Category: Fantasy
The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter
(Cover picture courtesy of Reading Angel.)
It’s always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won’t live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he’s crazy—until she seems him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride, and a goddess.
If she fails…
I love the Greek myths, so I thought I would love The Goddess Test. It had an interesting premise, with the promise of a good light read. But I have to say my overall impression of the book can be summed up in one word: meh.
Kate is an interesting protagonist and a decent enough character, but I had a hard time getting inside her head. Aimée Carter truly needed to add more emotion to her writing to pull off a romance like this one, but she didn’t. The chemistry between Henry and Kate was thoroughly unsatisfying because there was little to none of it. Henry remained too distant and enamored with his lost love, Persephone, and it still seemed like Kate was only there out of a sense of duty, even toward the end when she supposedly ‘loved’ him. For me, the characters and the romance they had just didn’t ring true.
The whole premise of the book had a lot of promise, but it too fell flat. I was expecting actual test, rather than just completely secret ones that weren’t really obvious until the end. This is a spoiler, but Kate actually failed one of the tests, but still got to be a goddess because of a loophole. It is probably my own fault for expecting The Goddess Test to be more like Ever by Gail Carson Levine, but I feel like I was let down when I read this.
If you love fast-paced plots and romance, you will love The Goddess Test as long as you don’t pay much attention to the characters.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The Fire Within by Chris d’Lacey
(Cover picture courtesy of National Geographic Kids.)
When David moves in with Elizabeth Pennykettle and her eleven-year-old daughter, Lucy, he discovers a collection of clay dragons that come to life. David’s own special dragon inspires him to write a story, which reveals the secrets behind a mystery. In order to solve the mystery and save his dragon, David must master the magic of the fire within—not only with his hands but also with his heart.
The Fire Within is definitely a book for ages 8-12, but I still love reading it. The whole premise behind Chris d’Lacey’s book is unique, highly creative and very intriguing. I won’t give anything away, but the clay dragons of the eccentric Pennykettles aren’t all that they seem. David will discover the truth, but will the college student believe it?
Since this is written for a much younger audience, David, the main character, is less mature than most college students. The characters are not developed as well as they could have been, but they do get better as the novel progresses. It is more of a character-driven novel than a plot-driven novel and as such, it is not what I would call a fast-paced novel. Still, it moves along at a decent pace that will keep its young readers riveted.
The writing style is simplistic, which makes it a great book to transition from shorter “chapter books” for children into more complex novels for tweens. While the story is written from a male perspective, female readers will not be turned away because they can identify with the young Lucy Pennykettle. I have only one warning about this novel (one that my mother insists I should have told her when I made her read it): the ending is a bit sad for a children’s novel. I was eleven or twelve when I first read this and I must admit that I shed a few tears, despite my best efforts at self-control.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Fires of Merlin by T. A. Barron
(Cover picture courtesy of Free Book Notes.)
The dragon called Wings of Fire has awakened from his enchanted slumber—a spell cast by Merlin’s grandfather—and only the descendant of the wizard who first defeated the dragon possesses the power to stop him. Before Merlin can go to battle, he must confront the sorceress who has stolen his magical talisman—a talisman needed to stop Wings of Fire.
But according to the prophecy, the one who destroys the dragon also dies…
The stakes are higher than ever before in The Fires of Merlin, the third book in The Lost Years of Merlin epic. Merlin must save Fincayra once again, but this time it may cost him his life. With Wings of Fire awakening, Merlin and Rhia must go on a dangerous adventure that will take them across Fincayra once more, meeting all kinds of interesting people and creatures.
What I really love about T. A. Barron’s writing is that he uses a variety of fantasy creatures, rather than just sticking with all of the familiar ones. I mean, in what other series are you going to find living carnivorous rocks and endangered deer people? Barron uses his imagination and because of my rant about the lack of diversity in fantasy, I really appreciate the effort he put into his series. More fantasy writers should follow his lead.
In addition to his excellent world-building, Barron really pays attention to his character development. Merlin has changed slowly over the past two books and his development continues in this book. We are finally seeing a bit of a transition from awkward teenage boy to slightly less awkward, more mature teenage boy.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
The Necromancer by Michael Scott
(Cover picture courtesy of Michael Scott’s website.)
San Fransisco:
Josh and Sophie Newman are finally home. And they’re both more confused than ever about their future. Neither of them has mastered the magics they’ll need to protect themselves, they’ve lost Scatty, and they’re still being pursued by Dr. John Dee. Most disturbing of all, however, is that now they must ask themselves, can they trust Nicholas Flamel? Can they trust anyone?
Alcatraz:
Dr. Dee underestimated Perenelle Flamel’s power. Alcatraz could not hold her, Nereus was no match for her, and she was able to align herself with the most unlikely of allies. But she wasn’t the only one being held on the island. Behind the prison’s bars and protective sigils were a menagerie of monsters, and now Machiavelli has come to Alcatraz to loose them on San Fransisco.
Perenelle might be powerful, but each day she weakens, and even with Nicholas back at her side, a battle this size would be too much for her. Nicholas and Perenelle must fight, to protect the city, but the effort would probably kill them both.
London:
Having been unable to regain the two final pages of the Codex, Dee has failed his Elder and is now an outlaw.
But the Magician has a plan. With the Codex and the creatures on Alcatraz, he can control the world. All he needs is the help of the Archons. But for his plan to work, he must raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead. For that, he’ll have to train a necromancer.
Despite what this gigantic blurb may make you think, The Necromancer is not an overly complicated book, I promise. The only thing you should take away from this blurb is that whoever wrote it desperately needs to learn the art of summarizing. Moving on…
As usual, Michael Scott’s writing is pared down and easy to read, which also makes for a nice, fast-paced plot. He knows just when to switch to another thread of the storyline to keep the plot moving along quickly. It is incredibly hard to put The Necromancer down and, as usual, it kept me reading until the very early hours of the morning.
Aside from the excellent pacing, the thing I love most about The Necromancer is the character development. Michael Scott allows his characters to develop at a natural pace, so they feel a lot more authentic than most characters in fast-paced novels. Alliances change and the line between good and evil blurs as Sophie and Josh Newman are put to the test again and again as Litha approaches. They are supposed to be the ones to save the world, but the ending of this book will leave you in severe doubt that there will be a happy ending to the series. Trust me, you won’t see what’s coming, but the cliffhanger at the end makes sense when you look at the series as a whole.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Simania.)
In a feat of virtuoso storytelling, Anne Rice unleashes Akasha, the queen of the damned, who has risen from a six-thousand-year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to “save” mankind and destroy the vampire Lestat—in this extraordinarily sensual novel of complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.
The Queen of the Damned is, out of all the books in The Vampire Chronicles, the one I enjoyed the most. Why? Because I’m shamelessly obsessed with ancient Egypt.
Now, no one really knows much about Pre-Dynastic Egypt and Anne Rice paints a vivid picture of what could have been. The reasons behind the cannibalism practiced by Maharet and Mekare’s tribe are very intriguing, however, there is little to no evidence supporting the practice of such ritual cannibalism in Egypt. In fact, the only real evidence of cannibalism in Egypt is found in the autobiography of Ankhtifi, a man who lived during the First Intermediate Period. As much as it makes a nice story, I have to point out that it was not Akasha and Enkil who united Egypt. It was Narmer (Menes to the Greeks) and his queen Neithhotep who first ruled over a unified Egypt.
Aside from inaccuracies most people wouldn’t notice, The Queen of the Damned is a good book. The plot is not very fast, but Anne Rice made up for it in her sensual descriptions and intriguing characters. Unlike most villains, Akasha is a three dimensional character, with redeeming qualities to complement her gaping flaws. She also has realistic motivations behind her deeds, which makes her stand out from the crowd.
As with all of Anne Rice’s books, this is not recommended for young or sensitive readers. There are explicit sex scenes, cannibalism and violence. Personally, I would not recommend The Queen of the Damned for anyone under the age of fourteen.
I give this book 4/5 stars.