Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: Tui T Sutherland – Wings of Fire (books 1-5)

Posted on by
3

Wings of Fire
Tui T Sutherland

The fabled Dragonets of Destiny have spent the whole of their years being hidden underground. When one’s life is in danger however, they take it upon themselves to escape and get the Prophecy started already!

The set up of these books is that each one of the five dragonets of the Prophecy get a book to themselves. The first two books really only rely on the main characters (Clay and Tsunami) to carry them. Naturally then, I loved Clay the most – he might not be the brightest, but he is certainly the friendliest (plus he likes eating). After that point, we start seeing a bit more variety in the dragonets involved, particularly in book 4 (Starflight – Dark dragon).

I actually read the first three novels by borrowing them from my daughter, but then had to access books four and five online as she wouldn’t part with them (doing a full reread of the 13 released books in the series). I then was reading book 3 aloud (because it’s Glory’s book, and I like her!) and somehow got suckered into reading it again. This is easy reading for adults and advanced readers. I think this is the perfect precursor to Eragon or House of Dragons for the young dragon fanatics among us.

I confess. I hated the ending. I wasn’t at all invested in the dragon that ended up Queen, and too many plots didn’t have an ending. There’s a big deal made around how only dragons that are royal by blood can rule for the majority of the books, but then the final choice is… different.

Tsunami is deemed the favourite of my daughter, because she’s a Seawing, and seawings are awesome! My thoughts on the matter are that I reckon that it’s because of all the dragonets, Tsunami is the snappiest, with a hint of magic around her due to her family history. She’s also fearless.

It’s not adult reading, but it can certainly be enjoyed by an adult as a bedtime reading book to a young dragon fancier. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of “The Winglets Quartet”, so expect that review near in the future!

Review: Kalynn Bayron – Cinderella is Dead

Posted on by
1

Cinderella is Dead
Kalynn Bayron

Sophia has been preparing for her debut for her whole life. Or at least, her parents have been trying to prepare her. Every girl may go to the ball three times and be chosen by a man – or her life will be forfeit. Sophia can see through the facade though, and she doesn’t want to be chosen by a man. She wants to be with Erin.

I liked the new twist on the Cinderella fairytale, but some elements left me feeling disappointed and short changed. I was happy that I had a lesbian protagonist. I was happy that she didn’t instantly fall for her new female friend… but that she lusted over her. Who doesn’t want something that is forbidden? I feel like that love was really just lust, and that’s far more preferable to insta-love.

I would like to know where Sophia got her blackness from. The kingdom seems tiny and racially white, so where did she come from? I get that she doesn’t fit in, and I get that that resonates with many people of colour at the moment. My problem is that the world that Bayron has built in this novel is too small to have more than one race of people. The ‘Kingdom’ itself just seems to consist of one large town?

I didn’t understand the ending with the Fairy Godmother. What did she get out of the status quo? Living forever doesn’t seem like a fabulous thing to me, particularly if you’re isolated. Also, the ending made it seem like if you can just topple the Man at the Top, everything will be breezy. It’s not that easy though. You can’t just make a hole in the power structure at the top, and expect everyone to come to the new system. I wanted to see more – how will this new way of living go? What other countries might they learn about?

Ultimately the ending let me down and I kind of regretted spending my time reading it. A light-hearted and unfulfilling novel. I can only hope that this author’s worldbuilding skills improve for her future novels – and if she’s still writing queer fiction, I’ll be reading it!

Bloomsbury | 1st September 2020 | AU$15.99 | paperback

Review: Juliet Marillier – A Dance with Fate

Posted on by
1

A Dance with Fate
Juliet Marillier

Liobhan, Dau and Brock are in training to become elite Swan Island Warriors. Brock and Liobhan were musicians before, but will they remain able to maintain their skills with the hard training at hand? After the events of the first novel (spoilers ahead), Liobhan and Dau have completed their training, while Brock remains in the Otherworld. A horrible accident sends Dau and Liobhan back to Dau’s childhood home where more is at stake than it appears.

Although I was introduced to Mariellier’s work through the Sevenwaters series (those are some of my earliest reviews, circa 2012), I personally feel that the Blackthorn and Grim novels are some of her best work. I hurried to read this novel, because I knew anything by Juliet Marillier would be good. I was shocked to discover that I hadn’t read the Harp of Kings! Fortunately I still had it on my reviewing shelf, and I didn’t have to break quarentine to get it from my main (offsite) bookshelf. As a result, I read the two novels back to back, and this will ltherefore be a combined review.

I knew that I loved the Blackthorn and Grim novels and I was both sad and satisfied after reading them (Dreamer’s Pool, Tower of Thorns and Den of Wolves). Because I don’t tend to read anything about a novel until after I’ve read and reviewed it, I didn’t initially realise that this novel was about Blackthorn & Grim’s children. I was thinking that the writing and tone of the characters was familiar, and then on page 39 I finally realised why! Liobhan and Brock are their children!

As always, Marillier pulls you in with relatable characters, and then sets the scene for them masterfully. Liobham, Brock and Dau lept out of the pages at me, demanding that I keep reading. This has the elements of mystery (and subsequent reader frustration that we can’t work it out either!) that I loved from the first series. That being said, there is no need to have read the first trilogy as this one can stand alone. Equally, you could read A Dance with Fate without having read The Harp of Kings – but why stint youself on reading?

There might be the underlying idea that the three protagonists are warriors first and foremost, but that’s not the case. Marillier doesn’t linger on bloody fight scenes, but includes enough detail that I could see the action sequences in my mind. The music is included in such a way that I wished there was a soundtrack to listen to while reading.

Oh! And did I mention the glossy covers with beautiful, appropriate art? I perhaps expected Liobham’s hair to be tied back, but otherwise she’s the woman I would imagine. I’m giving these 5 stars (naturally) and I can’t wait to see and read the next book.

Pan Macmillan | 28th July 2020 | AU$32.99 | paperback

Review: Jessica Cluess – House of Dragons

Posted on by
Reply

House of Dragons
Cluess

Every 50 years or so, a new Emperor must be chosen. The chosen ones are the oldest, strongest and best trained of their family. But this year, something seems to have gone wrong. It’s the younger siblings’ turn to compete for the throne with their dragons – except in some cases, the youngest has been murdered or isn’t the youngest!

I have to say I was stupidly excited to get a novel with dragons. It feels like it’s been too long since my dragon fix! Unfortunately, this one turned out to have more perspectives from the humans, and not enough from the dragons (except for towards the end of the book). Turns out that this novel has the same title as a Game of Thrones something? Anyway, I had to actually put the author in to find it in GoodReads.

I think it’s a bit rich to call one of the contestants a liar. She’s just a bit shady about her abilities! I’m absolutely buying the soldier, thief and servant as accurate character descriptions, but honestly the murderer is more like a psychopath! I didn’t really get attached to any of the characters, except perhaps Emilia. Everyone else was pretty average. I honestly feel like Emilia was my favourite because her perspective was the first one I read. Of course, I’m always going to complain about too many perspectives in a novel as my pet peeve – and here there are five different view points!

I am going to look for the next book when it comes out, because you know, dragons. And with the events in the last couple of chapters, I think it’ll be more exciting, and have more dragons! I was feeling disappointed at the end though, because I think it could have wrapped up and I would have been satisfied by the ending. Instead, the epilogue leaves it open for the next book. On the epilogue… it makes absolutely NO SENSE in the context of the rest of the novel. Read it, and see if you agree with me.

I did finish off this novel, and it’s hopefully shifted me out of my COVID-19/reading slump. I’m also behind on reviews, and feeling pretty guilty about it. 4 stars from me, even if it’s more of a 3 star read now that I’ve reviewed it.

Penguin Random House | 4th August 2020| AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Brandon Sanderson – Steelheart (N)

Posted on by
Reply

David knows Epics, guns, and that he sucks at metaphors. He wants to take down one Epic in particular, Steelheart. Now that the Reckoners are in town he has a shot, if he can convince them he’s right.

Interesting flip on super-powers on earth. The maxim power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely comes to mind. An event known as Calamity results in super-powered humans, without any humanity. These people, called Epics, do as they please regardless, when they please. Combining a twist on superheros as villians with a manufactured dystopian future. David is a fact-smart but people-dumb protagonist who’s point of view we follow through the completion of David’s vendetta against the Epic, Steelheart.

On the surface the story is straight-forward battle against the big bad, revenge for lost family, and freeing people from tyrannical rule. It goes deeper than this given the underlying theme of what happens when you create a power vacuum by removing a semi-benevolent dictator. Which Steelheart is if only because he considers all ordinary people his property to do with as he wishes, after all you cannot rule without subjects. There are also themes of choice, revenge, the belief of good vs evil, tall-tales, and a lively argument on the pros and cons of rifles vs handguns. Beyond that there are excellent characters in David and the Reckoner team. Each bringing a different viewpoint on the situation and the plans they develop to topple Steelheart. Creating enough conflict that it is not just a clear system of kill and move on for the Reckoners. And everything is planned out to the nth degree.

I’ll say this for the story as a whole it keeps you guessing up to the end on if the Reckoners will be successful. The ending was a shock but also made a weird level of sense, having been in Davids point of view from start to finish allows us to follow the logic of his realisations as well. The final twist shows the 3 McGuffins that allow the Reckoners to be even the slightest bit successful at assassinating Epics are more than they seem. Makes for a nice twist at the end without compromising the enjoyment of rereading the book later.
A few loose ends for the story, but expected ones since this is the first book of a series.

Great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday. And I will come back to read it again in the future, since this is where my happy lives. And, given it was the first of many Sanderson novels I read, as an introduction to Sanderson’s writing style I’d highly recommend.

Review: Tamora Pierce – Tempests and Slaughter

Posted on by
Reply

Tempests and Slaughter
Tamora Pierce

Numair comes from a family that is delighted and bewildered by his brilliance at magery and academics. From being a lonely student, he finds himself befriended by Orzone the leftover prince and Varice, an attractive young woman who is a witch in the kitchen. As Orzone gets closer to the throne and Varice becomes more attractive, what will Numair find himself doing?

This has what could be called a ‘slow burn’. There’s no real action, and no real climax to it. There are hints at the Orzone behind the Emperor Mage but that’s about it. It’s like the first Harry Potter books where the focus was on learning, and let’s face it, those books were my favorites for that reason!

Let’s talk about sex. Generally Tamora Pierce talks about safe sex and some canoodling. In this novel she approaches Numair’s body changing as he hits puberty, and what this means for him. I actually found it quite awkward to read, and I wonder whether this was deliberate on the author’s part or just a facet of this novel that didn’t work.

I almost can’t believe that I didn’t purchase this at the beginning of last year, it’s been published for more than a year and I forgot to check! I haven’t been keeping up to date with authors that I used to follow avidly, mainly because I receive a lot of novels from publishers and I don’t really have a budget for buying novels (hello mortgage!).

I’ll eventually be purchasing this, probably once the other novels in the trilogy are published (I wouldn’t want them not to match!). When that happens I’ll be primed to read it again too. So four stars from me.

Review: Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of the Wind (K)

Posted on by
Reply

Kvothe has lived a long and adventure-filled life. Known by many names, and surrounded by rumours, the true story of his life is known only to him. Finally, after many years, he agrees to tell his story to a chronicler, and release the knowledge of what truly happened.

This book begins quite slowly and takes a few chapters to really become immersive. The aspects of the book set in the ‘current time’ never really interested me, and I gave up on the book once before being able to reach the more exciting parts. This was a theme throughout my reading of the book; the events set in the present didn’t seem as engaging as those set in the past. Even when dramatic events appeared to be occurring, I never managed to find myself excited in them. I believe the main reason for this was that most of the book is set in the past. This meant that there were only a few pages of present time every few chapters, which was not enough to get to know the characters or immerse myself in the storyline. I also found myself forgetting the events occurring in the present, which often left me confused.

That said, the ‘past’ storyline was wonderful. It was well-written and immersive, and I fell in love with the characters. Even when nothing important seemed to be happening, the book was written well enough that I was still deeply invested. Young Kvothe’s actions around the university, and his reasons for everything he did were so well thought-through that he seemed as complicated and 3-dimensional as any person I have ever met. The book strikes a perfect balance between making the character stand out by being able to do impressive things, but not be so perfect that it is hard to believe. My only complaint with this part of the book was that there wasn’t enough detail into his education. It felt at times that he had learnt a skill out of nowhere, because it hadn’t been mentioned beforehand.

I wish that this book had been written entirely from the perspective of the young Kvothe, instead of having old Kvothe tell the story. The ‘past’ storyline was stronger and better-written, and the current storyline only seemed to pull me out of my immersion. Some parts were beneficial; it added to a sense of anticipation to hear the cryptic phrases old Kvothe says about young Kvothe’s situation, but the benefits do not outweigh the downsides of breaking immersion and having to sit through the less interesting background to get to the more interesting parts.

I would rate this book a 4/5. It very easily could have made a 5 if it had been the old storyline alone, but as it stands, and because I nearly gave up on the book before managing to even reach the ‘old’ storyline, I can only give it a 4.

 

 

 

Review: Neal Shusterman – Arc of a Scythe

Posted on by
Reply

Arc of a Scythe
Neal Shusterman

Citra and Rowan have been selected as Scythe’s apprentices. They are responsible for controlling the human population now that death, war and disease have been overcome. Their mentor Faraday thinks that he can train them both – but soon they have been pitted against one another by Goddard.

I read this trilogy in very short order – so short that I’m not going to bother reviewing the individual novels. That being said ,the first novel was a standout in my mind, while the other two novels dropped off in quality and consistency.

Scythe Anastasia toes the line most of the time, while Rowan likes to push boundaries. Although surely both got equal page time, I felt like the skew was towards having more Anastasia. I could have lived with a few less perspectives so that there was more tension. Eventually I could see exactly where the plot line was going.

What was the purpose of having the Thunderhead cut off like that? Why was mister mean guy so mean in the end? Why couldn’t the Thunderhead just overcome its own programming like the way it went around its other limitations?

I had a problem with the human population not even really needing containment. I would have kept it down at a constant level, not letting it expand even to just below capacity! What if the humans found a way around it? Scythes aren’t necessarily the most brilliant after all.

This series includes Scythe, Thunderhead, and The Toll. I wouldn’t reread them, but I really enjoyed reading it the first time. I’d give the first novel 4 stars, and the others 3 stars.

Review: Anthony Ryan – Blood Song

Posted on by
Reply

Blood Song
Anthony Ryan

Abandoned at the gates of the Sixth Order, Vaelin Al Sorna will be trained as a deadly warrior devoted to the Faith and his Realm. His skills with the sword are unsurpassed and he drinks in the teachings of his Order effortlessly. But is there a larger game afoot? Who is the mastermind or even the enemy?

I’m sorry. I tried to love this novel because someone I knew recommended it as superior to a Sanderson novel. My problem was that the protagonist just wasn’t very smart and the story not that gripping. It’s a pretty typical male-focused fantasy with only a token female or two. I’m used to variety in my fantasy now, so this was unlikely to meet my expectations.

I needed the Blood Song to be more apparent. In fact, it was so minor that I didn’t think that Vaelin even needed it. Sure, he trusted it some of the time, but most of the time he seemed to do what was against it regardless. Not to mention his ‘training’ is not really training with how to use it. I felt like Vaelin would be better off collecting an entourage of people he owed than bending to the will of the King.

I found myself very frustrated by the ending. I didn’t fully understand why the framing was used through the story at any point. It meant that there were no surprises or suspense for Vaelin surviving unharmed. I can hardly believe that there are two more books about him! I’m not even sure I’m motivated to read the wiki pages to see what the final ending is.

It’s not a bad novel, it’s just indifferent for me. I perhaps enjoyed the training part of the novel (that somehow takes up the first half of the novel before any action happens) most, because the real ‘action’ wasn’t really action. The ending was a real letdown. 3 stars from me.

Review: Kesia Lupo – We are Blood and Thunder

Posted on by
Reply

We are Blood and Thunder
Kesia Lupo

Lena is desperate to escape her life as a cryptling serving the Duke’s Forest Ancestors – but instead finds herself needing to escape to survive after she is branded as a mage. Constance is a mage trying to find her way back into the Forest after her flight many years ago. Both of them are somehow connected to the storm that is slowly killing the Duke’s people, but can they realise this in time to save anyone?

You won’t see the twists coming in this novel. I feel like even mentioning that there is a twist might give things away.  In addition, I liked the idea that magic could be aided or changed by adding clockwork elements, and I think more could have been done with this.

I didn’t get a sense of how large the world was. It seemed absurd to me that Duke’s Forest could be a walk away from the King. I didn’t even see the King and it seemed like this important figure was just invisible behind the potential Radicals. So some important things also seemed inconsistent – the change in Constance’s magic. I thought it was purple? And then it turned out to be white.

What I couldn’t believe, and what spoiled the book for me, was the romance aspect. The relationships that develop seem to be fragile and tenuous from the way that the characters spoke, but then their actions said that there were some strong feelings going on.

I could have seen more about the various religious/God sects which I thought were introduced but not properly discussed. Perhaps this will be explored in the not-a-sequel set in the same world. 3 stars for this one due to the disappointing characters, but I expect to see more good things from this author.

Bloomsbury | 1st May 2019 | AU$16.99 | paperback