“Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia” by Brandon Sanderson

When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, the Smedry home base, Alcatraz is shocked to see that he is, in fact, a legend. When he was a baby he was stolen by the Evil Librarians, and his mother, a Librarian herself, was behind the whole scheme. Now, with his estranged father, who is acting indeed strange, Bastille, who has been stripped of her armor, and Grandpa Smedry, who is, as always, late to everything (that’s his Talent), Alcatraz tries to save a city under siege. From who? Why, the Librarians of course!

Alcatraz Versus the Evil LibrariansI’ve reached the third installment of Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz series and I have to say that I’ve been rather impressed with where he has taken this story. A lot of times when you get to a third or fourth book in a series a lot of time has passed for the characters which sort of spreads things out, but not with these. By the end of Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia there has barely been six months of time since the beginning of the first book, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians.

As usual, this book follows the humorous, snarky, side-tracked, whimsical nature of the first two books, but in addition it adds a little bit more depth. The relationship between Alcatraz and Bastille takes an interesting turn into what I’m sure if familiar territory for most 13-year-old boys and girls. As a result of previous actions Bastille goes through a tough time and Alcatraz wants to help as her friend but just finds everything so awkward and difficult while trying to. Awkward interactions between friends at that age is something most of the intended audience can certainly relate to on a personal level I think.

Even more impressive to me was the chance that the reader finally has to visit Nalhalla, the capital of the Freelands. For two books I’d been wanting to see what life was like for the Freelanders in comparison to the Hushlanders and I finally got my wish. A city of castles, magical dragon taxis, teleportation rooms, etc. It took the whimsy and fun to an entirely new level for the series. Impressive, considering there are talking dinosaurs in the first book.

Bastille goes through some serious growth in this book and I found it interesting to watch the decisions she makes as a result. She sort of learns to stand on her own opinions more than simply what is “expected” of her by the Knights of Crystallia. Of course, Alcatraz in his usual way completely fails to understand what’s going on with her until the last minute.

Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia continues the story of Alcatraz Smedry in a great way while still allowing for the characters to break out of their shells from the first two books without changing who they are at their core. I think it provides some great lessons for young readers buried in between the fun and silly that permeates the pages. If you haven’t already, give these books a try, I think there is a little something for everyone, young and old alike.

Grade: B
Length: 336 pages

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Actually Guest Posting for Adrienne deWolfe

Part of my informal mission as a now one year old book blogger is to help authors, whether they’re indie, self or traditionally published.  So when Adrienne deWolfe of WritingNovelsThatSell.com approached me to write a two part series on book reviewing to get more information out there, I leaped at the chance.  My article is called Tips for Dealing with Book Reviewers: From the Trenches and it focuses on things  authors are probably wondering about, especially if they’re new to the online writing community.

Do book reviewers review older books published “pre-Internet”?  When do you call yourself a book reviewer?  How can you get your book reviewed by a book blogger?  All that and more, so go on and check it out!

A Legend Should Never Be Dimmed

This post was brought on by two things, as usual: my father and a book.  Since who says I can’t be logical sometimes, I’ll start with the former.

Now, my father is a big opera fan; he’s always appreciated opera, a trait he inherited from his mother.  Moreover, he’s a huge Luciano Pavarotti fan and almost shows emotion when he speaks of his death.  He’s not someone who you would call starstruck, but he greatly admired the legend that was Luciano Pavarotti.  Understandably, he was quite outraged when it came out that Pavarotti’s last performance at the Torino Olympic ceremony in 2006 was lip-synched.  At the time, he said something that still haunts me:

“That should never have come out.  A legend should never be dimmed.” Continue reading →

Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones

Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

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.

After living through an attack from her worst nightmare, she awakens to find herself far from home, surrounded by glorious riches and servants and a few demigods who enjoy killing things.  Upon learning that her favorite rockstar is an Olympian god, she is thrust into her new life as the Oracle of Delphi, the prophesier of the future, and the great Pythia that the gods have been anxiously awaiting to arrive for centuries. Setting out to fulfill the prophecy she has been given and to keep her family safe from a demigod Princess that wants her dead, Chloe learns of how great she is to become, all the while fighting mythical monsters, evading divine assassins and trying to outwit the ever-cunning Greek gods who harbor secrets of their own. In the hopes of discovering the Most Beautiful and the truth of her destiny, she strives to uncover the mysteries of the demigod Prince who has sworn to protect her with his life and threatens to win her heart in the process.

[Full disclosure: I found Prophecy of the Most Beautiful on The Masquerade Crew and was so interested in it that Mark Lee put me in contact with Diantha Jones so I could request the book.  Yes, I actually requested the book myself.]

Prophecy of the Most Beautiful is what fantasy should be: fast-paced, unique, well thought-out and unpredictable.  It’s a book you won’t be able to put down, not only because of the awesome characters, but because the plot takes so many twists and turns you won’t have a clue as to how things will end!  I know I didn’t.

In the beginning Chloe seems like your typical YA heroine, but this is certainly not the case by the end of the book.  The main difference between Chloe and other female leads is that she actually has a backbone and doesn’t faint away at the sight of blood or agonize about killing people.  She does what she needs to do to survive as the first Oracle of Delphi in more than four decades and doesn’t look back.  In fact, you won’t find much teenage angst in Prophecy of the Most Beautiful.  Sure, Strafford is a little tortured and seems like your typical bad boy, but the hints Diantha Jones is dropping seem to say that we’re not finished with him yet, that there’s much more to be learned about the Sun Prince.

Now for the plot: holy crap.  I was absolutely glued to my computer screen and didn’t stop reading for anything.  Prophecy of the Most Beautiful is a whirlwind journey and, at the risk of being cliché, you will not be able to put it down.  It’s 266 pages of pure excitement and the cliffhanger on the last page was downright cruel, but certainly achieved its goal: getting me to want the next book.  The last series I was this excited about was Krystal Wade’s Darkness Falls trilogy, so you know I’ll be following this one closely.

The way Diantha Jones set up her world, mixing in Greek myths and a bit of her own flair, was brilliant.  The ‘iceys’ (immortals celeste) created to worship the gods and preserve their immortality, the demi-gods and even the gods themselves are not cliché because she has put her own spin on them.  Not all demi-gods are created equal, as we learn and the iceys may not have things all that great up in the realm of the gods.  It will be interesting to see more of this hidden world in the next book, Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise.  I can’t wait to read it!

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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