title and I like to be extremely lazy when I’m on holiday so it’s sort of fitting.
That’s my summer reads – although you know that saying about ‘the best laid plans….’
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.
