Category: Speculative Fiction
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantasy Book Critic.)
Beware the Prince of Thorns…
When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. By the time he was thirteen, he was the leader of a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be King…
It is time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him—and he has nothing left to lose.
But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?
When Savindi from The Streetlight Reader told me Prince of Thorns was quite unlike any other book because of the main character, Jorg, I was definitely intrigued. What had Mark Lawrence decided to do that was so different? Who was this mysterious Jorg?
Well, the short answer is that he’s a miniature Genghis Khan. When the opening scene in a book begins with Jorg and his men raping and pillaging, it tends to set a rather dark tone. Rightly so, as it turns out. Prince of Thorns is not an uplifting book at all, but what saves it is that it is an incredibly interesting book. Not just because of Jorg, but because of the future world it takes place in, one where there seems to have been a huge nuclear war that wiped out most technology and made it revert back to Medieval times. If that sounds familiar, it probably is, but Mark Lawrence put such an interesting spin on things that I wasn’t bothered by his use of that particular trope.
Prince of Thorns isn’t really so much about the post-apocalyptic world, but rather Jorg himself. This is one messed up teenager, something that I don’t say lightly. Seeing his mother and little brother killed at the age of nine while being trapped in a thorn patch and unable to help seriously affected him. He tends to lash out at the world, taking his revenge upon practically anyone in his ultimate quest for vengeance on Count Renar. If you’re quite sensitive, you will absolutely hate Jorg. But if you’re a little more open-minded, Jorg is an interesting character from a psychological standpoint. The success of Prince of Thorns is proof that main characters don’t have to be sympathetic to be popular. What they have to be is interesting enough to hold the reader’s attention.
Overall, I really enjoyed Prince of Thorns and I can’t wait to see where Mark Lawrence goes with this series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.
Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ARC ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Well, I must say that I enjoyed The Eternity Cure even more than the first book in the Blood of Eden trilogy, The Immortal Rules. And considering how much I liked the first book, that’s really saying something.
The Eternity Cure includes betrayals, new revelations, old friends (and enemies) and one of those villains that is just unable to die. Julie Kagawa never was one for sparing her characters any pain, but wow, poor Allie really does go through a lot in this second installment. This is definitely not a case of Book 2 Syndrome. Allison has matured quite a bit and become more accepting of her life as a vampire when the story starts out and she has changed even more by the time it ends. Her search for Kanin certainly isn’t an easy one and it brings her into contact with an old friend and more than a few old enemies.
As for the plot, all I can say is that it takes more than a few twists and turns. There were even some I didn’t see coming, especially that heart-wrenching cliffhanger ending. It was incredibly difficult for me to tear my eyes away from my computer screen the whole time, even for nourishment or sleep. If you loved The Immortal Rules, I guarantee that you’ll like The Eternity Cure even more. So go ahead and pre-order your copy! It releases on April 30 of this year.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
(Cover picture courtesy of Fic Talk.)
Benny Imura couldn’t hold a job, so he took to killing.
In the zombie-infested world Benny has grown up in, teenagers must work once they turn fifteen—or they’ll lose their food rations. Benny isn’t interested in taking on the family business, but he reluctantly agrees to train as a zombie killer with his boring big brother, Tom. He expects a dull job, whacking zombies for cash. What he discovers is a vocation that will teach him what it really means to be human.
As his worldview is challenged again and again by the lessons he learns from Tom, Benny is forced to confront another horrifying reality: Sometimes the most terrible monsters are human.
Critically acclaimed author Jonathon Maberry crafts a terrifying future vision of a zombie apocalypse, brought to life through the rich emotional struggles of a teenager trying to find his place in a tumultuous new world.
At first, it seemed like Rot & Ruin was going to be a lot like The Return Man. It was in some ways, but Jonathan Maberry focused more on the human aspect and how people would deal with the dead suddenly rising rather than a huge conspiracy for a cure. I smell conspiracy in the future books, but Rot & Ruin was a surprisingly human take on a zombie apocalypse.
For the first half of the book I wanted to punch Benny for calling his brother Tom a coward and hating him. It was such a relief when Tom took on Benny as a reluctant apprentice and brought him out into the Rot & Ruin beyond the safe fence of the community. The wastelands beyond the community are an interesting take on what would happen to humanity in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Benny meets people who believe zombies are divine and people who treat them sadistically and has to reconcile his burning hatred for zombies. It’s an interesting character arc that I really can’t complain about.
The plot took a couple of interesting twists, but one thing I didn’t like was the Deus ex Machina at the end. Yes, it was nice because the character in question was the best character of the novel, but I would have liked something a little less cliché. Either way, it was still great to see Benny’s relationship with Tom improve and for him to realize his growing feelings for Nix, his best friend.
Overall, Rot & Ruin was a great book that had a fresh perspective on how people would deal with a zombie apocalypse. I can’t wait to read the sequel: Dust & Decay.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
1984 by George Orwell
(Cover picture courtesy of Sanjee’s Book Nook.)
Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. when Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent—even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they have invented Room 101.
1984 is probably one of the toughest (if not the toughest) book to review. It has become a cultural phenomenon and is referred to in everything from movies, news and talk shows to everyday conversation. Before even reading the book, I knew the basic plot of the story, knew the terms doublethink, Big Brother, Room 101 and Thought Police. For someone who tries to not even read reviews (unless that’s how I discover a book) before reading a book, this makes reviewing 1984 nearly impossible. But I’ll try to talk about the book on its own merits, not on what it has become in our culture.
Frankly, 1984 is a terrifying picture of a possible future in which everyone’s actions, even thoughts are under strict control. Enter Winston Smith, a man who remembers the first days of the Revolution and the Party’s rise to power. But he can’t talk about it because the Party now has complete power over everything, past, present and future. The past is malleable and can be changed in an instant, which is part of Winston’s job in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth. After being oppressed for so long, Winston is the kind of person you would expect. He’s terrified of being found out, yet rebels in small ways by writing in his diary and loving Julia.
Yes, Winston is a hero in some respects, but he’s not your traditional hero or even your traditional anti-hero. He’s just a man struggling through life in an oppressive regime, knowing that there is no hope of change. He doesn’t join the rebels in actively fighting against the Party and Big Brother, he doesn’t become a high-ranking official of the Inner Party to sabotage their efforts, he doesn’t distribute pamphlets denouncing the government and he certainly doesn’t do any other traditional hero-in-a-dystopia things. Maybe I’ve been reading too much YA lately, but 1984, depressing as it is, is quite a nice change. It’s not a hopeful or uplifting story; it’s a warning.
I wouldn’t exactly call 1984 fast-paced by modern standards, but it’s not like I fell asleep reading it either. There’s an atmosphere of doom that hangs over the whole novel and it sucks you in, forcing you to keep reading even though you know the ending. The best part of George Orwell’s book? You can interpret it how you like. You can interpret it as a warning against big government, a tirade against socialism (or, conversely, praise of socialism), a cautionary tale about what happens when people stop questioning their leaders, etc. It’s easy to see how the term ‘Orwellian’ worked its way into the vocabulary of not only our politicians, but the general populace.
I give this book 5/5 stars. I mean, really, this is one of the few classics that should be studied in school.
End of Days by Eric Walters
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The world’s most important astrophysicists, astronomers, and mathematicians have all died within the same twelve-month period. Or so their families and friends think. What very few know is that the countdown to doomsday has begun: an asteroid is racing towards the planet, threatening to extinguish humanity as we know it. The world’s brightest minds are actually huddled together in a secret location, desperately plotting to avert a catastrophe. But it’s only when Billy, a teenage boy with rare gifts, is recruited to the cause that they can hope to prevail over evil and return themselves—and the Earth—to safety.
There are many books that deal with an end of the world scenario, be it zombies, pollution/climate change, new global powers or asteroids. Pretty much everything has been done before, including the asteroid-about-to-hit-Earth scenario presented in End of Days. But what distinguishes Eric Walters’ pre-apocalyptic novel from the rest is not only his incredible writing talent, but also the way he handles the premise.
This is not an uplifting book by any stretch of the imagination and as I was reading it, I began to picture Eric Walters as a cynic like myself. You see, when it is revealed that an asteroid will hit and likely destroy the Earth, society does not band together to save itself. It falls apart as people quit their jobs to spend time with their families and basically do whatever they want. Society is chaos. And you know what? It’s a plausible scenario that is presented well by Eric Walters.
The characters are memorable. Joshua Fitchett, Billy, Dr. Sheppard…they’re all based on archetypes we’re familiar with, but Eric Walters puts his own spin on his characters. It makes them unique, but sympathetic as well and their completely different perspectives offer an interesting look at the end of the world. Really, what else could you ask for? The plot is fast and will keep you reading into the early morning hours and I don’t want to give anything away, but the ending is classic, really. A lot of despair and a little bit of hope make the perfect apocalyptic novel.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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