Category: Spotlight
Spotlight: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien
Spotlight is my weekly Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly awaiting. This week I want to draw attention to a book that was excellent despite being slightly outside my comfort zone: The Path of the Fallen by Dan O’Brien.
Set against the backdrop of the tundra and a world desperate for hope, the journey of a young man, E’Malkai, will come to define a realm that has been broken by an evil that does not sleep. A bitter betrayal, and the inception of a war that will consume the world, forces E’Malkai to confront the past and undertake a pilgrimage that is his by birthright. Follow him on his journey and be transformed.
As you’ve probably noticed, while I read a lot of fantasy, not much of it would be considered epic fantasy. And certainly none of it would be classified as epic fantasy/science fiction crossover. That’s why I considered The Path of the Fallen out of my comfort zone. It took me a while to get used to the unusual names like E’Malkai and the background of Dan O’Brien’s strange world, but once I did I really enjoyed his book.
Dan O’Brien’s world was well thought out and was a compelling mixture of typical epic fantasy tropes like swords and huge battles but also of science fiction elements like spaceships and lasers. Truly, it’s the best of both genres. The best part? The reason for the mixture actually makes sense when you look at the history of the world. However, the best part of The Path of the Fallen is the characters. E’Malkai isn’t your typical angsty coming-of-age protagonist and *gasp* behaves maturely most of the time because this is more of an adult novel. Fe’rein (the villain) isn’t as fleshed-out as I would have liked him to be, but he does make for a great antagonist.
I’d definitely recommend The Path of the Fallen to anyone who enjoys fantasy or science fiction.
Spotlight: Wilde’s Fire by Krystal Wade
Spotlight is my new regular Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly waiting for. This time around, it’s the incredible debut novel of Krystal Wade, called Wilde’s Fire.
Katriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she’s ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she’s dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more than just the frightening creatures in front of her. She’s forced to accept a new truth: her entire life has been a lie, and those closest to her have betrayed her. What’s worse, she has no control over her new future, and it’s full of magic and horrors from which nightmares are made. Will she discover and learn to control who she really is in time to save the ones she loves, or will all be lost?
Now here is some good fantasy! It has an unique premise, amazing characters and is well written. You can’t ask for more.
However, what really stood out for me in Wilde’s Fire was the narrator, Kate (Katriona). She doesn’t spend an inordinate amount of time agonizing over her situation and actually adapts quite well to the world of Encardia. Not only that, she doesn’t want to be a helpless maiden and makes an effort to learn how to use a sword so she can survive. Kate’s a pretty independent, well developed character, so her love for Arland doesn’t feel contrived at all. What I mean is that when characters aren’t developed properly, reading about them falling in love is not nearly as interesting as when they are as fleshed out as Kate.
The other thing that really stood out for me in Wilde’s Fire was the world-building. Krystal Wade developed a history for Encardia, religion and a sophisticated political system. You would be surprised at how many authors have a fundamental misunderstanding of politics, so this was a pleasant change.
If you’re looking for a great fantasy book to read, you need to pick up Wilde’s Fire right now. You won’t be able to put it down!
Spotlight: The Watchers by Stephen Alford
Spotlight is my new regular Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly waiting for. In this case, it’s a great nonfiction book about spying in the reign of Elizabeth I called The Watchers.
In a Europe aflame with wars of religion and dynastic conflicts, Elizabeth I came to a throne encircled by menace. To the Catholic powers of Europe, England was a heretic pariah state and her queen was “Jezebel,” the bastard offspring of Henry VIII’s illegal second marriage. The pope denounced her; the kings of France and Spain conspired to destroy her, their plans culminating in the Spanish Armada. Many of the Queen’s own subjects plotted her overthrow—or her assassination.
[Full blurb available on my review.]
Since The Mad Reviewer is YA (or at least adult novels that can be read by teens), I don’t get to read nearly as much nonfiction as I would like. That’s why I’m so glad Bloomsbury Publishing contacted me about reviewing Stephen Alford’s second book.
Although the writing style was a bit choppy at times because Alford jumped all over the place to fit all the spies into his narrative, The Watchers is one of the better nonfiction books I’ve read. Despite some choppy sections, overall it’s well written and engaging, but most of all, informative. The amount of research that went into The Watchers must have been staggering, and Alford has an entire section of the book dedicated to citing sources. I thought I knew a bit about the reign of Elizabeth I and the role spies played in it, but I really had no idea.
What I thought was unusual was that Alford stayed pretty neutral throughout the book. He explained things from the points of view of the Protestant English spies and from the points of view of the Catholics who worked to overthrow Elizabeth or simply survive. We see the plots by Catholics to kill Elizabeth I, but we also get to see the horrors any captured Catholics (or suspected Catholics) faced. Balance is important in nonfiction and Alford certainly achieved it.
If you’re looking for an informative but engaging read, I highly recommend picking up The Watchers.
Spotlight: The Journey by John Heldt
Spotlight is my new regular Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly waiting for. This time, it’s The Journey by John Heldt, a book I got very emotional about.
Seattle, 2010. When her entrepreneur husband dies in an accident, Michelle Preston Richardson, 48, finds herself childless and directionless. She yearns for the simpler days of her youth, before she followed her high school sweetheart down a road that led to limitless riches but little fulfillment, and jumps at a chance to reconnect with her past at a class reunion. But when Michelle returns to Unionville, Oregon, and joins three classmates on a spur-of-the-moment tour of an abandoned mansion, she gets more than she asked for. She enters a mysterious room and is thrown back to 1979.
Distraught and destitute, Michelle finds a job as a secretary at Unionville High, where she guides her spirited younger self, Shelly Preston, and childhood friends through their tumultuous senior year. Along the way, she meets widowed teacher Robert Land and finds the love and happiness she had always sought. But that happiness is threatened when history intervenes and Michelle must act quickly to save those she loves from deadly fates. Filled with humor and heartbreak, THE JOURNEY gives new meaning to friendship, courage, and commitment as it follows an unfulfilled soul through her second shot at life.
I love the way John Heldt handled the whole time travel angle of his second book in the Northwest Passage trilogy. In his books, time travel isn’t the important thing and the characters themselves aren’t scientists, so it doesn’t take a prominent position. But, what does take its place is the characters and the incredible writing. John Heldt pays so much attention to all of his characters that they are three dimensional and interesting, even the secondary ones. You will love both Michelle and Shelly (Michelle’s younger self) and the ending will both tear you to pieces and give you some hope.
The Journey has the perfect amount of romance, suspense and heartbreak and I absolutely love how John Heldt solved the time travel paradox. You see, Michelle isn’t some passive time traveller who leaves things be. No, she wants to change her younger self and prevent her best friend’s tragic death. But what happens if Shelly actually changes? Does Michelle disappear into nothing? Does she herself change suddenly? I didn’t think he could pull it off, but John Heldt came up with a great way to solve the paradox. This is a man who can write himself into a tiny corner and get himself out again in fantastic style, so go on and get The Journey! You won’t regret it, I promise.
Spotlight: Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones
Spotlight is my new regular Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly waiting for. This week it’s a book I really enjoyed: Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones. (Link leads to my full review.)
She has a destiny so great that even the gods fear her.
Constant hallucinations and the frequent conversations with the voices in her head, have earned eighteen-year-old Chloe Clever the not-so-coveted title of “Whack Job” in her home town of Adel, Georgia. With the onslaught of prescription medications and therapists threatening to push her over the edge, she wishes for a life far away from the one she has, a life where she is destined to be more than the butt of everyone’s jokes and mockery.
Be careful what you wish for has never rung more true.
That’s not the full blurb (it’s actually quite long), but you get the idea: girl who’s special is an outcast in a small town that thinks she’s crazy until something attacks her and she’s saved to be introduced into a completely different world. This all happens to Chloe, but that’s definitely where the clichés end because Diantha Jones has put her own unique twist on a typical YA premise. And oh boy, what a twist!
Prophecy of the Most Beautiful is very well written and Diantha Jones has done such a good job with the plot that she keeps you guessing until the end. If you’re looking for some unique fantasy to brighten your day, you’ll love this book. But be warned! Upon finishing it you will have no choice but to buy the second book not only because the first one was so good, but because there’s one heck of a cliffhanger at the end.