Discussion: Your Favourite Place to Read

After some controversial discussion topics the last few times, how about a nice simple one?  Basically, what’s your favourite place to read?

For me it’s on my bed in my bedroom.  Not only is laying down and reading the least painful position for someone like me to be in it means I’m in my own little silent area.  If I want to listen to music while reading I can.  If I want to listen to nothing at all I can.  When I’m alone I don’t have to argue about the volume of the TV/stereo/whatever, you see.  Everything is under my control and I love it.

So what’s your favourite place to read?  Why?

 

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart(Cover picture courtesy of Hatchette Australia.)

Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myridden Emrys — or as he would later be known, Merlin — leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man’s-son, taking him from prophesying before the High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon . . . and the conception of Arthur — king for once and always.

I’ve read so many different takes on the Merlin legend you’d think I’d get bored after this long.  But of course not, especially when I read such awesome books like Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy.  It’s the perfect mix of magic and realism combined with some brilliant research that makes it seem like Merlin could have been a real historical figure.

I’ll start off with the characters because they were my favourite part of the whole thing.  Merlin was pretty good.  He was a precocious child that grew up to be a mature young man that is slightly cynical about the world around him because he’s seen the ugly side of life.  He knows the fine line between the visions given to him on occasion and prophecy and that sometimes you need to give people what they want to hear.  The thing about Merlin is that he changes so much throughout the story that you can’t help but love him.  Seeing him interact with Ambrosius and Uther was fascinating.  Especially considering Uther isn’t the sort of man you would think he’d be in this novel.  I can’t say much without giving the plot away, but Uther is probably not how you imagined he would be.

I’ll admit that the plot is not exactly fast-paced but neither is it so slow that it drags on and on.  No, Mary Stewart has great pacing in The Crystal Cave and we really get to learn about Merlin on an intimate level while enjoying the plot.  Unlike so many first books in historical fiction/fantasy trilogies there are actually interesting events going on rather than the author just having the first book as a prelude to the real events.

Basically if you love the Arthurian legends you can’t afford to pass up The Crystal Cave.  It’s a great addition to the Arthurian canon and even if it wasn’t it’s a worthwhile read for Mary Stewart’s great writing style alone.  She has this way of describing things that’s just magical and leaves you wanting more (in a good way).  She never overdid the descriptions but I could clearly picture the world of Merlin.  Really, The Crystal Cave had everything I could possibly ask for.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

Hidden by Sophie Jordan

Hidden by Sophie Jordan(Cover picture courtesy of The Teen Bookworm.)

A dangerous journey.

Shattered bonds.

Undying passion.

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the “prince” of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian’s sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there’s no guarantee they’ll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning….

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan’s Firelight trilogy.

In some ways, Hidden by Sophie Jordan was much better than the second book Vanish.  Yet in other ways it was much worse.  How so?  Well…

The problem is that Sophie Jordan raised more questions than she answered.  Who are the enkros?  Why do they study dragons?  What is the meaning of the term ‘enkros’ and how does it apply to them?  What are the motivations of all of the scientists involved in studying the draki?  How can they not know about their transformations into humans?  What will happen to Cassian and Jacinda’s bond as they part ways?  Is Will ever going to grow up and stop with the whole possessiveness thing he had going on throughout Hidden?

I mean, despite all of these questions the plot was reasonably paced, there were some twists and some characters acquired more depth.  Jacinda, however, was not one of them.  I felt like all she did in the whole book was allow herself to be captured in the noble sacrifice trope and then gets rescued and sort of mopes around indecisively for the rest of the book.  The person who did acquire depth is Cassian, though.  You can feel his love for Jacinda growing even as she spurns him and we learn he is absolutely willing to give his life for her.  His decision at the end of the novel makes sense because of his characterization, but I still hated that his storyline wasn’t as neatly wrapped up as it could be.

Sophie Jordan has great descriptions and such vivid imagery at times.  I love her writing style in general, but the fact we were stuck in Jacinda’s head the whole time made Hidden not nearly as enjoyable as it should have been.  The world-building in the Firelight trilogy had the potential to be ground-breaking in terms of adding to existing dragon lore, but there were just too many loose ends by the final chapter.  Overall it was an okay read, but I certainly won’t be reading any other Sophie Jordan books if I can help it.

I give this book 2/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Wake by Amanda Hocking(Cover picture courtesy of Effortlessly Reading.)

Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They’re the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone’s attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

After the disaster that was Hollowland I felt a little more hopeful about Wake.  Zombies clearly aren’t Amanda Hocking’s strength but mythical creatures like trolls definitely are.  That’s why I thought she could handle sirens a little better than Elisa Freilich.  Unfortunately that was not the case.

I felt like banging my head against the wall because in the beginning nothing happened.  Really, the first 200 pages of this 300 page book were spent setting up Gemma and Harper’s lives in their small town.  We don’t actually get any siren action until the very last chapters of the novel and then it ends on a cliffhanger that’s just shameless.  I mean, really?  Ending the book just when it gets to the point of the whole Watersong series is just crass commercialism.

Despite the slow pacing I did like some of the characters.  Harper, the over-protective older sister is my kind of character.  (Myself being the aforementioned over-protective older sister.)  I love her struggle with her attraction toward Daniel and the mind vs. heart idea behind it all.  I can completely identify with that.  However, Gemma’s relationship Alex is just so…awkward.  It’s awkward even for teenage love, believe me.  It’s like they don’t really have anything in common besides the fact that Alex is Harper’s friend and it’s awkward to have your friend dating your little sister.

Once we finally got the explanation for the sirens I was interested.  Amanda Hocking did a great job with the backstory, but it was too little too late.  The book was well past the hope of salvation, despite the obvious effort that was put into developing a realistic backstory for the sirens.  Their cynical attitude toward men was fascinating and sort of understandable given the circumstances; I just wish we had gotten to know them on a deeper level sooner.

Basically: meh.  So much potential, but I was so let down.

I give this book 2.5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence(Cover picture courtesy of The Royal Library.)

The path to the throne is broken – only the broken may walk it.

To reach the throne requires that a man journey. Even a path paved with good intentions can lead to hell, and my intentions were never good.

The Hundred converge for Congression to politic upon the corpse of Empire, and while they talk the Dead King makes his move, and I make mine. The world is cracked, time has run through, leaving us clutching at the end days, the future so bright that those who see it are the first to burn. These are the days that have waited for us all our lives. These are my days. I will stand before the Hundred and they will listen. I will take the throne whoever seeks to thwart me, living or dead, and if I must be the last emperor then I will make of it such an ending.

This is where the wise man turns away. This is where the holy kneel and call on God. These are the last miles, my brothers. Don’t look to me to save you. Don’t think I will not spend you. Run if you have the wit. Pray if you have the soul. Stand your ground if courage is yours. But don’t follow me.

Follow me, and I will break your heart.

Um, wow?  There’s really nothing else to say about this.  What a stunning conclusion to such an unusual trilogy.

First off, Jorg is his usual horrible/awesome/ruthless/sarcastic self.  He really makes no apologies for who he is and doesn’t even try to become a better person now that his child bride Miana is expecting a child.  The plot flips between his actions and adventures five years ago and his current trek for the Congression in order to become Emperor of the Broken Empire.  It’s reminiscent of Don Carlo’s character in Ernani except without the whole vowing to be a better person if he becomes emperor.

What I did like the most about Jorg’s character is that despite his all-around awfulness, you get the feeling that he’s broken on the inside as well and is fully aware of it.  Even with those limitations on his character he grows within those limits quite well.  As the end draws nearer you can feel his need to fulfill the purpose Fexler told him about despite the consequences.  And how he fulfills that promise and solves the whole Dead King problem is absolutely brilliant on Mark Lawrence’s part.  The epilogue also sticks to how Jorg’s character is and imagines a realistic ending for such a broken man.

As usual the world-building in The Broken Empire trilogy is amazing.  We get to see all kinds of new places, learn about the promised lands where the radiation from the nuclear bombs went off and see all kinds of new characters that have grown out of the dark underbelly of the broken empire.  What I found particularly interesting were not only how certain religions survived, but also the cult of mystery that surrounds ‘mathemagicians’.  In a place that has essentially reverted back to the Middle Ages I suppose advanced math would be sort of magical.

The plot wasn’t nearly as confusing as it was in King of Thorns.  I found the switches between different points of view had a more natural transition and that the little subplots were better explained.  Overall it was a little more fast-paced because of that and Mark Lawrence kept me guessing until the end.  Even in the epilogue I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Jorg until it was revealed within the narrative.  Now that is the mark of a good storyteller.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads