Category: Fantasy
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
(Cover picture courtesy of A Soul Unsung.)
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man has ever looked at her before. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
At first I hated The Girl of Fire and Thorns, but by the end I actually didn’t mind it. The first 2/3s of the book bored me to tears and I wanted to slap Elisa for being such a wimp, but she acquired a spine in the last third of the book and it seems like Rae Carson’s writing improved. Now I’m left with the question: how was the book overall? Meh, I say. It could have been better, but I think the next book, The Crown of Embers is going to be better than the first.
On one hand, Elisa seems different from your typical YA protagonist. In the beginning she truly is obese. Not just “Oh no I gained 5 pounds!” ‘fat’, but honest-to-goodness obese. It’s a big part of her characterization and we see time and time again her unhealthy relationship with food. However, that’s not the main aspect of her character: Elisa is very intelligent and is very well versed in military tactics that benefit her secret husband, King Alejandro. Also: Alejandro is far from a strong male character; he’s quite a coward, actually.
On the other hand, being stuck in her point of view the whole time is annoying. She walks into obvious traps, both literally and figuratively, and goes through a very predictable character arc when she falls in the hands of the rebels. Yes, I understand that her transformation from self-conscious obese teenager to confident, more healthy woman is very believable in her situation. But it feels too cut-and-dry and has very few hitches. In my experience, such a large transformation is rarely easy, but it feels like Elisa just soars through and becomes the fearless rebel leader with few true difficulties.
The plot only really speeds up after she begins leading the rebels, more than halfway through the book. I don’t mind a slow plot if the author makes up for it in world-building and descriptions, but Rae Carson didn’t really. Her world-building seems thorough enough at a glimpse, but we learn very little about the Godstone, its purpose and the politics of all the regional rivalries in the country. The devil is in the details, I guess.
Still, Rae Carson’s writing seemed to improve in the last third of the book and the ending makes the next one seem promising, if nothing else. So yes, I will still be reading The Crown of Embers. But I will not be buying it.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
(Cover picture courtesy of Val’s Random Comments.)
The land of Terre d’Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good…and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
Phèdre nó Delaunay is a woman pricked by Kushiel’s Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Her path has been strange and dangerous, and through it all the devoted swordsman Joscelin has been at her side. Her very nature is a torturous thing for them both, but he is sworn to her and he has never violated his vow: to protect and serve.
But Phèdre’s plans put Joscelin’s pledge to the test, for she has never forgotten her childhood friend Hyacinthe. She has spent ten long years searching for the key to free him from his eternal indenture, a bargain he struck with the gods—to take Phèdre’s place as a sacrifice and save a nation. Phèdre cannot forgive—herself or the gods. She is determined to seize one last hope to redeem her friend, even if it means her death.
The search will bring Phèdre and Joscelin across the world, to distant courts where madness reigns and souls are currency, and down a fabled river to a land forgotten by most of the world.
And to a power so mighty that none dare speak its name.
What a great end to a great trilogy!
In Kushiel’s Avatar we finally see what happened to the east in Jacqueline Carey’s alternate Medieval era. Not only has the kingdom of Akkad not fallen, Egypt has not fallen either because in this version, Cleopatra beat Rome (called the Tiberian empire). But of course there’s a purpose to all this travel and it’s really twofold: Melisande’s son Imriel has gone missing and Phèdre has promised her she will do anything she can to find him.
What both poor Imriel and Phèdre endure at the court of the Mahrkragir is horrendous and it’s not temporary either. Even later in the book, both characters are wrestling with and trying to come to turns with what happened. I won’t go into more detail than that, but I think you can guess what happened to both of them. However, this is an important part of Imriel’s characterization and it adds a new dimension to Phèdre, who is settling down now that she is older (about 32 at the beginning) and taking less and less assignments. The dynamic between Phèdre and Joscelin has changed and it seems they have come to terms with Phèdre being Kushiel’s Chosen. Joscelin is quite a different character in the beginning of Kushiel’s Avatar and his character arc certainly is complete by the end of the book.
The plot involves, of course, a lot of travelling, but that is generally expected in fantasy/alternate history. There were times it was a little slow and things were sort of bogged down in Menekhet, but overall I was quite pleased with the pacing. It was definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, so it’s a good thing Phèdre can hold my attention as a character. I thought the ending wrapped things up a little too nicely, but I think all the characters deserve such an ending after all the suffering they went through. As I said, it’s a great ending to a great trilogy and I look forward to the spin-off trilogy about Imriel.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Book Review: “Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones” by Brandon Sanderson
This is actually the second book in this series by Brandon Sanderson. If any of you are interested, you can find my review of the first book in the series, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians over at 20four12 here.
With that out of the way, we can get to the actual review. Alcatraz and his trusty companions are once again at odds with the dastardly faction of Librarians intent on taking over the world. This time, the group is trying to track down some more information about Alcatraz’s father who has disappeared because he is supposedly the only person who knows the next step to defeating the Librarians.
Alcatraz puts his amazing (and much more important and powerful than originally portrayed) power of breaking things to use quite often in this installment as he explores the ancient Library of Alexandria. This time, his uncle is along for the ride who happens to have the power of getting lost. His cousin is around as well with the power to wake up looking ugly.
If you can’t tell by now, this entire book is written somewhat tongue in cheek by Sanderson, as is, I’m expecting the entire series. At first reading this book is a little bit difficult because the narrator (Alcatraz) is often running off on tangents, discussing what appear to be trivial details, and being rather self-deprecating; all while advancing the story. It takes a little getting used to but it works, trust me. I wouldn’t want to read books like this over and over in a row, but one every so often is a bit of a humorous treat. Unless your heart is made of stone you should find yourself laughing or chuckling fairly regularly at this book. Both the situations that the characters find themselves in and the quirky humor of the author give it a light-hearted, fun air.
The characters of Alcatraz and Bastille grow up a bit in this book from where we left them in the first book. They learn a little bit more about themselves, what they really want to be as they get older, and what their responsibilities mean. It’s not overbearing, but just enough growth that you can start to feel for them as characters a little more.
Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones is technically a middle grade level book, but I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good yarn. It’s outrageous, daring, quirky, and has surprising depth.
Grade: B
Length: 336 pages
Unspoken (Book 1 in The Lynburn Legacy) by Sarah Rees Brennan
Image Courtesy of Goodreads
Synopsis: Kami Glass has been friends with Jared her whole life. The catch is that he’s in her head. What if he turned out to be real? And what if he was a Lynburn?
Kami’s life becomes interesting as the mysterious Lynburns return to the sleepy town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Owners of the dark Manor on the hill, the Lynburns seem to be hiding their own secrets; secrets Kami is determined to find out.
The return of the Lynburns have also marked the occurrence of some deeply disturbing events in the town. Who is disturbing the peace of the woods? What secrets are the residents of Sorry-in-the-Vale, including Kami’s own mother hiding?
As an investigative reporter and editor of the school Newspaper, Kami is not one to back down in the face of danger. Yet what is she going to do now that Jared is real? How will the two of them cope with this new reality ? Can they trust each other? Most of all can their friendship survive in the real world?
The Lioness and Her Knight by Gerald Morris
(Cover picture courtesy of Rainbow Resource Center.)
Riding through the great courtyard ringed with the banners of the Round Table knights, Luneta felt very alone and uncharacteristically shy.
Luneta is tired of living in dull Orkney with her mother and father. She would much prefer the rich pageantry of court. And Luneta prides herself on always getting what she wants, so when the opportunity presents itself to stay at a family friend’s castle near Camelot, she jumps at the chance. her handsome cousin, Sir Ywain—a young knight seeking adventure—arrives just in time to escort her. Along the way they pick up Rhience, a young man living as a fool for a year.
Together, they are about to step into a web of love, betrayal, and more than a bit of magic.
It’s nice to finally have an idea how much time has passed since The Squire’s Tale and it’s also shocking to hear that it’s been twenty years since the first book. Remember Lady Lynet from the second book? Yes, Luneta is Lady Lynet’s child and she’s not even really a child, but in her teen years. How times flies!
The Lioness and Her Knight sounds like a typical girl empowerment book with Luneta kicking plenty of butt and being generally ahead of her time. That’s not exactly true and I’m glad it’s not. Luneta is ahead of her time because of her tendency not to mince words, but she never physically kicks any butt because her talent is getting people to do what she wants. She is a terrible manipulator when she thinks it’s for a good purpose, but throughout the book learns that maybe it’s better to leave people to their own devices. She’s a great main character and despite how my description of her sounds, Luneta is sympathetic.
As for Rhience, where do I start? He’s very witty, but also very subtle about it. Oh no, you actually have to think about his jokes! He has such an interesting backstory that you can’t help but at least feel sympathetic for him, but he’s also a great ‘fool’. Thank goodness he gets so much page time because he was my favourite character in the whole book! Rhience is certainly not just comedy relief, but also a good character in his own right.
Gerald Morris, unlike many authors, seems to have never encountered a writing slump in his series and he hasn’t struck out yet. I’ve loved every book in the series for its own unique qualities, something that is incredibly rare. The Lioness and Her Knight presents a very cynical view of people like The Ballad of Sir Dinadan does, but it’s also full of love and hope. You can’t really ask for more in an Arthurian legend, can you?
I give this book 5/5 stars.