Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
27 September 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Brimstone, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou, Laini Taylor
Just finished reading DoSaB and before I start this book I will firstly say that I loved it. I haven’t read any of Laini Taylor’s other novels before but I will certainly take a look now as her story telling is almost magical. This was one of those novels that was just hard to put down, I was engrossed by the story from the first page, the writing was, quite simply, beautiful, the ideas are original, it’s thought provoking, the settings are gothic and I found that if I had a free minute, even just waiting for somebody, a bus, my tea to cook, the kettle to boil, I had the book in my hand and was hard pressed to close it and focus on anything else. In fact it made be quite rude and belligerent because I quite resented when I did have to put it down.
About the story. The thing with this book is it’s been shrouded with mystery, the jacket gives nothing away at all as does the name or the cover and so I don’t particularly want to do so either. In other words you’ll just have to read it yourself to find out what the story is about – although there are also a number of excellent trailers which give a few clues.
However, we have Karou. What a brilliant character – I loved her voice, her sense of humour, her sarcasm and her blue hair! She is fierce, independent, loyal to her family and friend (yes, friend). She is an artist who draws the strangest images of people and places and she sometimes disappears for days at a time.
We also have an amazing setting. I’m sure I read a review which virtually said ‘why Prague’ but why not Prague? The descriptions were brilliant, dark, eerie, almost vampireish? Winding, narrow streets, old fashioned facades, long shadows and then there’s the café where Karou and her friend, art students, usually spend most of their time after classes. I loved this café filled with gas mask wearing statues, dark corners and the aromoa of goulash. I can easily imagine people reading this and immediately dashing off to Prague – to see the alternative, hidden, dark and secret version.
And, we also have Karou’s strange family. Brimstone is brilliant, working constantly,and almost desperately, in a shop that connects to anywhere in the world. He collects teeth (which is a mystery to Karou who frequently has to go on strange missions to collect his packages). She never knows where the door she leaves from will lead her to and she could literally end up in Marakesh or Paris! I loved the whole idea of these strange portals, just open the door you’ve walked in using and instead of being back out on your old street you’re in an exotic market place on the other side of the world, Such an intriguing idea that puts me in mind of the Labyrinthe and it’s intricate mysteries. Back to the family though. Karou’s family are demons or chimaera and are completely different than anything in the ‘real’ world. Brimstone has large curved horns that curl back over his head like goat horns, he is fierce and won’t be defied. He keeps secrets from Karou and forbids her to enter certain doors. Of course we all know that forbidding something just makes it that much more attractive. The funny thing is that all Karou’s family are made of different parts, part animal and part human and yet LT describes them in such a way that they appear lovely, and normal, like you wouldn’t be surprised to walk into your local newsagents tomorrow and find he had goat’s legs or a snake’s body.
Then moving on, and giving a little bit of the story away, dark hand marks start to appear on the portal doors all over the world and strange and beautiful people who seem both amazing and terrifying and whose shadows don’t match their bodies start to appear.
So, criticisms, I think it’s clear that I love this book. The only niggles (not even really criticisms) are, I don’t particularly like Akira – now I know everyone is probably going to jump on me now like a duck on a June bug but I’m sorry, I really don’t like him. He’s cruel. And I think it will be difficult to get over and forgive some of his actions. Also, at this stage, I’m not loving the romance element (I guess that goes without saying seeing how I don’t like Akira) – but I can see that it’s going to develop, it’s just not the main focus for me. And, finally, I preferred the first two thirds of the book to the end but again, I can understand why that is. The last third had a lot of catching up with historical events to relay and this was well told but I think I was anxious to be back in the ‘here and now’ of the story. That being said the ending has opened us up for so much more adventure.
So, first and foremost, what I really loved about this is the story telling. LT can certainly weave a tale not to mention turn things on their head. We have demons and angels but everything isn’t always as it seems. We have a war but neither side can remember the reason why it started. We have deep rooted hatred and prejudice. Not everything is always as it seems and that definitely comes through strongly in this story.
I can’t wait to see what comes next. I need a necklace of wishes or my own portal so that I can magic the next book here – right now!
Rating A+
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, group read – completion of The Fellowship of the Ring
26 September 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Books Going to Film, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Rings, Tolkien
Finally finished Book No.1. Really enjoying the experience of rereading this, particularly with all the discussion. So, I won’t do a recap because I’m already so late with this post!!
This time the discussion starter points were conjured byAndrea at the Little Red Reviewer. Other discussion posts are at:
Stainless Steel Droppings
Blue Fairy’s Bookshelf
Geeky Daddy
The Written World
Book Den
Sorry if I’ve missed anybody off or if the link is incorrect – let me know if so. Ta!
My responses:
Gandalf and the Balrog, just Wow. Just a short scene, but oh so intense! With their mentor gone, how will the group go on? Even when they do reach Lothlorien, no one seems to know how to get where they are going. They had been dependent on Gandalf making the decisions, and now he is gone.
I really though the whole Balrog scene was brilliant – even though it obviously ends on such a sad note. Gandalf is brilliant – it’s only a short speech but it made my pulse race ‘I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udon. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass’. Couldn’t help that! Back to the point. After Gandalf was gone I felt like the group really floundered. They were full of sorrow and just so unsure of what to do next, even Aragorn seemed at a loss and I felt that continued until Frodo reached his own decision at the end. It’s sort of a sad note to end on really because I like reading about the Fellowship and the rest of the book obviously takes a much darker turn.
Galadriel and her Ring. She knows the Ring of power must be destroyed, but with it’s destruction comes the de-powering (is that a word?) of her Ring as well. The Elves must leave Middle Earth or forget who and what they are. For her, this is a no win situation. Frodo’s success effectively means the banishment of the Elves in Middle Earth. I wonder if that makes him more likely to do everything in his power to succeed, or less?
It’s a tough one. There are no easy choices in this book. Somebody always seems to be at risk but I suppose with the Elves this was never really their true home and though they were sad to an extent I also felt they would be glad to return to their own people. I loved the scene with Galadriel and I’m almost dying to quote my favourite of her lines but best not! Except this one – ‘I pass the test, I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel’. So basically with the destruction of the ‘one’ ring she is losing her power and it was only really her power that was keeping her here? Never thought of it like that before!
Boromir – I didn’t trust from way back at the Council at Rivendell. His conversation with Frodo at the end of Fellowship made him look like a know-it-all with a world view of colonialism and imperialism. Is this Tolkien taking a shot at the old fashioned British world view, or am I reading way, way too much into it?
Mmm, Boromir, what can you say. In one respect I feel sorry for him and in another I could shake him. He’s just too stubborn and blinkered. That being said, his little rant at the end did eventually help to push Frodo into making a decision!
After spending some time in Lothlorien, Sam realizes the Elves aren’t quite as scary or as strange as he first thought. I wonder if when he gets back to the Shire if he’ll realize the Hobbits in the next town aren’t quite as strange as he once thought. I really don’t think this is an overt “message” story, but I do wonder if Tolkien didn’t mind throwing in a little message of “those folks in the next valley aren’t as different as you think”.
I definitely think Tolkien used this to pass on a message and I suppose Sam was a good one to use to do so. He’s a lovely warm character and doesn’t seem to have any mean spiritedness in him at all and yet he has a very small view of the world and is quite old fashioned. But by the end of Book 1 his eyes have been opened and his horizons expanded. (I still think he’ll be very happy to get back home to his garden and his gaffa though!)
I only started reading fantasy a few years ago, and I keep running into this undercurrent of choice. Bilbo has to choose to give up the Ring. Frodo has to choose to take on the quest and be the Ring bearer. Even Boromir is choosing how he feels about the Ring and what it could bring him. In the end, this is all coming down to how we choose to live our lives from moment to moment.
On the face of it it seems really simple – a choice between good and evil – but the eventual choice will have an impact on so many people (such as the elves) and that makes it much more difficult. Personally, I would never be able to decide what to do! Not for the lack of wanting to do the right thing but simply because I would be thinking of the impact on everyone else. In that way I’m terrible at making decisions because I never want to upset anyone!
And the obligatory: what was your favorite part of this section?
This is difficult. I enjoyed the growing friendship between Legolas and Gimli (although I would have liked to have been party to some of their conversations), I love the exchange between Galadriel and Frodo but I think on reflection the mines of Moria are still ‘it’ for me. I love the description of the mines and think the writing in that respect is excellent and I love the tension that increases as you hear the drums starting to beat to the final scene with Gandalf and the Balrog on the bridge.
Thanks for the discussion points 🙂
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, True Blood (No.11)
22 September 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Charlaine Harris, Dead Reckoning, Sookie Stackhouse, True Blood
Just finished reading Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, Book No.11 in the Sookie Stackhouse books. This review may contain spoilers (particularly if you haven’t read the earlier books already).
I do love this series of books, Sookie is such a readable character that I always enjoy spending time in Bon Temps. I won’t say that this is my favourite book of the series but it is very easy to get along with. I think the past couple of novels are starting to move us in a different direction and I wonder whether Charlaine Harris is planning the end of her series. This installment is certainly not fast paced, there are plenty of things going on but it all feels a little more ‘everyday’ if that’s possible in a world with vampires, werewolves, fey and other beings.
To quote amazon: “There’s a reckoning on the way . . . . . . and Sookie has a knack for being in trouble’s way; not least when she witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte’s, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is known to be two-natured, suspicion immediately falls on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but before she can investigate something else – something even more dangerous – comes up. Sookie’s lover Eric Northman and his ‘child’ Pam are plotting something in secret. Whatever it is, they seem determined to keep Sookie out of it; almost as determined as Sookie is to find out what’s going on. She can’t sit on the sidelines when both her work and her love life under threat – but as she’s gradually drawn into their plans Sookie finds the situation is deadlier than she could ever have imagined. “
In terms of relationships, yes, Sookie is with Eric although they spent most of the novel displeased with each other for one reason or another. Eric was tense throughout and was keeping a secret from Sookie, a secret that Pam wanted him to divulge. This lead to all sorts of problems for the three. So, although Eric and Sookie are together they’re not exactly basking in paradise. Actually, I quite like the tension to be honest. But, I wonder. By the end of this novel I can’t help feeling that I’m getting tired of Sookie constantly being at the beck and call of all these other creatures who most of the time treat her like an inconvenience if they can even be bothered to acknowledge her at all that is! She’s constantly in danger and has more enemies than you can shake a stick at (although she does manage to reduce the number slightly in this book). The thing is Ms Harris is quite good at making me like who she wants me to, first Bill, then Alcide, then Eric – maybe we’re going to move on again – perhaps Sam?? Just a silly guess I suppose.
Also, she still has her cluviel dor – which you can’t help thinking is going to play a major role at some point unless it’s a wild red herring.
Anyway, overall a very enjoyable read if a little tamer than some. I hope it’s not too long before the next I’m agog to know how this will ever end.
Rating B+
Dead Reckoning
Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, Group Read, Part 2, Book 1: chapter 9 to Book 2: chapter 3
21 September 2011
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings, Tolkien
Joined in with a reading group to read and discuss Lord of the Rings, thanks for this to The Little Red Reviewer and Geeky Daddy for coming up with this venture. I did come to this a little late but I’ve caught up now and I’m really enjoying reading LOTR again which I never would have undertaken without this Group. These are my answers to this weeks questions (if you haven’t already read the book or seen the film this may contain spoilers):
1. What was your initial thoughts of Strider/Aragorn when the Hobbits met up with him in The Prancing Pony? Did you think that he was linked with the Riders?
This is a difficult one to answer because I am of course rereading the novel (and also I’ve seen the films) so, it would be easy to act all superior and say I never had any doubts about Strider but in fact I can’t remember what my initial impressions were! That being said I don’t think it ever occured to me that he was linked to the Riders. Plus, the Riders don’t really come across as the sort to sit in the Prancing Pony smoking a pipe – they seem a lot more sly than that. They like to creep up on people in the dark, from the shadows. It’s an interesting question though because I suppose Strider could have been one of their minions!! I never thought of it like that before – anyway, as we know he isn’t.
2.What was the biggest surprise to you during this section of the Fellowship of the Ring?
Actually, I think I had a couple of moments. First, I always thought the film was very true to the book (as much as it could be I suppose) but in rereading this you start to pick up on the small differences. Like Frodo’s flight to the path to Rivendell – which he undertook on horseback alone being chased by the wraiths. Also, I had totally forgotten about Boromir’s story. I’d got myself convinced that all the people at the Council were there by invitation and this certainly wasn’t the case. So, it’s quite eye opening reading this the second time round.
3.Do you like that Tolkien goes in depth and tells the readers of the historical events of the war that is upon the Fellowship?
I like the level of detail in the book and I do love Tolkien’s writing style. I’m always interested in the history of events in a book like this, in fact I think it’s essential and without it I always end up with little niggles that I want answers to. That being said I did find some of the information relayed at the council a little bit tedious (sorry about that but there it is). I don’t remember feeling that way first time round however. Maybe I have a little less patience than I used to.
4. How far do you think you would have lasted if you were Frodo and nearly becoming a Rider?
Well, I don’t mind walking at all, in fact I really like it. But, that’s about where my resilience probably ends. Going out for a good walk in the countryside is one thing, being out for days on end, having sleepless nights and being pursued and constantly in fear – that must get a little bit much! Mind you I think I could do it (okay I couldn’t go without sleep). But if you add to that being stabbed with an evil blade and slowly being turned into a wraith mmm, nope. Also, I can’t ride so once that elven horse started galloping it’s way to Rivendell I would have fallen from it’s back in a New York minute!
5. As dangerous as the quest unfolds to become, the other hobbits want to stick by Frodo til the end. Would you sacrifice yourself and stick with Frodo til the end?
Oh, this is a dilema. Yes, of course I want to say yes, yes, yes, I would stick by Frodo to the end. But, would I really drop everything? Okay, I’m still going with yes because I like to think I would! Ah, resolution.
So, Part 2 over.
Lord of the Rings
Review of Jane Eyre for Books to Film
20 September 2011
Filed under Books Going to Film
Tags: Charolotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, Mr Rochester, The Bronte sisters
Spoiler alert.
Went to see Jane Eyre last night, after much anticipation. I really wanted to love this film, I was very excited to go and see it as I have read the book a few times and it is a firm favourite. But, to be honest, no, I didn’t love it.
On the plus side:
The casting is really good. I thought Michael Fassbender was an excellent choice, probably a bit too good looking to be true to the novel’s Mr Rochester but I think I can forgive him that! Mia Wasikowska made a very appropriate Jane. I don’t think you could describe Mia as plain but they’ve made a good job of ‘drabbing her down’ for the film and she is young enough and manages to convey the naive otherworldliness that Jane would really have exuded after spending so many years at Lowood. And, Judi Dench of course was amazing, as ever, the expression on her face for some scenes was priceless and with veryfew words whatsoever she was actually in danger of stealing the show!
The cinematography is beautiful and the locations superb. The scenes on the moors, the picturesque gardens and the stately homes are breathtaking. It really is a gorgeous period drama.
On the downside. Although I thought the two main characters were well cast I didn’t particularly think they displayed any chemistry on film. Individually, their performances are good but together I just wasn’t feeling it. I guess this is difficult to capture but at the end of the day Jane Eyre is a love story and you have to believe the feeling is there.
Visually, the film is quite superb but I wonder whether we ended up sacrificing some of the much needed story and dialogue in order to sit looking at the beauty of the moors, or curtains blowing in the breeze or a flower gently drifting from a tree to the ground below! I think we lost a bit too much of the story and in doing so I’m not convinced that this film is totally easy to follow. Okay, it was easy for me and will be for many others, who have read the book, but what about viewers who haven’t done so? I found myself filling in the missing bits in my own head and obviously I know what the emotions are that the characters are feeling but I don’t think this really came across. I think if you were not already familiar with the story this film would feel disjointed and you would have to make huge leaps to fit the story together and come to the realisation that Jane and Mr Rochester are in love.
The other thing which was lost in translation was the gothic and creepy feel of the novel. Let’s not forget that we have somebody locked away in this huge dark mansion. Somebody who escapes occasionally and runs through the corridors screeching and causing mischief. I didn’t get any real sense of the mansion being dark or creepy. Even the scene where Jane is left to tend the wounds of somebody injured whilst visiting the mansion is rather flat and yet this is supposed to be a terrifying experience where Jane can hear something or someone on the other side of the door!
I think that this is probably a difficult story to fit into this timeframe. And, I don’t think it was helped by leaving out Jane’s narration (which helps to explain some of her own actions and feelings). Also, the natural order of the story was changed around with the story being partly told using flashbacks which I didn’t feel was an essential change. If it’s not broke don’t fix it after all.
Finally, the ending was totally rushed and over virtually in minutes (if not seconds).
So, for me personally, this is definitely one of those occasions where there is no competition between the book and the film. I did think this film was quite good just not as good as I expected/wanted it to be. Maybe my expectations were too high at the end of the day but I just think whilst this is a very beautifully shot film the love doesn’t come across nor does the gothic feel.
I would recommend this film – particularly to those already familiar with the novel or previous. I’m probably being over critical although I would love to know whether this film is understandable to somebody who is new to the story or ends up being a ‘film for fans’.
Jane Eyre
Rating 3.5/5
