The King’s Man by Pauline Gedge

(Cover picture courtesy of The Globe and Mail.)

Twelve-year-old Amunhotep III has ascended the throne to become king of the richest empire on earth.  The boy’s mother is regent, and she has brought to court the renowned seer Huy, son of a humble farmer, to act as scribe and counsel to her royal son.  It’s a position of power and responsibility, one that is fraught with intrigue and the lure of corruption.  For it is Huy who controls the treasury, the military, and all construction and taxation—and perhaps most important, it is Huy who chooses the young Pharaoh’s queen.  His actions and premonitions, as well as his legendary past, make him very few friends and a great many enemies…

In The King’s Man, Huy’s rise to power and fame—as chronicled first in The Twice Born and then in Seer of Egypt—reaches its resounding climax.

With her meticulous research and compelling prose, Pauline Gedge transports readers into the ancient and fascinating culture that was Egypt.

I will still like the first book of the King’s Man trilogy the best, but the concluding volume, the aptly named The King’s Man, is still a decent book.  The ending lets readers use their imaginations, but it also gave me a sense of satisfaction because it took the trilogy full circle.  Huy is a confident, powerful old man in this book and that in itself is satisfying because of the drastic change from when he was younger.

The King’s Man is slightly faster paced than the two previous novels, but it is by no means a thriller novel.  If you love long, winding narratives filled with tiny details and political intrigue, you will love this book.  If you will read a book because it has three dimensional characters like I do, you will absolutely love Pauline Gedge’s latest novel.  The characters of Huy, Mutemwia and Amunhotep develop at natural paces that also make sense when you look at what they actually did as historical figures.  The best historical fiction authors are able to assign realistic motivations to historical figures and Pauline Gedge is indeed one of the best.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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The Seven Songs of Merlin by T. A. Barron

(Cover picture courtesy of T. A. Barron’s website.)

Young Merlin has freed Fincayra—the enchanted isle between earth and sky—from the terrible blight, taking the first steps on a path to discover the power within him.  But the mystical land is still in danger and his true trials are just beginning…

To save his ailing mother, Merlin must master the Seven Songs of Wisdom passed down from his grandfather, a legendary wizard.  Only then can he journey to the spiritual Otherworld to obtain the elixir he needs.  But the quest involves a task Merlin must perform—defeating a vile ogre whose merest gaze means death.  And even more difficult for the young wizard, he must discover the secret of seeing not with his eyes but with his heart…

After saving Fincayra in the first book, you would think poor Merlin would get a break and be able to safely bring his mother, Branwen (whose real name is Elen), back to him.  Alas, the evil Rhita Gawr had other plans for the boy.  When an illness strikes his mother down, Merlin must master the Seven Songs of Wisdom to save her.  Did I mention that this requires him to travel all over Fincayra?  And in only one month?

The Seven Songs of Merlin is a wonderful fantasy book by T. A. Barron, who has put quite a bit of effort into developing the magical world of Fincayra.  He takes Celtic mythology and blends it with more familiar fantasy elements to create this wonderfully written, thought-provoking novel.  It is T. A. Barron who first introduced me to the concept of hubris, the ancient word for too much pride.  Alas, hubris is something that I suffer from, which makes me sympathize with Merlin even more.  But regardless of whether you have hubris or not, I guarantee that you will find Merlin a very sympathetic character.

In addition to wonderful characterization and exemplary world building, the plot moves along very nicely.  By nature of the time limit imposed upon Merlin, this is sort of a no-brainer and Barron brings a sense of immediacy to his writing throughout the entire novel.  If you’re not already a T. A. Barron fan, you will be by the time you finish this novel.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)

Firedrake, Ben, and their furry friend, Sorrel, are in search of the mythical places where dragons can live in peace forever.  Together they embark on a journey that takes them to magical lands where they meet marvelous creatures—and ruthless villains.  Along the way, they will discover allies in odd places, courage they didn’t know they had, and a hidden destiny that changes everything.

Dragons, brownies and homunculi, oh my!  Cornelia Funke includes both traditional and non-traditional fantasy creatures in this exciting, thought-provoking novel.  Funke is a well-known author of children’s and teen’s fantasy, but Dragon Rider has been overshadowed by her more popular Inkheart trilogy.  In my opinion, Dragon Rider is just as good as Inkheart and it deserves equal recognition.

It is full of clichés, especially since the whole premise of the book is that a trio of unlikely friends (a dragon, a brownie and a human) embarks on a long and dangerous journey to find a mythical place where dragons can live in peace forever.  What saves Dragon Rider from being too clichéd is Cornelia Funke’s spectacular writing style and the fact that she puts spins on many of the clichés she uses.  Besides, this is a children’s and young teen’s book; most of her readers do not care about clichés.

Since friendship is the main theme of the novel, the focus is more on the characters than the plot.  Funke’s characters are very well developed and meet all of the requirements to be memorable, yet she does not neglect the plot to focus on her characters.  Therefore, Dragon Rider ends up being the best of both worlds: a fast-paced, character-driven novel.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Why are Zombies so Scary?

Since I do not feel like writing a book review today, I want to try some therapy write an article about why zombies are so scary.  They’re just walking hunks of dead meat, right?  Wrong.  Zombies, particularly in YA fiction, represent so much of what we as humans fear and I hope I can explore why they scare me us so much.  Warning: these pictures are not for the faint of heart.

1.  They are basically designed to kill/infect us.

In most new zombie tales, zombies are able to sense and track us humans.  Whether they are slow or fast, they pursue us with a single-minded determination that’s unmatched anywhere and because they lack any coherent thoughts, the only thing on their minds is food.  And guess what: we are their only (or sometimes main) source of food.  Therefore, they will do anything to get at us.  Their predatory instinct is, in my opinion, what makes them so terrifying.  Unlike most human villains in fiction, they lack redeeming qualities like mercy, so there is no chance of escaping from them once they have you cornered. Continue reading →

I Hate History

“I hate history.”

Can you imagine my shock when my little sister said those three words to me?  I come from a very academic family, after all.  My father is the resident expert on the 20th century, my mother loves Medieval European history and I am obsessed with anything Roman and Egyptian.  For my little sister to hate history was like a fish hating water; it didn’t make any sense.  Alas, school had robbed her of all desire to have anything to do with history.

But I am a patient person.  I had a plan to change her mind. Continue reading →