Tag Archives: #Magic

Fantasy, Reading together, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Sagara, Michelle: Cast in Courtlight (Chronicles of Elantra II) (2006)

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Illustrated by Mathia Arkoniel
Illustrated by Mathia Arkoniel

My son and I just finished reading Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara.

Sometimes reading out loud is made difficult by the author. Certain bits  of Cast in Courtlight brought a “crying pain” to my chest and throat. Thankfully, I had reread Cast in Courtlight to myself ahead of getting to that part with my son, so I made it through. He did not.

Growing up hurts. Much of that pain comes from needing to change your point of view. Letting go of what you thought was truth takes courage. Courage to change often takes time and insight. Some of our memories are of the kind we would like to forget. If we were given the choice,  would we actually choose to forget? I used to think I would have dumped some of my memories if asked. Kaylin and Severn are apparently offered that option at one point of the story. What they see, experience and choose there, changes both of them.

Kaylin and Severn are two characters that have snuck into my heart. Their friendship has survived pain of the kind that few friendships can survive. At first it was the pain childhood in the fiefs brings. Later that changed into something darker. At this point of their lives their pain, once again, becomes shared and therefore somehow more bearable.

Living in the High Halls of the Barrani is not something I would like to do. Except in their bath/swim room. I wouldn’t mind living in that. Kaylin seemed to enjoy that part of the Halls as well. Other parts of the High Halls she found rather nerve-wracking. Some of the Barrani also got on her nerves. Lord Evarrim was one of them. She and Evarrim met in Cast in Shadow and their meeting was memorable. Kaylin managed to shock him then and she shocks Lord Evarrim now. Good for Kaylin.

I like Kaylin’s resilience. Severn’s is of a kind that I respect as well. But it is Kaylin’s head we get inside of. Well, actually it is Sagara’s imagination we get inside of, and I am having great fun with that imagination. Being able to share her fantasies with my son is an awesome gift Sagara has given me.

Reviews:

Cast in Courtlight available on Amazon •  Chapters • Borders •  Indiebound – Books A Million •  B & N •  Powell’s • Book Depository • Vroman’s

My reviews of:

Fantasy, Young Adult

Nix, Garth: Sabriel (Old Kingdom Chronicles I) (1995)

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Sabriel is one of many children born to power. Her type of power is the kind that can lay the dead to rest or raise their spirits from it. Necromancy is a craft fraught with danger for its wielder.

The temptation to abuse what powers we have been given seems to come the way of many powerful. Some people seem to have a natural immunity to such lures. Sabriel is one of those. Perhaps that has something to do with her heritage as one of the Abhorsens’. This family sees it as their duty to maintain the balance between life and death by laying to rest the restless dead.

Yet, when the mantle of the Abhorsen falls upon Sabriel, she is only 18. I’m trying to remember what life was like at 18. Much like now in some ways. People did stuff that made them happy or things that they regretted. Whatever their motivation, some of the other 18-year-olds were clearly harder working and more responsible than I, while others were the opposite. Sabriel falls somewhere in the middle (where most of us fall).

Circumstances drive her across the wall into the Old Kingdom. Life throws her on the run from zombies (not Nix’ word) and it also forces her to choose between impossible choices. Magic helps her on the way, but without the preparations by the long dead and the assistance of Mogget and Touchstone and her mother Sabriel would be long dead.

I believe this is the MOST important lesson life teaches us. We cannot get to our appointment with death without others to help us stay alive on the way. Obviously, we are free to choose to go our route alone. All that does is hasten that last breath. For some people that is a choice they need to make. But Sabriel at 18 looks forward to what she hopes is a long and happy life, although events Garth Nix throws her way seem to do their best to shorten that life.

There is plenty of action. Some of that action kills off people on both sides. Near death experiences seem the norm rather than the exception for Sabriel. Touchstone and Sabriel fall for each other. I think I have to agree with the other reviews I have read. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

Sabriel available on Amazon US

Recognition:

Children, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Eoin, Colfer: Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex (VII) (2011)

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Artemis Fowl – Der Atlantis-Komplex
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Part of the fun of preparing for a review of one of the Artemis Fowl stories is immersing myself in the fan art. Some of my favorites are in the above collage. The other part is reading other people’s reviews.

“Foaly,” he called after the centaur. “I really think we should search for my secret birthmark. Dragons love that sort of thing.”

Of all the quotes I could have chosen from The Atlantis Complex, this is the one that stuck with me.

Orion is Artemis Fowl’s alter-ego/alter-personality/dissociated identity. I loved him. Granted, Orion was annoying and caught up in some sort of medieval psychosis. Yet he showed us to what degree Artemis confrontations with his own past and dabbling in magic had affected him. Let’s face it. Some of the events Eoin Colfer has put his young charge through have been on the dark side of extreme. In spite of that, Artemis knows that in order for his environmental scheme to go through he has to fight the disorders that are popping up (Atlantis Complex).

My grandmother suffered from schizophrenic paranoia. Eoin Colfer stays true to what that must have been like for her (going by my dad’s descriptions of his childhood). Not trusting the most trusted person in his life is just part of the parcel. When he sent Butler off on what was supposed to be a fake mission, Artemis had no idea that Butler and Juliet (Butler’s much younger sister) would end up having to fight for their lives. And what a fight. The two of them make a great team.

Butler has long suspected that something is off with Artemis. Being sent away in this manner only makes him more determined to be there for Artemis. That is what I like about Butler. I would liken his loyalty to that of a faithful guard dog. What once began as a paid assignment has turned into a strange friendship between two unusual people. Being able to bring Juliet along with him only adds spice to his experience.

Mulch Diggums is Mulch Diggums. He is now on the “right” side of the law if you want to be an upstanding citizen. Mulch isn’t certain he wants that. During The Atlantis Complex that choice will be taken away from him. Poor Mulch. Being friends with Artemis can be quite a challenge.

Turnball Root is the kind of villain I would not like to meet. He has landed on the far side of sanity and psychopathic is a mild term for where he is at. His mission is to get to the “love of his life” and somehow save her.

Like any great author, Eoin Colfer gets me to like all of his characters. I love his humor, his action scenes and the strange people that inhabit the world of Artemis Fowl. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

The Atlantis Complex available at Amazon US

 

Fantasy

Harkness, Deborah: Book of Life (All Souls III) (2014)

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I cannot help but love a novel written as intelligently as The Book of Life. Not only does Deborah Harkness demand that I use what little wits are left to me, but she also keeps herself in the river of words through the entire story. In addition, my autism bug sends itself off on missions of discovery and I have had a blast looking into genetics, history and Yale University Campus and surrounding areas.

These are NOT stand-alone books. If you want to immerse yourself in the world of Deborah Harkness, you will have to start at the beginning: A Discovery of Witches. You can read an excerpt of that story here.

At some point in our lives most of us will make at least one astoundingly stupid choice. Matthew Clairmont’s choice involved revenge and abandonment. Sometimes our idiotic choices come back to haunt us well into the future. In Matthew’s case it would be safe to say that the devastating consequences of his choice could be felt for centuries. He is being bitten about as hard in his ass as a person could be. Time also has a way of sorting things out and vampires have plenty of time (if they manage to stay alive).

The Congregation is all about racial purity. Matthew, Miriam, Chris and his assistants’ research will help to shove the Congregation’s ideas of racial purity right where they belong. I hate the idea of racial purity (shudder). Every time I hear the words I become anxious, and I am one of the majority. I cannot imagine what those who supremacists consider “less than” must feel. Thankfully, both the Claremont DNA research and modern DNA research shows us how much such ideas are worth. It would now be appropriate for me to show my middle finger to those who entertain such ideas, but alas …

Friendship is such a strange phenomenon. I have people I love dearly and hardly ever meet or speak with. But they continue to hold a strong place in my feelings. When we meet, our friendship usually seems to have survived. People I meet often do not necessarily resonate with me. There seems no rhyme or reason to how these relationships come about. Several of the characters in The Book of Life experience the same thing. For some of them friendship comes in the most unlikely places. In other cases people who seemed like stinkers turn out to be strong friends. Then we have those who discover that their love has survived all the challenges thrown their way.

Political scheming, assassinations, power-struggles and betrayal are definitely a part of this last book in the All Souls trilogy. You will find plenty of near-death and death experiences in it, none of them of the peaceful kind.

I must not forget that a large chunk of the All Souls trilogy is about the love story between Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont. The two of them fight for their lives and their right to be together across the lines of their genetic variations. Some of their story is together and some of it is apart from each other.

Highly recommended.

Reviews:

The Book of Life on Amazon • B&N • Books-a-Million • iBooks
IndieBound • Kindle • Nook – Barnes & Noble online

My review of:

Sources:

Fantasy

Winchester, C.S.: Past Life (Past III) (2012)

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I like Dante. He is the kind of guy that would make me laugh. I wouldn’t want to mess with him, but I think I would like to hang with him (no, not the deadly kind of hanging!). He was appointed Frankie’s guardian during Josh’s negotiations with the Council in Half Past. I really hated that ending, because Josh was seriously cool. But that is the power of The Author: to mess with their readers’ emotions.

I wonder how much of a mess I am making of the lives of my sons. Parents seem to be good at handing work to therapists. Frankie’s mother is a good example of messy parenting. She has never accepted Frankie and all of her sides, while Frankie has worked harder and harder at getting that acceptance. In the end something had to break, and break it does. Sometimes fractured relationships end up being exactly what was needed to finally move forward and together towards the same goal. And sometimes not. Reading the story will let you know which is the case in Past Life.

Will is giving me a hard time. Do I like him or not? Hmmmm? Yes and no. Figuring out where Winchester is going with him is difficult. We’ll just have to see if another story is forthcoming.

Past Life is a mystery, and the crimes committed turn out to be against one of the people Frankie knows well. She is extra motivated to solve the bizarre killings and is learning to accept help to find her answers.

Answers is something Winchester has left us with in each of the stories in the Past series. Choices and their unintended consequences were an important issue of Past Life, and CS hands us her gift in a fun wrapping.

Past Life available on Amazon US

My review of:

  1. Past Due
  2. Half Past
Fantasy

McGuire, Seanan: The Winter Long (October Daye VIII) (2014)

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Cover artist: Christian McGrath

Cover artist: Christian McGrath

A geis can be compared with a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a geis violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death. On the other hand, the observing of one’s geasa is believed to bring power. (Wikipedia)

Imagine a person strong enough to place a geas on the Luidaeg, one of the Firstborn. Daughter of Maeve and Oberon. Doesn’t seem possible does it? Except there is a person who is just as connected to Oberon as the Luidaeg is, although Titiana is this person’s mother. And we know who this person is. We have, in fact, been given clues as to this person’s identity several books ago. Not that I got it, of course. Ms. McGuire had to give it to me in tiny helpings. Shows how good a detective I am.

Family is a strange matter. All of us are born to one family, one we do not choose. Some of those families are extremely dysfunctional. Toby’s mother is a great example of that. Amandine is a nutter. Perhaps being immortal does that to you even if you are genetically engineered for it. After all, what is there to see and strive for once you have lived for hundreds, maybe thousands of years? How would you deal with the death of mortals and their envy? Humans would envy immortals. Just look at the research that is being done to extend our lives and find the key to eternal life.

Toby is just starting her way down the path of an extremely long life – if she isn’t killed during one of her heroic deeds. It’s a good thing her human part has receded as much as it has. Without being faery to the degree that she has become, Toby would surely have died during The Winter Long. She comes close enough as it is.

I’m wondering what Toby’s chosen family will end up being like. The beginnings of it are there. We have the changelings, May and Jade, Tybalt, Raf, Quentin and the Luidaeg. Beyond that, well? Perhaps in some instances Toby has misinterpreted her relationships or maybe refused to see the world as it really is rather than as she wishes it to be. We all do that. Lie to ourselves. Except the Luidaeg. She can’t lie. But the rest of us? Some truths about ourselves and our surroundings aren’t fun to acknowledge, so we change them to fit our desires. So too with Toby.

I have to say that Seanan McGuire is an excellent writer. She keeps her text tight and tense while interspersing it with bits of humour and goo. I love goo. Ever since I met her through her Mira Grant persona, I have loved her writing. Definitely recommended.

Reviews:

The Winter Long on Amazon US

My review of:

Adventure, Fantasy, Young Adult

Halstead, Jason: Dark Earth (Dark Earth I) (2011)

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Cover art by Willsin Rowe

 

In my opinion Dark Earth seems aimed at a younger Young Adult audience.

Jason Halstead starts off the story in modern US and then takes us to a parallel world set to a pre-industrial age. He describes this Dark Earth as meaner and greedier than our own. Perhaps that is due to the younger audience he is writing for and possibly a need to create a good and a bad world. I certainly know of plenty of people who are as mean and greedy on our side of the gates. Places that are more or less pre-industrial are in existence although these are becoming fewer by the decade.

Our heroes are Eric, who lost his wife 13 years ago, and his 13-year-old daughter Jessica. Eric is still caught in the grief of his wife being killed while in her 8th month of pregnancy. When a guy turns up at his house attempting to murder his daughter, Eric is understandably frustrated, angry, afraid and reminded of his previous loss. Then Eric and Jessica discover that they are part of a 2000-year-old legacy that reaches across to parallel world. Now the two will also have to deal with Jessica being kidnapped and Eric being bitten by a strange wolf.

I read Dark Earth a long time ago but had forgotten to write a review for it. That meant I had to read it again. Jason Halstead certainly writes well enough for me to also enjoy the second reading. Although Jessica was the person of interest to the various parties, Eric was the character that I saw the most of. He was the one that showed growth and development.

There was plenty of action and some violence. Only one short bit might be considered by some parents as too much for the youngest children. Other than that, Dark Earth must be one of the safer stories out there for a Young adult audience. There was no swearing, very little violence, some sadness and no romance (except in the memory of Eric and his late wife).

Reviews:

Dark Earth on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Smashwords

Fantasy, Horror

McDermott, J.M.: When we were executioners (2012)

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I want to understand why writing a review of When We Were Executioners is so difficult.  Part of it has to do with how invested in the lives of Jona and Rachel I have become. Not only they, but also the two Walkers of Erin seem to have a profound effect on me. There is this area from my solar plexus to the tip of my chin that becomes warm and weepy just thinking about the quartet. Sometimes art does this to me. Whether I am dealing with happy art or sad art does not seem to make a difference.

When We Were Executioners falls within the last category. From the beginning of the serial Dogsland we know that Lord Joni doesn’t survive. We soon come to expect the same with Rachel, and in When We Were Executioners it seems impossible that her brother Djoss will make it either.

People die all the time. They die all the time in the city/town Dogsland – a city of crime if there ever was one. Drugs are its mainstay. Drugs come into the city and are sold and traded on to the citizens of Dogsland and other places. JM McDermott shows us the darker side of drugs, both from the point of view of the users, the dealers and lords – sometimes one and the same person. It is a path that many tread both in fantasy and in the real world. Addiction.

But then I suppose we all suffer from one sort of addiction or another. Some of us will do anything for affection while others will stop at nothing to get another shot of their drug of choice. It is all the same, and oh, so very sad. Maybe evolution needs us to be this way to keep the human race going.

Lord Joni and Rachel Nolander are both half-demons and a hunted minority. Perhaps with good reason, for anything their bodily fluids touch (except for each other) ends up disintegrating and sizzling away. Somehow that does not make sense for their fathers had to have sex with their mothers and there is certainly an exchange of bodily fluids at that time. But perhaps what goes for half-demons is not the case with full demons. Even in death Jona and Rachel are deadly. Keeping their remains (especially their skulls) for magical purposes will end up destroying the magician. But in the end that is the way we all go. Death is just another part of life that we try to avoid and forget.

Could this be another reason the Dogsland trilogy thus far has affected me so strongly? JM McDermott makes no attempt to hide death from us. Nor does he attempt to make it more or less than what it is. Thus far the deaths we have seen in this trilogy have been difficult and painful ones. I wonder what my own death will be like?

Definitely recommended.

Review: 

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When We Were Executioners on Amazon USA

My review of: Never Knew Another

Fantasy, Young Adult

Stewart, Michael F.: 24 Bones (2009)

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24 Bones - Michael F Stewart
Cover art by Martin Stiff; Hieroglyphs by Manfred Klein

This cover is stunning. Those green eyes and the light together. Wow.

I laugh a little when I see someone has picked up both Assured Destruction and 24 Bones because they are so different. And perhaps my apprenticeship is over and it’s time to choose a genre.

Nah! Take your time. Why ruin a good thing?

I arrived early at the Great Pyramid, and for a special few minutes I was the only one inside. Within the King’s Chamber I noticed that every sound reverberated strongly…soo powerfully. I had researched the resonance of the chamber but being there was entirely different. So, checking over my shoulder, looking down into the grand gallery to ensure I was alone, I then clambered inside the rose granite sarcophagus, and began to hum.

I really enjoyed 24 Bones. Not at first. Not when I was wondering if this was going to be a conversion attempt by Michael F. Stewart. Thankfully, Stewart wasn’t that kind of annoying author. What I had thought preaching was instead an in depth comparison between the Christian (Coptic) godhead and the Egyptian Osiris/Isis/Horus legends. I knew some of this stuff but hadn’t realized how many beliefs the two systems had in common.

24 Bones is kind of about good and bad, except not really. The person who apparently serves evil doesn’t really. The character who seems to serve good does but also faces his demons. Then we have the third person. I’m not really certain how to describe him. Maybe as some one who looks for the easy way out? In other words, regular people.

David, Sam and Faris are tools of a prophecy that comes to fruition every 500 years. All of them access something called Void or Fullness (a kind of magic). Fullness (order) is waning and Void (chaos) is on the rise. The ideal is a balance between the two.

Balance is something the world lacks. There is always some species threatening eco-systems around the world. We humans just happen to do so all over the place. Power is possibly one of the greatest motivators for making the world chaotic. Pharaoh has power as his main goal in 24 Bones, and with it he is going to do what all power-hungry maniacs have tried to do throughout history: topple existing power-systems and take over the world. History and today show just how power-hungry countries/leaders/people can be and what they are willing to do to achieve ultimate power.

There was plenty of action, strange people and strange animals. Egypt is an interesting country. I have only been there on a two-week holiday and there was never a sarcophagus around that I could climb into. I am thankful that there are people like Michael F. Stewart who will do that kind of thing so my reading experience can be more authentic.

Reviews:

24 Bones on: Smashwords

… all author proceeds to go to charity, more particularly to the people of Zimbabwe (MobilReads)

Fantasy, Reading together, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Sagara, Michelle: Cast in Shadow (Chronicles of Elantra I) (2005)

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Illustrated by Mathia Arkoniel
http://www.deviantart.com/art/ELANTRA-Lord-Nightshade-348308131
Illustrated by Mathia Arkoniel
Kaylin by athenapallas87
Illustrated by Mathia Arkoniel

 

My son and I just finished reading Michelle Sagara‘s Cast in Shadow. Reading Michelle Sagara’s writing out loud is a completely different experience to the one we have had reading together lately. She has a lot more dialogue and Cast in Shadow reads more like a play than a novel. Realizing this has made me even more aware of the importance of reading my own posts before I put them on my blog.

… she added softly, remembering. The way they had huddled together in a room that was warm because it was small and it held so many of them. The way Jade had come to her side, had put a skeletal arm around her, …

Poverty stinks. There is the physical stink that comes from not being able to afford all of the things a lot of people (myself included) take for granted. Even stinkier is the unfairness of it all.

When Kaylin at the age of 13 moves out of the fiefs and becomes a hawk, one of the first things she notices is how different the two sides of the river are. Yes, there is poverty. Yes, there is crime (hence the Hawks, Swords and Wolves). Yes, there is inequality. But in the fiefs life was worse to such a degree that we might compare the fiefs with the slums anywhere in the world. The other side of the Ablyn would be more like Norway.

Moving from the fiefs (in her case Nightshade’s) to the Emperor’s side of the Ablyn is no simple matter. In Kaylin’s case she was helped/hindered by the magical marks that appeared on her arms at a younger age. The decision was to either kill her or to let her be under control of the Hawks. The Hawklord felt she deserved a chance to prove herself, now that the danger seemed to be over. Kaylin’s marks represent a danger to both Elantra and the fiefs if the process that was once begun is completed. (Hah, hah not going to tell you more about that).

Because I am practically 50 and perhaps because I happen to be autistical I understand the choice Severn made seven years ago. Kaylin’s rage/sorrow/hatred against him is also something I understand. Now that she is 20 rather than 13 she slowly begins to see Severn’s role in another light.

I also get why Kaylin was so pampered by the Hawks. She was 13 when she was allowed life and given the position of maskot and private. With the immortal Barrani she will always be a child age-wise although her knowledge and understanding has increased. Marcus, the Leontine, loves her dearly because of what she did for one of his wives. The same goes for the Aerians. You see, Kaylin has decided that she needs to use her magic for certain things.

Even though reading out loud was more difficult this time, Kaylin, Severn and Nightshade all captured my heart. My son must have felt the same way for he has stated that he wants to hear book number two of the series: Caught in Courtlight.

Reviews:

Cast in Shadow on Amazon •  Chapters • Borders •  Indiebound
Books A Million •  B & N •  Powell’s • Book Depository • Vroman’s

Ebook on Amazon • B&N  • Kobo • iTunes US/CA/UK / AU • Sony • OmniLit • Google • Diesel

Audiobook on Audible US • iTunes US / CA

Fantasy, Short story/novella, Young Adult

May, K.C.: Sole Sacrifice (The Kinshield Legacy – prequel) (2010)

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Sole Sacrifice - KC MayAuthor’s note:

This is the tragic story of how one character in my novel The Kinshield Legacy became who he is.

We all know it. As he dreaded, Sithral Tyr certainly comes to understand that his choices have consequences. What he gained the greatest insight into during Sole Sacrifice was exactly how far he was willing to go and what he was willing to risk when the life of his child was on the line.

I have wondered this myself a great many times. What would I risk if the lives of my children were in danger? At what point does the price become too high? What if I don’t know ahead of time?

I really enjoyed this novella about choices and their consequences.

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Reviews:

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Sole Sacrifice on Amazon UK

Fantasy, Mystery, Young Adult

McLeod, Suzanne: The Bitter Seed of Magic (Spellcrackers III) (2011)

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Morrigan: https://journeyingtothegoddess.files.wordpress.com
http://worldoffroud.smugmug.com/Books
http://gatherer.wizards.com
Danu: http://www.thesilverbranch.org/goddess/power/danu.html
“Bean Sidhe” by Alessandro Cristiano at elfwood.com

Detective Inspector Helen Crane of the Metropolitan Police’s Magic and Murder Squad embodies the law of unintended consequences to me. As we saw in The Sweet Scent of Blood and The Cold Kiss of Death DI Crane is out to get Genvieve Taylor. Helen is a Witch. Genvieve a Sidhe. Crane’s hatred is not due to their two races, or rather not directly. In her youth Helen Crane went through a traumatic experience that has caused her hatred for both the Sidhe fae and for Vampires. Poor Genny hasn’t a clue why DI Crane is out to destroy her, but Genvieve Taylor is the one who has to live with the consequences of that long-ago experience.

Spellcrackers.com is both serial and series. If you want to understand the overarching story of the whys and whereofs of the search for a solution to the fae sterility problem you will need to read the preceding novels. But if all you want is a fun mystery then you can read The Bitter Seed of Magic on its own. That also goes for The Sweet Scent of Blood and for The Cold Kiss of Death.

Our mystery in The Bitter Seed of Magic has to do with the strange circumstances around the deaths of fae women. They turn up glamoured to look like human girls. At the very least all magic should have been washed away by the River Thames from which they were pulled. But this is not the case. Obviously magic is involved and because of its nature Genvieve becomes involved. At first only to remove the spells on their bodies. Then it becomes personal – due to the matter of the feud DI Crane has instigated.

Genny’s own past comes to haunt her. She meets long-lost relatives. Her nickname for one of them is Mad Max (no irony intended) and that should tell you what you need to know about him. Others of her relatives also make an appearance in Genvieve’s life, but I will leave you to find out just who they are on your own. Lets just say that Mad Max is not the only crazy family Genny has. Perhaps crazy is the wrong word for their personalities. Amoral might be a better one or maybe just ethically different seeing as none of them are human.

One thing our experiences with Genvieve Taylor shows is that curses are a whole lot simpler to cast than to undo. In fact that goes for all of our experiences in life. In general it seems to be easier to prevent than to fix. Poor Genny. Left having to fix the idiocy and thoughtlessness of others. She is not on her own though and that could help. Having friends does seem to make my troubles easier to bear. New friends turn up in Genny’s life making her troubles a little less complicated as well. She will need those friends considering just who is pushing Genvieve around. Phew. I am so glad I am not her. Boring is good is my motto when it comes to my own life.

But excitement in the form of stories and excellent authors is another matter. Suzanne McLeod not only makes Genvieve Nataliya Zakharinova Taylor  come alive for me but also very much makes me care what happens to her and her life and her friends.

Reviews:

The Bitter Seed of Magic on:  Amazon.co.uk,  Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Books.A.Million, Chapters.ca, IndieBound, Penguin.com, Powell’s, The Book Depository

Read Chapter 1

My review of:

  1. The Sweet Scent of Blood
  2. The Cold Kiss of Death

Fae dictionary

Fantasy, Reading together, Young Adult

Britain, Kristen: Mirror Sight (Green Rider V) (2014)

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Mirror Sight by April Schumacher, 2013; on pallanoph.deviantart.com
Sketch idea for “Mirror Sight” by Donato Giancolo, 2014
Sketch idea for “Mirror Sight” by Donato Giancolo, 2014
Mirror Sight by Donato Giancolo, 2014; Final result
Final AS cover for “Mirror Sight”
Final cover for “Mirror Sight”; Jacket art by Donato Giancolo, jacket design by G-Force Design
Sketch idea for “Mirror Sight” by Donato Giancolo, 2014

My son and I managed to finish Mirror Sight just in time. We are entering a new phase in our lives with him going off to college. Hopefully this will not be our last story to be read together. Hopefully this isn’t the last book of the Green Rider series either. It did have a sense of closure to it. Except maybe not.

Once again we have enjoyed ourselves immensely. Kristen Britain‘s writing lends itself to being read aloud, something I wish all writers could learn from. She did throw in a couple of tongue-twisters this time but I consider that a chance to laugh together and good practice in getting my mouth around new sounds. Anyways, excellent writing from the oral point of view.

On to content. Let’s take my son first. He loved this story about Karigan and her journey into the future. When Blackveil ended with Karigan trapped in the sarcophagus, my son wanted to write Kristen an extremely irate letter stating how cruel he thought she was toward him as a reader. Not so this time. He seemed to enjoy himself very much. There were a couple of spots that both he and I found funny. One was when the professor caught Cade and Karigan fighting. We also very much enjoyed the interactions between Miriam and Karigan and the meeting of the Riders underneath the glass ceiling. Another funny incident was the table Cade, Karigan and Silk were sitting at during Silk’s evening of entertainment. Neither of us enjoyed the way Stirling treated Cade nor the way he and others had treated Yolandhe. But we found Silk’s animal encounter in the museum satisfying and also Yolandhe’s way of getting back at both Silk Sr. and Stirling. Very satisfying. He was impressed with Ms. Britain’s background information at the end of the book about her time as a guide. We are both people who like details like that. When we were finished my son wanted me to find out if there was to be another book in the series.

In the past I used to ask myself a lot of “What if?” questions. Perhaps all of us do. Kristen Britain must have done so herself at times, as Mirror Sight is very much about what could be given certain choices or events. While we never discover what could have happened in real life, Karigan has the chance to see what might be if certain events take place. The future she lands in isn’t a pleasant one but in many ways it reminds me of the one many of us live in.

Sometimes I wonder if we humans see how destructive we are with our inventive abilities. While all species on this planet consume and procreate without a thought for balance, we seem to have taken things up several levels from the other races inhabiting earth. In that sense Karigan’s future is very similar to our own present.

Women’s place in society had been extremely curtailed in the time Karigan landed. Karigan’s real time seems somewhat like my own space in time and the opportunities women have here in Norway. The future she lands in is much more like the lives that women of Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Oman, Quatar and so on are living. In Mirror Sight their only role is to bear children (sons) and be property. Servants are somewhat freer (but way poorer) and slaves, well they are slaves and treated as such. I believe my reaction to suddenly having to live a life like that would be much like Karigan’s to having to adjust to her experience. But in addition to having to adjust to being a woman in such a place, Karigan has to figure out a way to get back to her own time. Britain hasn’t made life any simpler for Karigan by doing this to her main character.

Oppression is very much a part of the life Karigan lands in. Eastern Germany, the Soviet Union, Russia today, Egypt and increasingly the US are only some countries that come to mind when the propaganda of the government and the curtailing of people’s rights of Karigan’s future are shown.

As entertainment Mirror Sight is a wonder. From her first story about Karigan G’ladheon, I have been enchanted with Kristen Britain’s writing and was happy when my son shared my enjoyment. These are fun, interesting, informative stories that help me question my own version of truth.

Reviews:

Mirror Sight available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Penguin

Available in audio at: audible, iTunes

My reviews of:

  1. Green Rider
  2. First Rider’s Call
  3. The High King’s Tomb
  4. Blackveil
Fantasy, Young Adult

Stewart, Sean: Nobody’s Son (1993)

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Nobody's Son - Sean Stewart

In looking for a beginning to the story of Shielder’s Mark, one point could be the abandonment by Mark’s father when Mark was four years old. We never discover his father’s story but Mark carries the wounds from that abandonment until almost the very end of the story. Part of his coming of age / growing up entails coming to terms with the scarring from that long-ago day and the years after.

Another beginning could be with the other father/son story of the novel, one the lies one thousand years into the past of Mark’s present. This father/son tale is much, much darker than the one of Mark and his father. With its revelation to Mark and the reader comes an understanding of the magic of the land and how Old men and ghosts play a part in it.

Nobody’s Son is a painful and riveting tale. When I look around I see so many people who have sought approval of the previous generation yet never received it. Having two sons myself I worry that they will feel that they do not measure up to whatever they might perceive our expectations of them to be. Both parents and children go through growing up processes that entail letting go of things, people and pasts. Growing up hurts. At least that is my experience and it is one that never ends.

Gail is the prize Mark has chosen as his reward and what a reward. Both soon learn that the other is a person in their own right and not just some imagined object that will fill an empty spot in their own lives. The development of their relationship shows clearly the sacrifices women of the nobility had to make compared with the sacrifices of the men. Watching Gail come to realise the necessity of her sacrifice and her willingness to make that sacrifice hurt. We demand too much of our daughters and not enough of our sons.

Even after my third or fourth reading of Nobody’s Son, I am still left with a with sense of having read something wonderful.

Happily you can borrow this at the link below as an ebook.

Reviews:

Nobody’s Son on Open Library

1993 Aurora Award, Best Canadian Science Fiction or Fantasy novel published in English

1993 Canadian Library Association Award, Best Young Adult Novel of the Year

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Page, Jessica: The Agency (Agency Hunger I) (2014)

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The Agency - Jessica Page

The Agency by Jessica Page is a paranormal romance with a mystery twist. The Agency is Ms. Page’s first published novel and is part of a series called Agency Hunger. Ms. Page provided me with a copy of her novel in return for a review.

We all know that I am a terrible romance reviewer but I will comment of the stuff that I understand about the concept.

Our male main character’s name is Reid. He falls into the cognitive trap of telling himself to “not think about thinking about a subject”. You know what happens then. The more you fight it, the more you think about it. Sure enough. The more Reid thought about not thinking about liking Harper the more she stuck out in his mind. Silly old vampire. Should know better by now. Especially since he discovers early one that Harper is able to read minds. I thought this was hilarious which is what romance is to me.

The other romance bit that I am able to understand is the sex part. For those of you who do not know yet, I am Norwegian. When Ms. Page told me that her novel had adult content I admit that made me curious as to whether this Viking would think so as well. Personally I think older young adults could read Ms. Page’s novel so they could learn about consensual sex. Because that was what it was. Nice, consensual sex that made me a bit horny. Well done Ms. Page – both on making me horny with your writing and for writing about kind sex. Nor was the violence especially violent.

Both Reid and Harper are extremely sexy and good-looking and that seems to be some sort of rule with romances.

We first meet Harper as she is on her way to and arrives on the subway platform. She has her first encounter with the supernatural world when a person sneaks up behind her wanting to “taste her”. Harper knows this because of what she thinks is a one-of-a-kind ability. To say that she is freaked out is putting it mildly. She turns around, sees sharp incisors and red eyes and thinks what any regular person would

“a fucking vampire standing right in front of me ready to kill me? That is not possible.”

Immediately she has her second encounter when the first vampire is pulled off her by another one – Reid.

Harper is dragged into the supernatural world disbelieving herself and who/what she meets yet finally feeling as though she fits in. Her mind-reading ability caused her adoptive parents to turn her over to a private research facility for testing and Harper had lived 8 years of her life in a laboratory being examined in all sorts of ways. Growing up is difficult enough to do under normal circumstances. Adding non-optional electric shocks and other invasive procedures has made her wary of other people’s reactions to her abilities. Discovering that she is a normal supernatural with an irregular ability must have been relaxing. Finally there is a place in this world where she belongs.

The supernatural members of Harper’s new world are werewolves, vampires and mages (Harper is a mage). You are either born or made a vampire or werewolf. Mages have to be born but do not begin manifesting their abilities until they are ten years old. Werewolves have controlled, painless transitions and they remain in charge of themselves after the change. Vampires are alive but depend on blood to feed the virus that gives them extra abilities. Both werewolves and vampires need to be coached while they are newbies so they do not allow their predatory sides to take over.

Reid is old enough that he has seen the consequences of letting his predatory side rule. His choice was to join up with the group of supernaturals that wanted to keep the community and themselves under control. He belongs to the Agency as one of their best trainers and agents. His responsibility will be to train Harper. Their job will be to help figure out why all the illegal turnings and the deaths that follow the unsuccessful ones are happening.

I liked Jessica Page’s first attempt at a novel. Sure, there is something that needs work. That is a tightening of the story. Sometimes her story falls out of the flow and she has to find her way back into the stream again. But she manages to make her text flow and that is a feat in and of itself. Her English is Canadian English.

The Agency on Smashwords