Category: Book Review
The Mirror of Merlin
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
There is something wicked in the swamplands on the magical isle of Fincayra—an encroaching evil intent on destroying the land—and only young Merlin possesses the power to stop it.
Together with Hallia, the deer-woman Merlin has fallen in love with, he must embark on a journey through the haunted land that will test his knowledge and his courage to find his stolen sword.
But then Merlin discovers a magic mirror capable of altering a person’s destiny—and the visage he finds within the glass is someone he never imagined he’d see…
What if you could go back in time to talk with your younger self and warn him/her about impending danger? Or what if you could look into a mirror as a teenager and see the person you will become? Well, that’s what the mysterious mirror in the middle of the Haunted Marsh allows Merlin to do. But first he must travel to the very centre of the swamp with the deer-woman he loves in order to retrieve the sword Nimue stole from him.
“Mirrors, I assure you, can cause more pain than broadswords, more terror than ghouls.”
The novel’s prologue starts out with a haunting observation from Merlin looking back on his youth and it definitely sets the tone of the entire novel. Filled with mystery, despair and tragic prophecies while still managing to captivate readers, The Mirror of Merlin is my second-favourite book in The Lost Years of Merlin series, only surpassed by the first novel.
T. A. Barron’s world-building is second to none in the world of fantasy fiction. Filled with creatures from Celtic mythology as well as completely new creatures, it contains more diversity than many mainstream novels. Just the way all people are filled with both light and dark, Fincayra is populated with dark creatures like marsh ghouls but balanced out with good creatures like the ballymag. This is a nod to Merlin’s parentage as well; his evil father and his good mother give him a sort of symmetry.
Readers will cheer for Merlin every step of the way through his difficult quest and will be thrilled as more familiar elements from the Arthurian legends fall into place.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
A Spy in the House (The Agency # 1) by Y.S. Lee
[Guest post by ForTheLoveOfBooks. –CS]
From Goodreads
Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction on fine manners- and an unusual vocation. Miss. Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich man’s home in hope of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is filled with dangerous deceptions, and there’s no one to trust- or is there?
Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets including those of her own past.
I first came across A Spy In The House after watching Priscilla’s Review for the book and I thought it would be a great read. I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint me at all! I don’t think my reviews would be complete without dedicating some attention to the cover of course. I like the cover of this book, especially Mary’s gaze towards the side. There’s something mysterious about it and it suits the plot. Also the house pictured on the cover reminds me of “The Noble House of Black” from the Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix movie. The verdict is: I approve of the cover and now it’s time to move onto more fascinating aspects of the book!
As goodreads has explained, the story follows the life of Mary Quinn from being an orphaned thief to novice detective as she has started to work on her first case. The story centers mainly in London, while places like Brighton and India are mentioned briefly. The importance of these locations become evident as the story progresses.
The plot is enjoyable and fast paced. By fast paced I mean, the story begins in 1853 and by pg.11 we have already time traveled to 1858 where Mary is seventeen years old and is working as an instructor for Miss.Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls, only to be introduced later to The Agency; an elite female detective organization headed by Anne Treleaven and Felicity Frame. These two women are also Mary’s mentors, especially Anne. Still focusing on the pace of the book, I think what I found strange, yet good was the pace moved steadily as the story progressed. I didn’t feel as if any of the chapters acted as fillers for the entire story. All aspects were relevant, even in a minor way. However my only disappointment was that the fast pace let the story down a bit. The aspect here I’m referring to is the training Mary undergoes prior to setting off on her assignment. I would have liked to know more about her training and the interactions between Mary and the instructors. To see the protagonist pushed to her limits would have been an element worth exploring. The plot twists were surprising and enjoyable. Mary’s heritage was one that came as a surprise and I would like to see how that story arc is developed in the next book. Continue reading
Fire Star by Chris d’Lacey
(Cover picture courtesy of Great Books by Doshisha International Readers.)
There is a fire star coming, signalling a time of new beginnings. A time for dragons to rise again.
A research trip to the Arctic and a contract for a new book—life can’t get much better for David Rain. But as soon as David finds himself in the icy climes, he begins to write his legend of bears, dragons, and the mysterious fire star. Soon he realizes that his tale is beginning to mirror real life, and that an old enemy is on her way to meet him. Can David thwart her terrible plan? Or will his world be destroyed forever?
After hinting at it in the first book and explaining a little bit in the second book, Chris d’Lacey finally gives readers a full explanation about the origin of dragons—both the clay kind and the real ones. As it turns out, Liz Pennykettle was hiding quite a few things from both David, her tenant, and Lucy, her own daughter. This time, it’s going to cost her dearly as the scheming Gwilanna returns, with one thing on her mind: returning dragons to the world.
The thing I like most about Fire Star is how much depth the characters have. We see David behaving more like a college student now that he’s temporarily out of the Pennykettle house and around Zanna, the quirky goth girl he loves. Their relationship is believable, but it’s also unusual because they seem to be complete opposites. This definitely makes for weird chemistry, but it works very well.
Filled with plot twists and turns, especially at the end, Fire Star is—to use the cliché—absolutely riveting. It’s surprisingly fast-paced for a children’s novel, which makes it an enjoyable read for both children and tweens. I would definitely recommend it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Matched by Ally Condie
(Cover picture courtesy of Writing from the Tub.)
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
(Summary courtesy of Amazon.)
Matched by Ally Condie has garnered quite a bit of attention and hype, but once again we must ask ourselves: Does it deserve it?
Well, in a word, no.
Yet because it doesn’t live up to all of the hype doesn’t mean it is a bad novel. In fact, it’s quite a good novel. But is it absolutely amazing and the best thing since man learned how to make fire? Of course not. If I had to classify Matched, I’d put it under the ‘average’ category. It’s an average YA novel, nothing more.
At the risk of sounding like every other book reviewer that’s read this book (and even a few that haven’t), I would describe it as ‘Orwellian’, simply because there is no other word for it. The level of control the Officials have over every aspect of people’s lives is frightening and teens will be able to see the allusions to our own world. For example, every meal is tailored to the individual so they receive the proper amount of nutrition for their age, occupation, metabolism and body type. This could be seen as an allusion to how obsessed we are today with the fitness culture—all Ally Condie did was take things up a notch. People who are so politically inclined could point out that if the government continues to ‘intrude upon our lives’, the society in Matched is a natural progression.
Like in pretty much all YA novels, there is a love triangle. This one, however, is a bit different because in the beginning, Cassia is quite willing to accept Xander as her Match. She didn’t start out as a rebel, but the poem her grandfather gave her and her growing love for Ky change her. One of the best parts of Matched is the character development—the love triangle isn’t forced at all.
So there are quite a few good things about Matched, but I wouldn’t say there was really anything exceptional. It was good, but not memorable because even though I have an excellent memory for books and it’s only been six days since I’ve read this book, I wasn’t able to remember the name of the main character without looking it up. I can recall every detail of Scroll of Saqqara, name every character in Feed and can rant about everything I hated about Inheritance for hours, but I wasn’t able to remember Cassia. Which, of course, brings me back to my original point: Matched is good, but it’s not great or memorable.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Midshelf.com.)
In Anne Rice’s extraordinary new novel, the vampire Lestat—outsider, canny monster, hero-wanderer—is snatched from the world itself by the most dangerous adversary he has ever known: Memnoch, a mysterious being who claims to be the Devil. He is invited to be a witness at the Creation. He is taken like the ancient prophets into the heavenly realm and is ushered into Purgatory. Lestat must decide if he can believe in the Devil or in God. And finally, he must decide which, if either, he will serve…
I really didn’t see why so many people were upset about this novel until I actually read it a few times. Now, however, I can see why it has been deemed offensive—or even blasphemous—and why Anne Rice, now a born-again Christian has repudiated her Vampire Chronicles. Especially since this one. Memnoch the Devil doesn’t tell the conventional church-approved story of Satan’s fall from heaven. No, it is Satan, or Memnoch, who tells his side of the story.
From a theological perspective, this is a very interesting book. In it, Anne Rice has combined both old and new Christian ideas from many denominations with a bit of Jewish theology. Memnoch’s justification for his rebellion reminds me very much of the character of Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Without getting into all of the nasty little details, let’s just call this novel experimental theology and leave it at that, shall we? I’m not going to bring my personal beliefs into this review.
From a less biased, more literature-focused perspective, Memnoch the Devil is not exactly the greatest novel ever written. Lestat is a cardboard cutout by now, the plot is slow and predictable and Memnoch is the only redeeming thing, character-wise. Memnoch is complicated, yet sympathetic in a bizarre way if you put your religious beliefs aside while reading this. But other than Memnoch, this novel doesn’t have much going for it.
As usual, my warning: Memnoch the Devil contains mature content including bad language, explicit sex scenes and violence. Personally, I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 14, but it really depends on the reader’s maturity level.
I give this book 2/5 stars.