Gateway books/authors
This week’s topic on the Broke and the Bookish is: Top Ten “Gateway” Books/Authors In My Reading Journey:
- A fairytale book that I had when I was young. I can’t remember the name of the book but it contained about 10 fairytales including Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast and Rose Red and Snow White. I loved that book and clearly it encouraged my love of this type of story.
- At the same time as the above I had another story book – same publisher and with 10 stories (I so wish I could remember the name of this book!) The stories were all illustrated with simple black and white pencil drawings and I literally could read this over and over again as the stories were all unusual and maybe even slightly scary. For example, there was a story of a young child sat at a table drawing characters. Unfortunately she wasn’t very good at drawing and the people she drew came alive off the page and told her off and chased her for drawing their legs uneven, or eyes different sizes. Definitely an unusal set of stories but I loved them and they encouraged my liking of the bizarre and fantastical.
- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien- one of the first books that really hooked me on fantasy. With so many great books out there is would be folly not to read fantasy!
- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – I mention this because I read it when I was about 14 and loved it, literally couldn’t put it down for about 4 or 5 days – I think it was one of the first stories that grabbed my attention so much that I basically forgot about the world outside.
- Daphne DuMaurier – I love her writing and her book Rebecca became the first book that I dipped into relentlessly and reread on about 4 occasions – a real comfort book.
- Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters – encouraged my love of the classics and made me want to dig out more in a similar vein.
- Arthur Conan Doyle – undoubtedly made me want to read more mysteries.
- Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence – one of the first fantasy books that I read that would be considered grimdark. Gave me a desire to read more stories with flawed anti heroes!
- Neil Gaiman – without doubt brings out my inner child. I love his books.
- Diana Gabaldon and Philipa Gregory who led me to pick up books with a historical/fantasy aspect.
Which books stand out for you as pivotal reads that led you on an unforgettable journey?
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade by Den Patrick
31 March 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Den Patrick, The Boy with the Porcelain Blade
I was really looking forward to this book and fortunately it didn’t disappoint. The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is a fantasy novel with a mystery at it’s heart set in an almost gothic environment. The story centres on Lucien de Fontein. Living within the walls of Demesne which is a castle with four major houses around the central keep that hosts the reclusive and largely unseen king. The story is brimming with abductions, assassination attempts and internal politics.
Lucien is one of the Orfano, which I think translates as orphan. Orfano are provided a special status, courtesy of an edict of the king, and the major noble houses are required to take them in and raise and train them as nobles until they are of an age to choose which house they wish to serve and petition for adoption. The Orfano are something of a mystery. Detested, feared and tormented by the large majority of people they suffer from deformities. In Lucien’s case the absence of ears. Others have poisonous spines or missing limbs – some are so misshapen that they can barely function and live on the outskirts of society.
At the start of the story Lucien is undertaking his final test where he faces one of his main tormentors – Giancarlo. Over the years Giancarlo has humiliated Lucien at every opportunity. Unfortunately things go a little too far in the latest test culminating in… no, no, no! No spoilers!
The story is told in a split timeline. We follow Lucien aged 17 and then in alternate chapters we jump back to Lucien’s childhood. I enjoyed this style although there were occasions where it grated a little being sucked out of the main story.
In terms of the characters there is the sinister Majordomo who appears and disappears quite often at the most opportune moments. Rafaela, the object of attraction for Lucien and the other Orfano, Dino and Anea in particular. There are the nobility who spend their time scheming and coming up with new ways to use the Orfano in their political maneouvering. But, aside from all of that is a much darker story of abduction, in the dead of night. Young women being snatched from their homes for some terrible purpose.
I thought this was a very good debut. Lucien makes an interesting protagonist. Tormented and lonely. Desperate for acceptance. At times rash. Young and in love. Curious and a bit of a slave to his emotions which undoubtedly gets him into a pickle at times.
In terms of criticisms. The Orfano are a puzzle throughout and this is deliberate on the part of the author. It makes the mystery more sinister and adds to the tension. But, I felt there was a lack of background and I wanted more information in that respect. It didn’t spoil the read for me but, like Lucien, I have a major curious streak.
I’m counting this book to my 100 books in a year challenge and also entering it under ‘fantasy’ for Stainless Steel Droppings Once Upon a Time event.
The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris
Just finished reading the Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris which I absolutely loved! Now, I do like JH and have read quite a few of her novels so you could be forgiven for thinking that I went into this ready to be swayed into easy delight, but, I would have to disagree! In fact I would say quite the opposite. I went into this as someone with only the most basic knowledge of norse mythology and expecting to be a little overpowered by it all. On the contrary I found this to be a fun, easy to read retelling of norse mythology with a difference.
The difference of course is that Loki is the narrator and as we all know – he’s a little bit tricky. Just a teeny bit. The fact that he’s known as The Trickster probably gives this away a little.
Excellent writing and first person narrative make this story just flow. The plot, basically watching how Loki was persuaded by Odin to leave Chaos and join him and the other Gods on Asgard and thereafter watching him bring a little bit of chaos to their world. He was never really part of the in-crowd, though how he tried (or not)! The story follows him on his journey to notoriety. Starting off with fairly small time pranks – albeit usually ending with his impending death – that he then wriggles out of in one way or another and ultimately culminating in his betrayal of Odin and Asgard. The driver for the story is Mimir’s prophecy ending in Ragnarok and concluding with a huge battle that sees the death of so many favourites.
Okay, how reliable is Loki as a narrator. Well, lets just say he’s putting his stamp on these stories and it shows but it’s such good fun to read in this way. JH clearly not only knows a little of Norse mythology but has enjoyed herself in these retellings and it shows. Basically Loki isn’t really the nicest of guys and yet reading his gospel he’s a bit of a charmer and you just can’t help finding yourself in his corner! And why not? If Odin brought chaos into the heart of his home what did he really expect (that is of course if you believe that Odin seduced Loki to join in the first place).
Now, what I know about norse mythology could probably be written onto the top of a pinhead. So, an in-depth knowledge is definitely not needed to read this book. In fact it’s a very accessible way of reading about this mythology, told not only in an entertaining way but also with a modern voice. It’s easy to picture and not only that but reading stories about the mythology that are so entertaining somehow makes them that much easier to remember. It’s probably just my tiny brain but even though I enjoy mythology I usually find that my mind becomes too tangled up with all the names, worlds, powers, wives, sons, mistresses, etc, etc. I don’t know why but the Gospel of Loki just unravelled that mystery a little for me. I’m probably not quite ready to embark on a career in lecturing but I definitely feel like I’ve got a bit of a grip on this now!
There are the characters you expect to see and are no doubt already familiar with such as one eyed Odin and hammer wielding Thor, Freyja and Freya and then others that I wasn’t familiar with such as Idun and Baldr. And, obviously, as you’re reading from Loki’s point of view none of these characters come across in the best light. Squabbling, petty, vain, air headed, easily led and fickle!
I was probably a little uneasy going into this. It felt as though it would be a series of short stories contained in one volume and I expected to be constantly referring back and forwards but I was very pleasantly surprised. Yes, you could say this is based on a series of short escapades but they all follow on and read together they tell a linear tale and they do this in a winning style that is fun and fast paced.
I’m submitting this book as part of Stainless Steel Droppings Once Upon a Time event under the heading of ‘Myth’
It also counts towards my 100 books in a year count.
Top Ten Things On My Bookish Bucket List
Over at The Broke and the Bookish this week’s 10 Ten Tuesday is 10 things on your bookish bucket list. Some of these are ever so slightly, just a smidgen, more achievable than others:
- Finish my uncompleted series! (See this list here).
- Have my own library – okay, I’m not literally talking about a library – I mean, to use one room in my house and line the walls with shelves and then, more to the point, FILL THEM WITH BOOKS, get the comfiest chair ever, shut the door and be totally anti-social. Okay, I could let the husband and the dog in there, from time to time maybe.
- Meet some of my favourite authors – you people are like our movie stars and it’s nice to meet you!! Or, maybe I just need to get out more…
- See certain of my favourite books transformed into film – this is a dodgy one because what if the film isn’t a good representation of the book – well, it’s a different form of entertainment so it’s going to be different but, LOTR – great example of how to do this well. Now I need to make a list of which books I want to see at the cinema – it really is that easy!!
- Reduce my TBR – although there are only two realistic ways to do this. Give up work in which case lots of time for reading but no money for spending! Or, stop buying so many books (not gonna happen) – actually three, win an enormously obscene amount of money and buy my own library (see No.2, although, mmm, does this really reduce my tbr or actually increase it) *quandry*.
- Go shopping for a full day and buy so many books that I need at least three people to carry all the bags *not helping with Nos 1 or 5*
- Get the three people above to read all the books and cherry pick the choicest – hang on – what are all you bloggers out there for after all!!! READ FASTER.
- Buy a time machine – otherwise no way I’m ever going to achieve Nos 1 and 5.
- Achieve immortality – in which case all the time in the world to read whatever I want (and easily achieve Nos 1 and 5).
Marry Neil Gaiman– haha, only kidding. Yes, really, just messing around. Ahem…
Now, which of those do you think I can realistically achieve?????
Gilded (The St. Croix Chronicles #2) by Karina Cooper
24 March 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Gilded, Karina Cooper, Steampunk, The St. Croix Chronicles #2, Victorian London
Okay, so I finished the second of the St Croix Chronicles a few days ago but was literally stunned into silence and needed a few days to absorb events. This book is quite the riot of emotions ending on a final note of utter shock. I’ve tried to stay away from reviews for this series to avoid spoilers and it worked because the ending of this took me totally by surprise, and yet at the same time that it blew me off my feet with it’s unexpected quality it also felt sort of inevitable!
Gilded is the second in the St Croix series the first being Tarnished (my review here). I really do recommend reading these books in order and not just jumping in at No.2. Gilded pretty much starts off where Tarnished ended. Cherry is determined to find out what took part in the underground tunnel (and I won’t say more for fear of spoilers). We still have two killers on the loose on the streets of London down below and on top of this there now appears to be a new murderer on the scene – intent on killing professors from London’s finest educational establishments. Aside from all of this Cherry is in debt to the menagerie, is being pursued by the Earl, castigated by the upper echelons of society and suffering illness from the side effects of her double life and secret addiction. It’s quite daunting just to think about it.
Ms Cooper certainly doesn’t make it easy to review her books because there’s very little to say without giving away spoilers. This is a new murder mystery and really apart from a few tidbits of information doesn’t really take us too much further in pursuit of Cherry’s original goals and yet there are certain elements that make you realise that so much is connected. It’s a sort of bring them up to watch them fall instalment.
Gilded is quite a fast paced and intriguing instalment and in fact I would say even more enjoyable than the first (which is a surprise given the very short space that Mr Hawke makes an appearance for). Cherry is without doubt a flawed character. She makes mistakes and she can make you feel frustrated as anything. But, I like her and given the constraints placed upon her in this faux Victorian era she’s actually very forward thinking. She’s torn between wanting her friends and family to be happy and wanting to maintain her own individuality. What’s a girl to do? Aside from all that of course is that Cherry is basically, deep inside a good person. She tries to make the right decisions. She’s wound up in a situation where she’s indebted to the wrong sort – and this is a result of the night time activities she pursues in order to raise money to buy laudanum (which she only uses to quell her night terrors). She also seems to have drawn a lot of negative attention both above and below London. You can’t help feeling quite a lot of sympathy for her whilst also wanting to shake her occasionally!
Anyway, there are two new murders and clearly these are the work of somebody different from the Sweet Tooth and the Ripper. The academia are being targeted and Cherry is given a riddle to solve which will unwittingly take her into the path of danger yet again. The plot culminates in a fantastic masked ball which ends with a bang!
Murder, mystery, alchemy, fog, rippers, dashing Earls, sexy Micajah Hawke – and an ending that left me without words! Yes, this feels like a guilty pleasure and yet I don’t actually feel guilty at all in fact, quite the opposite. Bring on number 3.
