Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: Juliet Marillier – Raven Flight

Posted on by
Reply
Raven Flight
Juliet Marillier
Having safely reached Shadowfell, now Neryn needs to master the elements of earth and water, each testing her in their own way. She must leave the safety and her tenuous forming friendships, and get on with Tali, a warrior set on hating her.
I’m not entirely sure why this novel is called Raven Flight. I would perhaps call it Crow Flight, but that name would be even better suited to the third novel if you were going for straight-forward names.
Ravenflight improves on the first novel, and in terms of magic and learning it proved to be the best of the three. I really enjoyed the practical elements of magic. The breathing, understanding water and its volatility, learning the rituals and offerings. Remember to be respectful of the elders and the native environs.
A lot of this novel is Neryn working out the ethics of using her skills. She doesn’t want to let anyone die, yet she knows that some must die in the process. It’s an interesting conundrum, something most people would not face. Trial and error seems the way to go.
Not much I can say about this novel really. Just as good as the first one, but still not as enthralling as some of Marillier’s other works.

The cover on this one matches the first, which naturally makes me happy. Thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy to review.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy5star

Review: Juliet Marillier – Shadowfell

Posted on by
Reply
Shadowfell
Juliet Marillier
Neryn has been fleeing Enforcers for most of her young life. After she is snapped up in a game of chance, she is given the opportunity to make her way to a safe place. Trusting no-one, she heads off on her own, but doesn’t know the way in the winter.
Neryn and Flint’s relationship is a tenuous one. Neryn doesn’t trust anyone, sensibly enough in her world. She tries to trust the un-canny folk, but in the beginning they aren’t that fond of her either.
This novel is mainly about the journey to Shadowfell (which often seems hopeless and too far away), and Neryn displaying the signs of the Caller before she can begin training. Although not particularly entrancing at the beginning, it did warm up.
This novel reminded me strongly of another set of books I enjoyed by Alison Croggon. The Books of Pellinor is also a journey and powers quartet.
In every novel of Marillier the background and landscape (as well as traditions), are strongly rooted in Celtic beginnings. If you’re fond of her other works, you’ll like this one too. If you (or your younger reader) aren’t ready for the Daughter of the Forest, this is a perfect starter into this world-type.
The magic system in this world is not particularly new. People are ‘canny’, and the fairy folk they see are ‘un-canny’. Although the tyrant king holds that these people are ‘smirtched’, and wants to kill them all off. I don’t quite understand this, as it was a prophesy that he would die at the hand of someone canny, yet he brings them closer to him if they suit his purposes. Then again, he is a tyrant.
I received this novel straight from Pan Macmillan for review. I would have bought it on my own however, as I love these sets of novels from this author.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy5star

Review: Anna Frost – The Fox’s Mask (review and giveaway)

Posted on by
Reply
The Fox’s Mask
Anna Frost
Akakiba is part of the Fox Clan of samurai. He can change into a fox – but he hasn’t told his apprentice yet. With dragons at stake and strange demon possessions going on, it’s important to be honest, and reduce the inevitable shocks. But Akakiba isn’t as contented with himself as he seems.
Nothing was dramatic with the love and affection through the novel. It was ok to love other people, and it was ok that foxes could change their gender. There wasn’t any huge fanfare about Akakiba and Yuki’s relationship, which appeared deeply, but confusingly, loving. I loved how being queer was treated normally – or so I thought. The novel highlighted an issue that’s rampant within the Queer community and is yet to receive widespread acceptance from the general public.
This is historical YA LGBT fiction, and I want to get my hands into more of it as soon as possible. In fact, the next time I have a book buying spree, I think I may need to purchase the second and third books in the trilogy. Or I might get lucky and the author will send me a review copy. Either way, I want them!
I had a couple of reservations at the beginning of the novel, as some of the text and dialogue didn’t sit right with me. I went into this novel dreading the end, because I didn’t know it was a trilogy and I couldn’t see how the action could possibly resolve. The action really was quite slow. There was quite a lot of traveling, which was fine with me, as I wanted to hear more about the countryside.
The thought of magic dying out was scary. It’s a new dread to have in a novel to me,  as most fantasy novels take magic for granted. More could have been done with it, but this novel was mainly about exposing Akakiba.
The Japanese words scattered throughout the text didn’t bother me, as I studied Japanese at school and remembered their meanings. They added a bit of interest to the text for the average reader I felt – more than just saying it’s set in Japan, the culture and language hold true as well.
I was requested by the author to read this novel, and participate in the tour. I haven’t toured a novel for a while, since my reading scedule doesn’t always allow me to finish novels in time. This one however was entracing enough that I devoured it in one gulp.
I’m lucky enough to have a giveaway associated with this novel (but don’t think that’s why I gave it a glowig review, I loved it!)

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy5star

Review: D.M. Cornish – Tales from the Half-Continent (Monster Blood Tattoo)

Posted on by
Reply
Tales from the Half-Continent (Monster Blood Tattoo)
D.M. Cornish
These are two original Tales that are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo universe. Please keep in mind that I have not read the originals in this series.
‘The Corsers’ Hinge’
Bunting Faukes has a debt and no way to repay it – times are tough for grave robbers. But a way out is presented in the person of Atticus Wells, a sleuth with strange eyes that see into everything.
I was frustrated from the very beginning about the references to different things and people that I was just expected to know. Jumping into these as a set of short stories, the background was just not grabbing enough.
This story started out with Bunting, then jumped back to the sleuth, then back to the present. I would suggest that this was jarring, except that the segue back into the present was flawless.
The ending of this seemed inevitable. A possible reward against an obvious one? I only wish there had been some escape, and that something bigger would come of it.
‘The Fuller and the Bogle’
Virtue Bland is alone in the world. Packed off to Brandenbrass to serve the household of her late father’s employer, she has only her old pa’s olfactologue to remember him by. But with it she can smell monsters.
This short story resonated more firmly with me. Having gotten a basic grasp of it in ‘The Corsers Hinge’, this one went a lot more smoothly. I liked Virtue, I enjoyed the back story, and I felt for her. Not a complete loss.
I would consider reading the other novels in the series – if only someone would give them to me to review! Personal reading is just so far down the list of things I have to do.
I received this novel from Scholastic in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Book blurbs are taken from Goodreads.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy3star

Review: Victoria Scott – Fire and Flood

Posted on by
Reply
Fire and Flood
Victoria Scott
Tella is a Contender. Not that she knows what a Contender is or does. But she is one. She needs to find her Pandora, and go for the race as hard as she can, to save her sick brother. This may mean sacrifices, but at the same time she might gain something else.
There were some really mixed reviews on this novel on Goodreads. Some people compared it to The Hunger Games, and found it lacking, and others really liked. Me? I loved it. I thought it was better than The Hunger Games (my review here).
You know how in the waiting periods of The Hunger Games, there was just nothing going on? Here, there is something going on, and the back story being developed is huge. Sometimes I feel like other reviewers didn’t even get through the whole thing.
Tella is a character anyone can relate to. She doesn’t know what she’s doing, she doesn’t have any great skills, and the only thing she has that might tip the balance is her Pandora egg. Which hasn’t even hatched by the beginning of the first challenge. It’s great to see her character development as she gets more hardened, but also more questioning.
Tella, through her new friends, is able to get a grasp on the external factors. The contestants aren’t all in the dark. Another reason this hits with me, is that the whole situation is actually possible in our world. It’s an average town, with average people, and yet the outside world has other ideas.
I liked the fact that there could be more than one winner. I mean sure, people were dying, but it wasn’t quite so bad. At least they had opted in (with the ultimate price in store), and could opt out at practically any time (I think). Sacrifices needed to be made though.
The ending! Arg! I didn’t want to see the ending! I really really enjoyed reading it. So much so that I actually wrote to the author straight after reading it, and said thank you for producing such a fabulous book. I would recommend this novel over The Hunger Games personally.
I received this novel free as a review copy, but my opinions remain my own.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy5star

Review: Shannon Hale – Book of a Thousand Days

Posted on by
Reply
Book of a Thousand Days
Shannon Hale
This is told from an interesting perspective of a diary. Even though you know someone must be writing it, and you assume it is Dashti each time, you sometimes think that someone else has taken over, because the events she is writing about are too overwhelming or odd.
The synopsis for this on Goodreads suggests that the conclusion is so romantic that no reader will be left dry-eyed. I was dry-eyed. I didn’t connect with Dashti or Lady Saren enough. I felt quite empty after reading it really, and I didn’t ever feel worry.
I felt frustrated that Dashti didn’t make more of an effort to escape. She just waited until things were desperate. She’d rather stay in the tower than be exposed to men. She has a knife! Why doesn’t she protect herself? Surely she has a song to escape? The songs were good, I did like those.
I also felt frustrated in the end of the evil warlord. Dashti was very brave, but damn she’s stupid! She was doing what was noble. And right, I suppose. But damn! Why does she have to be so loyal to someone who doesn’t deserve her help? I guess she is too good-hearted.
The remote tower is a stolen idea. It was stolen from a Grimm’s fairy tale. There are so many adaptations of fairytales these days, and Hale does a lot of them (such as The Goose Girl). It makes me annoyed that no-one has any new creativity and has to resort to old stories instead of new ideas. Even some of my favourite authors are responsible for that sort of thing.
What can I take away from this story that I couldn’t have gotten out of a regular book? What girls can relate to this story and dream of their own fairytale ending? What if they are all like Lady Saren? Why is she so stupid? Get a spine! Don’t depend on loyalty to get you anywhere or magic to take a hand.
Sometimes I don’t realise how much I didn’t enjoy a book until after I have read it. This is one of those ones. It was a throw-away novel – keep your reading time for something else.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy1star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Steadfast

Posted on by
Reply
Steadfast
Mercedes Lackey
Katie is trying to escape from her abusive husband. With Travaeler blood in her veins, yet being a cross-breed, she is unlikely to be welcome anywhere. When she finds a dream job in a music hall of Brighton, she thinks she might be safe for a while. But throw magic into the mix, and who knows what might happen?

This novel started out with so much promise. Once again, it failed to deliver. It smacked of another title in the series, even including rogue fires! I guess she’s run out of unique endings?

This book suited its title so badly, that I didn’t even realise it was based on the story of ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’. The majority of books in this series aren’t really based on any fables, so I wasn’t expecting it. Having now refreshed my memory of this tale, I can see remnants of it, but nothing major.

For several days after completing the novel, I found myself thinking I hadn’t finished it. The ending was too satisfactory and abrupt. Plus it was exactly what I expected, the minute I found out about the cellar.

Maybe my problem was that I didn’t like Katie. She was just so malleable. It didn’t seem right for her to have a special thing like magic. Although I guess she’s just a layman and so the point of his novel was that they could have powers. Her character felt inconsistent to me.  She was afraid of all men, yet her acceptance was pretty good of her new friends, perceptive as they were to what she needed. 

There was so much scope for learning more about how to train a fire mages. But instead the book dwelled on the accommodations and food of the characters.

A disappointment. I thought I’d enjoy it more than Bastion, but I was disappointed. Maybe Lackey is moving away from being my favourite current author. Other writers, such as Juliet Marellia, have published books that I’m longing to read – and perhaps I’d better give their works a closer eye in the future.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy3star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Bastion

Posted on by
1
Bastion
Mercedes Lackey
Mags is still recovering from being kidnapped, and his memories falsified. So that he can have some peace and quiet, he’s sent out on circuit near where his parents and the bandits were left. It seems like he is going to find out more about himself – one way or another, dead or alive.

First off, what’s up with the title anyway? It feels like a little bit of named countryside that I’ve never read about before. It’s not mentioned in any of the other novels of Valdemar that have been listed in the Guard archives, and you’d think a piece of history like that would be in there, like the Vanyel references.

I’m not sure whether to object or not about the pace of this novel. It seems to me like nothing happens in the first half, literally, except some flashbacks to previous novels. I enjoy scenery descriptions and so forth, but there needs to be some substance behind it. Like the others in this series, it felt empty and unsatisfying and could have been combined into one of the other novels. Yes, it did have a pretty distinct storyline in the end, but there was so much filler!
I felt really uncomfortable with the treatment of Mag’s and Amily’s relationship. Mags is a Herald! The conversation he and his mentor have is just awkward for Mags and readers alike. It’s not similar to any other novel she’s written that I’ve read, which is most of them, and I don’t like it and don’t feel like it added anything to the story. In fact it felt crude. The dramas between the two mentors had a little bit of interest in it, but the eventual resolution of it was a let down.
Once again, I got to the end and wondered if it was finished. This time, I wasn’t even sure if it was the end of the series or not! This seems like a publishing money cow, but it’s not a tasty one. I didn’t even remember the book before this one very well – this one is just as forgettable.
I’ve got another Mercedes Lackey novel waiting for me to review it – I’m not that excited, but it’s from a series she hasn’t stuffed up yet too much, so hopefully it is good!
This was just the right novel to get me into reviewing again – something to partially tear apart by an author who should have known better. I’ve been reading but not reviewing lately. I just got a fabulous stack of books from Scholastic to review though so I should have some more going on really soon.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy2star

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Exile’s Valor

Posted on by
Reply
Exile’s Valor
Mercedes Lackey
Alberiech must protect his Queen without her knowing it. With intrigues abounding, is these anyone he can actually trust?
It’s nice to see him falling for someone! If you didn’t see it happening in the first section of this set of two novels, you’ll see it here. It adds a human element to an otherwise manly man.
The glass window and mirrors are a nice touch. I liked hearing about them being made. To me, some of the highlight of a fiction book is that you can learn things without realizing it. I only wish more authors made an effort to teach things in an interesting manner.
The game of Hurlee is also present in other novels in a slightly different form. It appears that finding a way to simulate warfare is pretty important to Weaponsmasters. Not surprising really. I find the game interesting at least, and only wish there were more byplays. It reminds me a bit of Polo in a way.
These set up nicely for the novel ‘Take a Thief’. Alberiech is often wishing he had a thief, and he’ll eventually get one. It’s amazing the amount of work he does. I only wish he had more apprentices.
A thoroughly enjoyable novel, especially after the disappointment I have had lately with other novels in this series.

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy5star

Review: Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory – When Darkness Falls

Posted on by
Reply
When Darkness Falls
Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Kellen has come into his own as a commander of armies. Little does he know that the final battle will not be as he imagined it, nor that things may not work out the way he wanted them to.
There is a definite character progression for Kellen in this novel compared to the first two. Kellen is spunky, and decisive, yet vulnerable as well.
I find it hard to believe that the end would work the way it did, but it did, and it was satisfying. Nothing like having an Outcast (or three) telling you what to do!
It’s all a bit misleading, with each of the miniature climax points really leading to the final battle – which is not at all short. It’s well depicted and satisfying, even for a greedy reader like me.
I find it hard to believe in reincarnation – why wouldn’t everyone else get one if they gave up their love? And it seems like Kellen and the demon girl would want to have children – would they have halfbreeds? Something else? It’s never answered in this trilogy or the next.
I enjoyed this novel almost as much as I enjoyed the first in this series. I’m moving on to read the next set of books in this series as soon as I possibly can!

Find it on:
goodreads_icon copyAmazon-Icon-e1335803835577-300x294 copybookdepository_icon copy5star