Wow, what a touching novel Chasing The Bard turned out to be. Philippa Ballantine of New Zealand has done an excellent job in portraying that sense of superiority that sometimes comes with privilege in her portrayal of the fey and humans.
William Shakespeare and the Goddess of Battle Sive are both changed in this meeting between fey and human. Shakespeare is born with the Art of the Bard, and the fey need his help in saving them. But enlisting the help of one stubborn male might not be as simple as Sive had thought. For not all in the universe believe that the fey world is the world one should prefer.
There is a dark undertone to this novel that is lightened by Puck, the trickster. One would expect the god of pranks to hold such a role. But as the novel moves along, Puck takes on another dimension, one brought about by disappointment and grief.
Sive’s feelings of superiority remain, yet deteriorate as her own circumstances become more and more dire, while William’s excuses in life will be faced before he can fulfill his “Destiny”.
Well worth the read. I believe Ballantine has gotten another fan.
2006: Sir Julius Vogel Awards: Nominated for the best novel
I see The Getaway is listed as a paranormal romance story, but I feel that is kind of misleading. It seemed more like a thrillerish kind of story (kind of a thriller, but not quite).
Gavyn Donatti and his wife, Jazz, are going away for the week-end. On the way to their remote cabin, they end up getting lost and crash their car.
Jazz wakes up in a strange place where a guy called Seth tries to take care of her. Something seems really off about the whole situation, and something is.
The Getaway is a fun short-story about encountering craziness in unexpected places and how to deal with the nuts.
Lady of Devices is Shelley Adina’s first novel in the Magnificent Devices’ series. This steampunk novel is set in an alternate Victorian era. As usual with steampunk novels, steam runs the world. Steam is the hot thing, the Power alternative that will last forever.
We meet Lady Trevalyan, a 17-year old with decidedly unconventional interests. No embroidery for this girl.
I’ve always liked spunky female characters. Women who dare defy whatever society deems as feminine behavior. Claire is one such lady.
When her father shoots himself because of bad investments, the family is left with a lot less money than they had hoped. Claire has to choose between waiting for her mother to find her a husband or try to make a living. She decides to make a living and sets out to explore her possibilities.
Claire soon discovers that the “real world” can be dangerous, especially if you are a woman. This is where her spunkiness comes in handy. This girl has grit. She just screams a bit in her head and gets on with whatever she has to do to survive.
What can I say, I am a sucker for these kinds of portrayals. There is no denying I want my female characters to be strong. I also want my authors to write in a manner that engages my interest and keeps it. Shelley Adina manages to do just that. Her sentences tie together wonderfully and her images are hilarious.
“Claire Trevelyan closed her eyes as a gobbet of reddish-brown foam dripped off the ceiling and landed squarely on the crown of her head. It dribbled past her ears and onto the pristine sailor collar of her middy blouse, and thence, gravity having its inevitable effect, down the blue seersucker of her uniform’s skirt to the floor.” It’s practically so I can feel the goo running down my head.
The final story about our reluctant hero, Eli Monpress, is here in the form of Spirit’s End.
I really cannot tell you why, but there is just something about this cover that doesn’t work for me. It fits with the story and everything, but I’m not really into it. Oh well, personal taste and all.
The story is another matter all together. Rachel Aaron has nailed the ending of the Eli Monpress saga in the novel Spirit’s End. Eli is everything we have gotten used to. Still playful, creative and fiercely desiring to be free of the Shepherdess, Eli takes us on a journey that lets us get to know the Lord of Storms better and the make-up of his world.
Miranda is thrown into the role of Rector for the Spirit Court and her work is challenging, to say the least. As usual she suspects Eli of having devious goals. Her suspicions are based on experience, so they could be correct. Banage is arrested by his ex. Eli is arrested by his mother. That Eli’s mom and Banage’s ex happen to be one and the same person is kind of funny and all part of a cunning plan on Sara’s part. Joseph is king and HATES it while Nico acts as his companion. Nico is an interesting character. Possessed by a demon seed, she is now more demon than human. All the same, her human side rules the relationship.
I’ve reviewed The Legend of Eli Monpress and The Spirit War. Spirit’s End fits nicely with the other two books and carries with it the same carefree, yet serious character of the other two novels. Rachel Aaron has done a good job in portraying the world of Eli Monpress.
First of all – the cover. Michael Whelan is the artist. When you go to this link you will get a look at how cover artists work and how little they actually get to work with. And still he manages to provide something that captures the dynamics of the novel.
My goodness, what an ending to a series I have loved. I do not think I was alone in worrying when Brandon had to finish the Wheel of Time series. My worries were laid to rest with his first installment: The Gathering Storm. A Memory of Light is amazing. No wonder Sanderson teaches creative writing.
What is it that makes A Memory of Light so good? As I have told you in my About page, I am terrible at analysing. Really, really bad. But there are aspects to the art of writing that I might have gotten a feel for.
A Memory of Light is tight. It’s not difficult to see that this novel must have been edited time and again to get that flowy feeling that I always go on about. There are very few mistakes and Brandon shows us that you can write a novel more than 900 pages long and still feel as though you could have read more.
The jump from character to character is flawless. Perrin‘s over-carefulness, Mat‘s playfulness, Egwene‘s “I know best” attitude and Rand’s “I must die” attitude are all incorporated into the writing without detracting from the plot.
Be prepared for fighting, lots and lots of fighting. We are, after all, at the ending of the world and the final battle. People die. People I have grown to care about. I hate that, because I really do love the quirky set of The Wheel of Time. But I see the necessity of it. I still hate it.
Once again we are exposed to friends who betray and friends who risk their lives for you. In a sense, that is what The Wheel of Time has been about for me. This group of four (five) characters from Two Rivers stays loyal to each other in spite of huge differences of opinion. Friendship, what a precious gift to bestow on each other.
I am going to say something I do not often say: Please read A Memory of Light. You’ll have to read the first 13 novels for it to make sense, but it will be worth it. That is how good I think A Memory of Light is.
You know how sailors were supposed to tie themselves to something so they would not be lured by the beautiful voices of the sirens, well, Piper Cavenaugh is one. A human siren. Not bad.
Making people do what she wants by using the “Voice” is terribly tempting to Piper. However, experience has taught her that she will eventually get into trouble by doing so. Its duration is only 10 minutes and that really puts limitations on what it can be used for.
One evening Piper gets into trouble. She was seen using her Voice by the supernatural community. A community Piper had never heard of, seen or wanted to know about. Now she is about to be tried for her crimes. The Voice is considered extremely dangerous and desirable by various species of the supernatural community and Piper is thrown into trouble like never before.
The Rhine Maiden is a fun read. It has a couple of preachy moments and not very subtle ones. But Erin Evans is a fun author with a fun protagonist in the rather stressed character of Piper Cavenaugh. Piper is not your laid-back kind of person. Oh, no! Definitely not! But she is fun.
You will find plenty of action and humor in The Rhine Maiden.
I just finished reading GreenRider to my youngest son. When you have a dyslexic audience, reading to them is always IN. I cannot imagine how frustrating it must be to love literature, yet be so hindered by something that I take so much for granted. Maybe it is somewhat like my need for a wheel-chair.
Anyways. Back to Green Rider.
Check out this cover illustration for the UK edition of Green Rider by April Schumacher. WOW! It catches the spirit of the novel perfectly.
As I read this book out loud, there are a couple of things I want to point out. Kristen writes beautifully. Names like Karigan G’ladheon just roll off my tongue. Reading was a delight. Tension, fear, beauty and humour came through the translation from page to mouth. Wonderful! What a gift.
Karigan G’ladheon is a typical hero character. She is conflicted about the many challenges that come her way, but she desperately wants to do what is right for her country. Danger is drawn to her, or perhaps Karigan is drawn to danger. Action is practically thrown her way. Thank goodness Karigan seems to have a gift of getting out of all of the life-threatening situations. Like Captain Mapstone claimed. Karigan seems to survive due to sheer spunk. Gritting her teeth, Karigan gets on with whatever comes her way. Gray riders, militia, dangerous creatures or spirits is just part of what Green Rider has to offer.
The plot is easy to understand. Someone is out to take over the country of Sacoridia (they think). Someone else has another agenda. Karigan supports the throne and stability. Battle ensues between the “good” and the “bad”. Presentation is everything and Kristen Britain Excels at this. Good job. In fact, excellent work! Enjoy.
The Book of Deacon is a trilogy that should be read in the following order: The Book of Deacon -> The Great Convergence -> The Battle of Verril.
Cover art by Nick Deligaris
THE BOOK OF DEACON (2010)
My husband bought me an android for x-mas and we downloaded Kindle. They had/have a free offer on the novel The Book of Deacon. This is how I entered the world of Myranda, Lain, Myn, Ivy, Ether and Deacon.
First of all I want to say that you should go to Deligaris’ link and take a look at his art. There is some seriously cool stuff there.
Imagine what it must be like to live in a country ravaged by war for 150 years. This setting is where we find Myranda, our main protagonist. At the beginning of the war young men were the main victims. Then women were brought in as soldiers. Now cities and towns are left with the old and children, emptied of the people who are supposed to bring in the new generation. Seems kind of insane, does it not?
Myranda hates the war and all it stands for. She does not understand the need for this long-lasting enmity. As a sympathiser, she is ostracised by the general population. The general population of the Northern Alliance hates Tressorians. Having one of their own say that perhaps peace would be a good thing, grates on them and they tend to act aggressively. It is ever so in society. If you go against popular opinion, you are going to meet sanctions.
These sanctions have left Myranda feeling terribly alone. When she meets another who is hated as much as she is, Myranda opens up. Leo, the malthrope, saves Myranda from trouble and Myranda is left feeling grateful and lonely for his company.
The Book of Deacon does an excellent job of showing exactly how prejudiced we can be. It is also an incredibly good tale for both old and young. There is plenty of action and adventure. Joseph Lallo is one of those gifted persons that grabs hold of me. These authors are so much fun for an avid reader.
Cover art by Nick Deligaris
THE GREAT CONVERGENCE (2011)
I liked The Book of Deacon so much that I had to buy The Great Convergence. This is a serial, so reading these books in order is a must.
Myranda is caught in her black/white way of thinking. To her you have to do your best to follow the Prophecy. If not, you are a traitor. These books are as much about Myranda’s journey toward maturity and understanding as it is about friendship, loyalty and courage. Her thinking undergoes a radical change from the way it was at the beginning.
Finding the four other Chosen of the prophecy is her main goal. Discovering all of them is not a simple task. After all, the Northern Alliance and the Red Shadow are interested in putting an end to her quest.
Another malthrope turns up. Ivy pretty much has split personality. Her moods are what determines the personality she has. Anger, happiness, sorrow and fear are all taken to extremes and in ways that affect those around her. Arrogant Ether shows up and does her thing. She is a fun character. Her ability to annoy the others is priceless.
Cover art by Nick Deligaris
THE BATTLE OF VERRIL (2012)
It is always nice to not have to wait for the next book in a serial. As I had gotten into the game so late, I got to read The Battle of Verril right after Convergence. The promise of the previous two books was fulfilled in the last installment of The Book of Deacon. Each of the characters change into someone who is able to fulfill their part of the prophecy.
Answers to questions left open in The Great Convergence are found and solutions are discovered at the last moment.
Action and adventure are still the main ingredients of the series. Heroic deeds are obviously part of a quest and evil villains keep the plot moving. Mystical figures, monsters and friends appear suddenly. Myranda and Myn are kept busy through the novel going from one action scene to the next. The others are break-necking along them.
I found The Battle of Verril a read-through novel. It was impossible to put down.
Dragon Ship continues the story of the Korval Clan’s newest member, Theo Waitley, who we met in Ghost Ship.
Understandably, Theo is still wary about joining with the vessel, Bechimo. Being the first human for centuries who will go through the experience, she has noone to guide her. Bechimo is desperate for a Captain. He has been alone through centuries of trying to hide himself from people who want him themselves or want to destroy him.
On their journey (joined by Clarence 2nd pilot) Theo and Bechimo get to explore their understanding of each other. At the same time they also try to figure out if there is a market for a long run for the Korval Clan. Adventure lies along the route.
As with Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship is an adventure novel taking Theo and her crew from one exciting moment to the next. Lee and Miller’s writing is catchy and aimed at a Young Adult audience.
Design Sue Michniewicz, illustration Dominic Harman
I have just been made aware of the difference in the usage of serials and series. The Wild Hunt is a serial. This means that each book ends without the story being finished.
I admit it. I hesitated to read Trinity Rising. No way could Elspeth Cooper live up to the promise of her first novel. Hah, hah, what a joke. Trinity Rising was even better. The hiccups of Songs of the Earth were gone. Trinity Rising grabbed my brain and kept its hold until the end. I loved the characterization and the story.
Savin is a psychopath. Cooper shows his complete lack of empathy through the episodes he appears in. Gair is grief-stricken and functions quite poorly until the end of the novel. Alderan is concerned with the well-being of the many over the well-being of the few. In the end Gair finds it impossible to support this stance. We meet Teia of the Northern tribes. She brings with her new traditions and a deeper understanding of the conflicts between the Empire and the Clans. I found myself becoming fond of her and rooting for her and am looking forward to seeing where The Wild Hunt will go in Cooper’s next novel.
For those of you who find reading sexual content difficult, be warned. Ms. Cooper has written these novels for adults. To me it all fit perfectly together and I recommend this novel to you all.
Ghost Ship is a fun space opera adventure that gives its reader plenty of action that just happens to be placed in a science fiction environment. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are good at this sort of world building. They have actually been quite good at portraying the Liaden Universe in the few novels I have read.
Ghost Ship is a space vessel with unusual abilities. This vessel is a ghost ship because it keeps hiding from humans in general in its quest to get its pilot onboard. The pilot it has chosen for such a fate is Theo Waitley. Having control of a vessel like Bechimo (its real name) is deemed essential by several parties and some of them shun nothing in their attempt to find and take it over.
While Ghost Ship is essentially an adventure novel, it also deals with FAMILY. As we all know, families can be a boon or a drag. Where do we belong and who do we belong to can be questions we all struggle with at times? I like the way Lee and Miller deal with this issue.
I found reading Ghost Ship a light and fun adventure. It fulfills its promise to me as a reader.
Cruciblecontinues where Crossfireleft off. Nancy Kress was married to the author Charles Sheffield. In Crucible the characters Lucy and Karim talk a bit about the effects of the McAndrew drive. Charles Sheffield invented the term in his books and Nancy has borrowed the term as an explanation for the way the space vessels behave while travelling at their various speeds. If you are a nerd/semi-nerd like myself, you will probably check the information out.
One of the effects of travelling at near-light-speed is the problem of your ageing compared with the people you have left behind. They will be older (or even dead) when you return to them. I imagine that could be quite traumatic. Crucible deals with that question.
Crucible can mean “test by fire”. We see Karim and Lucy go through their test of fire when they are stuck on the Vine world trying to survive and hopefully get back to other humans. The Vines are strange plantlike creatures whose existence seems very harmonious. For humans that can be difficult to deal with. We probably get off on a bit of conflict in our lives, predator/prey that we are. That and the fact that Vines don’t communicate the way we do makes life extremely difficult for Lucy and Karim.
Crucible is also the name of the vessel travelling from Earth to Greentrees. The passengers onboard are modified humans. What they bring to Greentrees is an arrogant attitude toward the people living there. Being modified makes the people on Greentrees listen to their beautiful voices and beautiful looks. Even Jake Holman (at age ancient) is fooled by them. But the people from Crucible come with an agenda of their own.
A lot of conflict is in the cards and Kress manages to convey the various personalities quite well. She is an interesting writer.
2005: Nominated – Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Crossfire is Nancy Kress‘ first book in a duology about the travellers from Earth to Greentrees. They have all pooled their resources so they can get away from an Earth where the people are rapidly self-destructing. All Greentrees needs is a bit of terraforming for humans to be able to enjoy it fully. But the people who have travelled to Greentrees have done so for various reasons and their personalities are more or less suited to this type of adventure.
Jake Holman and Gail Cutler are the group’s leaders. However, there are subgroups. These are the New Quakers, the Environmentalists, the New Cherokees, the Islamists, the modified Soldiers, the scientists and Jake the lawyer. Once they begin to settle on Greentrees, the New Cherokees take off as planned. Their aim is to live as indianlike as possible and to have a little as possible to do with the rest of the humans. The majority of the humans try to keep their differences in check and work together on building a town to live in.
However, any new world is bound to have some trouble for the arrivals and on Greentrees it just happens to be a group of primitive humanoid aliens. In spite of there being more than one group of these aliens, it does not seem as if they are native to Greentrees. The various groups of aliens behave very dissimilar to each other even though they share genetic material.
The humans who had thought themselves alone in this arm of the Galaxy discover that they have now, in fact, become embroiled in an interstellar war. The side chosen by the humans will also decide the fate of humanity.
I quite liked Crossfire. The characters were a bit much at times but I liked the way Kress presented different types of conflict and the resolution to them (where that was possible). There was plenty of action and psychology in this novel. Preaching was present but not to the point where it got annoying.
I think the reason I like Tavi’s character is because he is a bit crazy. Just crazy enough to see possibilities where the rest of us aren’t able to. Me, I lack that piece of genius that I sometimes meet in other people. Not often, but enough times to know how precious that ability is.
Tavi sees allies in traditional enemies, possibilities in impossibilities and hope where the rest of us give up. (Yes, I do realize he is a fictional character!) Sometimes people like this can be terribly annoying because giving up can be soooo tempting. He does annoy his friends at times. But this trait is also what has brought enemies to help and now another enemy needs to be brought into the battle against the Vord.
In Princep’s Fury Tavi discovered once and for all that the Vord were impossible to talk with/to. Their only aim in life is to convert Alera into Vord (land and creatures). However, the first Vord queen is a bit off for a Vord. She has limited the number of queens and made them sterile to boot. This gives Tavi some hope that Alera might prevail against them in the end.
Invidia Aquitaine is still fighting on the Vord queen’s side while her husband is the leader of the people left behind in Alera. The First Lord is dead and Tavi needs to hurry back to resolve the succession question at the same time as he utilizes any and all means to prevent the further spread of the Vord. But to do that he needs to take down the queen and that is quite a task. Thankfully, his old allies and family are still alive and fighting for the survival of Alera.
Princep’s Fury is the fifth and penultimate book in The Codex Alera series. What can I say about this series now that it is almost over? One thing that is obvious is that Jim Butcher‘s writing is getting better and better. Hard work does pay. I’m hopeful that Jim benefits from this. As a reader, I certainly do. Having read books of all kinds for around 40 years, I have certainly learned to spot and appreciate which authors are serious about their craft.
Tavi has set off with his regiment to assist the Canim with the Vord in their homeland. With his usual tolerance of the Ocean, Tavi vomits his way quite a ways accross the Ocean. Thankfully he has good helpers who assist him whether he wants them to or not. Once they get to the land of the Canim, both Varg and Tavi discover that the situation is a bit more dire than Varg had thought and hoped.
Back in Alera the Alerans are finally realizing that the Vord are real and they are coming to get them. Unfortunately, that usually means that the Vord are about to take over your whole country and population. As we might have guessed by the previous books, the Vord Queen that started the ball rolling this time around is not quite as Vordish as she should have been. This might just be the factor that ends up being a saving factor for the Alerans, Malat and Canim.
Not all Alerans are able to help the First Lord as they are fighting for their lives to save their own people. Which is why Isana is sent north by the First Lord in an attempt to make historic peace between Alerans and Ice-men. Her work might very well be the feather that will tip the scales in the Aleran’s favor.
There is as much action in no. 5 as there has been in the previous four books. Political in-fighting is not quite as extreme as necessity binds people together to an extent.
humanitysdarkerside 