Tagged: masq1
Anthology: Tales of Ancient Rome by S. J. A. Turney
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
A collection of bite-size stories of varying styles all based in the world of ancient Rome. 12 tales of the ancient world, plus a bonus tale to finish.
The second edition contains two new tales not told in the 1st. Laugh, cry and shudder at:
Hold The Wall – Hadrian’s wall in the last days of the western empire
Vigil – A comedic tale of firefighting in Rome
*NEW* Rudis – A champion gladiator fights his last fight
*NEW* The Discovery – A Roman trader makes a surprising find in distant China
The man who bought an Empire – The lowest point of Imperial succession
Trackside seats – A slave helps his blind master at the circus
How to run a latifundium – A cautionary tale of estate management
A Reading – What does the future hold in Judea?
Exploratores – Trajan’s scouts on the trail of Dacian warriors
With a pinch of salt – A comedic tale of food in Claudius’ Rome
The Palmyrene Prince – Rome’s eastern border tells grim tales
Temple Trouble – A tale of the early days of Fronto (of the Marius’ Mules series)
Bonus tale: Aftermath in the Ludus – A fun finish.
As you guys probably know from my reviews I don’t actually read all that many anthologies. They’re just usually not my thing unless they’re from a writer I really love. Still, I decided to download Tales of Ancient Rome for free on Amazon one day because I figured I had nothing to lose and at least something to gain. I mean, I love ancient Rome.
So overall, how was the anthology? Pretty good, actually. Turney managed to span quite a few different periods of time in the Roman Empire, from the reign of Claudius to the last days of the empire as it was being torn apart by invaders and civil wars. I always like a little variety in an anthology and this one certainly delivered in that respect.
Most of the stories were pretty solid. They’re quite short but they’re nice little slices of Roman life. We have everything from the viewpoints of foreign princes to slaves and each character has a distinct outlook on life. Some stories are more humourous than others but pretty much all of them are interesting. One of my favourites was Rudis, the tale of the gladiator in his very last fight before his freedom because the ending was so unexpected. He was a fascinating character, even though he didn’t get much page time. Temple Trouble was laugh out loud hilarious and it actually makes me want to read the full length series in which that character features. He would certainly get into some interesting situations! There were some weak stories like Ludus but most stories were pretty good.
As for historical accuracy, I was quite impressed. Turney knows his stuff and all of the little details he puts into his writing makes it better. He has a good grasp of the wide span of Roman history and although it would be a little hard to orient yourself if you’re not familiar with Roman history, I quite enjoyed the stories because I picked out little clues as to the time period. If you know sort of a general outline of Roman history you should be fine with Tales of Ancient Rome but if you’re a newcomer I wouldn’t recommend the anthology.
Basically, Tales of Ancient Rome (Volume 1) was a solid anthology. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever read and there were some weaker aspects to it but overall I was quite impressed. I certainly got more than my money’s worth out of it and I’d recommend it to my fellow Roman history enthusiasts. Best of all, it’s free as a Kindle or Nook ebook.
I give this anthology 4.5/5 stars.
Carrier by Vanessa Garden
(Cover picture courtesy of A Reader of Fictions.)
For fans of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games comes a YA novel about freedom, choice and family — and the terrifying disease that makes them mutually exclusive.
From the day she was born, Lena has viewed the world through the jagged window of a razor-wired fence. The hundred-acre property she shares with her mother in the Australian outback may keep her safe from the Y-Carrier disease, but it is no longer enough to hold Lena’s interest, and her mother’s increasingly tight grip on her free will is stifling.
Just as her curiosity blooms and her courage rises, she meets a boy through the fence — the first boy she has ever laid eyes on. His name is Patrick and he comes with a dangerous yet irresistible invitation of adventure beyond the fence, an invitation to which Lena cannot say no.
But Lena’s newfound freedom is short-lived and she soon discovers that the Y-Carrier disease is not the only enemy she faces on the outside. Her new enemies want something Lena has, and they are willing to do anything to get it…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
If you’re thinking this is a zombie book, I’ve got news for you: it’s not. You never, ever see a zombie. No, instead this is something a lot more interesting, something that hasn’t really been done before.
We have Lena, a seventeen-year-old girl who has lived only with her mother and cousin, fearing what lurks beyond the fence that keeps the family safe. Now that her cousin Alice is dead it’s just Lena and her mother and the two, like quite a few teenage daughters and mothers can’t stand each other. Lena wants to get out and explore the world. It’s been a while since she’s seen a Carrier (only males carry the disease but they live; females die from the disease) and she wants to go out and explore. She knows how to hunt from killing rabbits inside the fence but her mother refuses to let her go. So when she sees a boy she decides to make her move.
Now I know all of this sounds pretty cliché but I can assure you that there are quite a few plot twists along the way. The plot is incredibly fast-paced and just when you think you know what’s going to happen, Vanessa Garden changes everything on you. At the same time, the plot twists actually make sense within the context of the story. They’re not totally out in left field, I promise.
The characters are by far the best part of the novel, especially Lena. She’s strong and determined but not afraid to admit she’s out of her element when she meets Patrick. He’s the first boy she’s ever seen (aside from her magazine crush) and you can guess how much awkwardness ensues. And the thing is that the awkwardness is believable. They’re two teenagers that have had exactly zero experience with the opposite sex. What do you expect to happen, really?
Overall, Carrier was a pretty good novel. It didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor that Vanessa Garden’s first book Captivate did but it’s a good standalone novel. It doesn’t release until March 1, but if you’re at all intrigued by the blurb or my review I think this is the book for you. It’s certainly worth a try.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen
(Cover picture courtesy of Strange Chemistry Books.)
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.
Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.
But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.
As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
If you’re a regular reader of my reviews here you’re probably wondering why I picked up a book like Stolen Songbird not so long after picking up Captivate by Vanessa Garden, a book with a very similar premise. Well, the truth is that I’m kind of a sucker for these types of stories and saw that Danielle L. Jensen’s book had a lot of potential to be good. If it was done right, that is. The question is: was it done right?
Of course! I got so much more than I bargained for when I took a chance on Stolen Songbird. First off, the main character Cécile is an opera singer, so I’m automatically predisposed to like her as I love opera. But what makes her stand out so much from other protagonists is that even though she’s the ‘Chosen One’ figure in Trollus, she doesn’t succeed in meeting their expectations. She’s imperfect
Unlike a lot of protagonists in her situation, she makes an honest attempt at an escape; she doesn’t fall for Tristan right away. She feels conflicted when she does start growing feelings for him and her choice at the end is shocking and more than a little satisfying. As for Tristan himself I love how he developed as he let his guard down around Cécile. We got to see things from his point of view and it was interesting seeing how they each perceived the other as well as the events and politics going on in Trollus at the time.
She may not be the saviour they’re waiting for. It might not even be a good thing if Trollus was freed from the witches’ curse! It’s all so wonderfully ambiguous; absolutely nothing is clear-cut in this book and that’s one of the main reasons I love it. Danielle L. Jensen doesn’t deal in the black and white, good and evil that is the hallmark of your typical YA fantasy novel. No, there’s good trolls, bad trolls and trolls in-between, just like how she portrays the humans in the novel.
One of the many amazing things about this book is the world-building, which is only enhanced by the beautiful writing style. We slowly learn the backstory of Trollus and how it came to be under a mountain and why the trolls can’t leave. Just when you think you know the whole story, you learn something new about the origins of the city and its inhabitants. There are two sides to the history of trolls and Cécile must decide which one is right or if the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes. The world of Trollus would be fascinating even with mediocre writing, but it is the vivid imagery Danielle L. Jensen uses that puts Stolen Songbird into the ‘great book’ category. Her descriptions of the tunnels, the sluags, the city itself, the palace gardens, the countryside, etc. all make Cécile’s world come alive. The little details are important and I always had a good picture of what the setting looked like in my head, unlike in a lot of other books that sacrifice description for pacing.
In short, Stolen Songbird is a must-read. It doesn’t come out until April 1, but you had better pre-order a copy right now if you find this book even remotely interesting. Just like me you’ll also want the rest of The Malediction Trilogy to come out this instant as well. I can’t wait for book two!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Altered by Gennifer Albin
(Cover picture courtesy of Xpresso Reads.)
Life. Possibility. Choice.
All taken from Adelice by the Guild—until she took them back.But amid the splendid ruins of Earth, Adelice discovers how dangerous freedom can be. Hunted by soulless Remnants sent by Cormac Patton and the Guild, Adelice finds a world that’s far from deserted. Although allies are easy to find on Earth, knowing who to trust isn’t. Because everyone has secrets, especially those Adelice loves most. Secrets they would kill to protect. Secrets that will redefine each of them. Torn between two brothers and two worlds, Adelice must choose what to fight for.
In this thrilling sequel to Crewel, Adelice is about to learn how tangled up her past and future really are. Her parents ran to protect her, but nothing can save her from her destiny, and once she uncovers the truth, it will change everything.
Usually I expect the second books in trilogy to be boring. Slow, sometimes with more character development and sometimes not. Usually they’re just set up books for the final book. Usually.
Altered is anything but usual. With a book as awesome as Crewel I knew it would be hard for Gennifer Albin to write a follow up that could top it, but she did. Altered is a lot different from Crewel in part because Adelice is finally able to make decisions for herself. She isn’t constantly being monitored by other Spinsters or having Cormac leering down at her at every turn. It takes her a while to discover that steel within herself, but when she’s able to make her own decisions she does mess up occasionally and learns from her experiences. Adelice knows she isn’t perfect and tries to be a better person for her experiences.
The plot dragged a bit in the middle, but there was never really a time when I felt like I was about to go to sleep. There was always some new twist or turn, some new knowledge about the origins or Arras or another interesting character being introduced that made me want to keep reading. And the twist at the end? Wow, I can’t wait to read Unraveled because of that. The first part of the plot twist was not entirely unexpected but the second part dealing with choices certainly was. I won’t give anything away, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing some more dysfunctional family dynamics in the third book.
The thing I liked most (other than the character development) was Gennifer Albin’s world-building. In Crewel we were introduced to the basics of Arras’ creation but in Altered we actually go into a lot more detail and learn about the surprising origins of the project and its leaders. Trust me, the scientist behind the project is not who you’d really expect but it’s a pleasant surprise. We also get to learn that not only women are born with the ability to weave, but men called Tailors can alter the world around them. They can’t create like Spinsters but they have some very interesting abilities and many of them have been persecuted for their talents.
So overall? This is an awesome second book. I can hardly wait until Unraveled, coming this October!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Othello by William Shakespeare
(Cover picture courtesy of Monster Marketplace.)
One of the greatest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Othello tells the story of a Moorish general who earns the enmity of his ensign Iago when he passes him over for a promotion. Bleak and unsparing, this play offers a masterly portrait of an archvillain and an astute psychological study of the nature of evil. Explanatory footnotes.
Hmm, how does one review Shakespeare? Not easily, as it turns out. (This is my third attempt at doing a review for Othello.) So I’ll basically just discuss the play and my thoughts about it.
One thing I always have liked about Shakespeare is his characters. His characters are vibrant, complex beings that stick with you long after you’ve finished the play. Othello is one of them, but Iago is my favourite out of the whole play. He’s a fascinating character and his soliloquies are some of my favourites in all of Shakespeare’s plays. Iago’s interesting in that he doesn’t really have a concrete motive for hurting Othello. Is it because he’s miserable and wants other people to be miserable too? Could it be he’s jealous of Othello’s rank? Or does he see Othello’s good traits and want to turn them evil to bring Othello down to his own level? It’s certainly up for debate.
Desdemona is fascinating as well in her own way. She dared to love Othello, a black man, in a time when racism was completely socially acceptable. She even married Othello against the wishes of her father, which was extremely rare in those days even if you don’t consider the societal taboos on interracial marriages. In the end her only fault was trusting her new husband, the man she loved.
In some ways Othello is one of my favourite plays by Shakespeare not just because of the characters but that every scene advances the plot. There’s always a hint of what is to come maybe in a dialogue between two characters, Iago’s soliloquies or even just in the mood of the scene itself from the stage directions. I sped through Othello like I have with no other Shakespeare play and it’s one that I really enjoyed even though it was pretty easy to predict the ending.
As for this Dover Thrift Edition, it’s adequate but nothing more. There are notes about definitions of words that have changed over time but if you’re someone looking for an analysis of the play I’d recommend a different edition.
So overall? One of the best Shakespeare plays I’ve read so far.
I give this play 5/5 stars.