Category Archives: Fiction

Review: Brandon Sanderson – Snapshot

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Snapshot
Brandon Sanderson

Anthony Davis’ job is to participate in the same day twice to catch crimes as they happen – to provide data to people in the here and now. In the ‘Snapshot’ time passes again exactly as it did the first time the day ran, except there has been a cop inserted into the scene o observe it. As the day unfolds, Davis finds himself moving on with his life… until the twist.

It’s a novella, so it won’t take you long to read at all. Sanderson still manages to fully realise his characters and build a vivid world within a world for the reader to look at. The premise itself is rather mind-bending and I tried not to think about it too hard. You can’t change the past… but you can view it and hope you don’t change it too significantly.

I admit that I didn’t actually work out what I was supposed to work out by the end of the novel. When I read the afterword by Sanderson I was confused. I hadn’t seen the ending coming at all! I was totally wrapped up in Davis’ perspective. Thus I really wanted to read it again to see what I had missed.

I was just browsing by the shelves of Sanderson novels because I wanted to reread Way of Kings before starting Oathbreaker. And then I saw Snapshot! So of course it went home with me, and I read it immediately. 5 stars from me, and I need to own it myself ASAP.

Review: Mercedes Lackey – The Herald Spy Series

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The Herald Spy Series
Mercedes Lackey

Mags and Amily are ready to get married, but there’s a plot afoot that may have Valdemar at war with its previously peaceful neighbours (Closer to the Heart). Mags and Amily will have to divide and conquer to save the monarchy. Or perhaps they will need to combine forces to overcome a preaching bunch of misogynistic men (Closer to the Chest).

If you couldn’t tell from my introduction to this series, I’m thoroughly unimpressed with it. The characters are sketchy, the concepts have been overworked (see ‘Take a Thief‘ for something better) and enough of that darn dialect! Mags, you should know better by now. Sure, play it up when you’re in character as a ruffian, but the rest of the time, please use language that I don’t have to decipher first!

There’s loose plot ends everywhere here. There’s lots of references to Violetta, who I only vaguely remembered, and some things that I was like, when did I miss that happening? Mags is sometimes so self-absorbed that I found myself wondering why Amily put up with it. I feel like this is one of the only series where there are two protagonists where both are Heralds, but so much more could have been done with their partnership. Every time it looked like things might be difficult Mags subsides into Amily’s arms in bed… and then there were no words.

Lackey seems to be pushing an agenda here by pulling out story lines that make women seem like they are pathetic and have low self-esteem that causes them to throw themselves in a river. Or have nothing better to do than get married. I’d hope for a useful commentary or a way to actually take this down in modern life, but there isn’t one. Even Amily spends half the time accepting that Mags has to be able to save her. Pathetic.

So I spotted the second two novels in this series at the library during an URGENT drop in for a 4th book in a series for my 9-year old reader. Eh, I thought to myself. I haven’t read the first one, but the latest Lackey books have been underwhelming, so I bet I can get along without them. Then I got to Goodreads, and it turns out I did read the first. And gave it a pathetic 2 stars. These were an ok way to pass the time while trying to ignore my anxiety about a job interview! But nothing special that I feel like I need to own or reread. 3 stars for being passable.

Review: Marie Lu – Legend

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Legend
Marie Lu

June is a prodigy who scored perfectly on her Test and is on a fast-track to military greatness. Day spectacularly failed his test and took to the streets to eek out a living and help his family as he can. Their paths cross when June’s brother Metias is murdered and Day is the prime suspect.

This was a clean teenage fiction with a tight-timed plot line and some chaste kisses. It was refreshing to read something that didn’t really want me to think too hard. I easily swapped between the perspectives of June and Day. Day watching over things actually reminded me strangely of Aladdin! Things often moved very quickly and so the characterisation sometimes suffered. The interactions between June and Day still seemed genuine though.

Ok, so I have to say it. The world-building sucks. I never got a concrete grasp on what parts of the world were ‘Republic’ and which were the ‘Colonies’. The pendant’s secret sort of filled in where the world was, but not really. But I wonder whether this was deliberate on the author’s part, because Day and June don’t actually know very much about what is going on in the world outside either. Perhaps the next book will illuminate things further.

I’m thinking a direct comparison to Divergent here in terms of the Dystopian world that is built. It’s not hugely different from the world we live in now, just with some subtle changes. I picked up this novel from a Goodwill store while I was still on my USA adventure. I liked the look of it enough that it followed me home, but I only just got around to reading it. Now, unfortunately, I need to get my hands on the next novel, especially as other reviewers on Goodreads have said that this series improves.  4 stars from me.

Review: Lucy Christopher – Storm-Wake

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Storm-Wake
Lucy Christopher

Moss has always lived on the flower island with Pa and fish-boy Cal. Pa controls the storms, and Moss growing older, but he can’t control Cal. With the storms getting worse, and Pa’s Blackness creeping in, will Moss ever be able to see her Birthday Surprise?

What am I supposed to feel about this whole concept? I read that this is based loosely around ‘The Tempest’, which now makes the chapter/section headings make sense. Reading it just as a novel without this novel makes the reader confused as to why things are Act 1, Scene I etc. Why has the author chosen to do this? I honestly have no idea why the author did ANYTHING in this novel.

The characters are devoid of any introspective thoughts or higher level planning, mainly aided by the lack of language. The novel meandered through deep drug hazes in flowery (haha) language that drove me crazy with its childish repetition and semi-made-up language that runs into itself. This kind of writing reminded me of MunMun.  To top things off, there is no conclusion to this novel. What is real, and what isn’t? What are the chances of people actually being able to swim that far?

It’s not fantasy, but it’s not clear fiction either. It’s a made-up world that I regret spending a couple of hours in my life in. Just like Neverland, I forced myself to finish reading this novel in the hopes of a redemption that didn’t come. 1 star.

Scholastic | 1st July 2018 | AU$16.99 | paperback

Review: Michael Gerard Bauer – The Things That Will Not Stand

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The Things That Will Not Stand
Michael Gerard Bauer

Sebastian and Tolly are going to Open Day to find out what they might like to do with their futures. Tolly knows what he wants to do, but Sebastian is more uncertain – he’ll just have fun with what he can. He like Rom-Com movies and hopes that he will meet the girl of his dreams. However, the girl he meets is more like his worst nightmare.

Slow, this novel was very slow. Perhaps that’s because similarly to They Both Die at the End the action is across a single day. I wanted to like this novel but I need more than a day’s worth of character development to keep me satisfied. The ‘action’ was hardly action at all.

Nothing happens – they just wonder around the uni campus and talk sweet nothings at each other. In the case of Frida her inconsistencies frustrated both me and Seb. I hope that most teenage boys’ minds do not operate like Seb’s because he is an idiot! Because of this (or despite of it?) this book is a likely candidate for a year 7 English book.

I think the title of this novel was stupid. The things that will not stand could be huge! But ultimately they don’t play a strong role in the crux of the novel. I thought I was familiar with this novel’s author – he is also the author of The Pain, My Mother, Sir Tiffy, Cyber Boy & Me. It turns out I didn’t like that novel either!

I picked up and put down this book a bunch of times so that when I got to the big reveal at the end I had forgotten why it was surprising or particularly important.  What I did like is that in the end Sebastian’s good nature won over his dopey idiot attitude. 2 stars from me.

Scholastic | 1st October 2018 | AU$18.99 | paperback

Review: Cecily Gayford (Ed) – A Very Murderous Christmas

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Christmas should be a time of joy and family. In these 10 crime short stories written by the best classic crime writers Christmas becomes a time of murder and mayhem instead. Well… as long as you are in the Northern Hemisphere and have a snowy Christmas.

So I’m not usually one for crime novels, and you wouldn’t expect me to enjoy a set of crime short stories. However, I’m in a bit of a reading slump at the moment, and I figured what would it hurt if I read it? As I have always said, short stories are a good way of working out whether you want to read more by a specific author.

The Man with the Sack by Margery Allingham – Nifty! I actually rather liked this one. I’m not sure it was the right short story to start the volume though, not enough oomph.

The Adventure of the Red Widow by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr – I was underwhelmed by this one. I know that Sherlock Holmes is the namesake of crime (along with Agatha Christie), but I didn’t really enjoy the writing style and I would have preferred more clues so I could solve it myself.

Camberwell Crackers by Anthony Horowitz – This was a good one! I find it interesting how so often the ‘bad guy’ briefly exposes themselves with a look, but the detective isn’t sure what to make of it. 

The Flying Stars by GK Chesterton – Eh, average.

A Problem in White by Nicholas Blake – I could have liked this one because it offered me the clues to solve the ‘whodunnit’ by myself. However, I was irritated by the way the different characters were referred to by their types and therefore that I couldn’t always follow who was who.

Loopy by Ruth Rendell – This was an interesting premise, but so loopy 😉 that it didn’t work for me.

Morse’s Greatest Mystery by Colin Dexter – Average. I hardly remember what it was about, and I only just read it!

The Jar of Ginger by Gladys Mitchell – I was keen to read this one from the name. However, it didn’t actually play out the way I expected it to. What kind of ginger was it exactly? Crystalised ginger? I expected powdered ginger.

Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces by John Mortimer – This actually had a lot in common with one of the other stories (The Man with the Sack) and so didn’t offer much new.

The Problem of Santa’s Lighthouse by Edward Hoch – This one was ok, but I would have liked some more clues so I could solve it for myself.

Overall this set of short stories was rather underwhelming. I’ll still give it 3 stars, but I feel that your reading time could be spent better elsewhere.

Allen & Unwin | 28th November 2018 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Mercedes Lackey – Aerie

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Aerie
Mercedes Lackey

Kiron has assisted with the union of Tia and Alta, yet things are not as simple as they seem. Despite the Great King and Queen uniting the lands, without a common enemy the common people are divided. While on patrol, Kiron spots a lone rider from the border town – unfortunately dead. Have the Magi returned?

Half the time Kiron acts very teenager-y and the rest of the time a bit childish! He spends a lot of time second-guessing himself and being grumpy. I’m not certain how many years have passed since the other novels, but I would guess at least 3-4, since there are a lot of new dragon wings (complete wings of 9). If he’s the chief of the Jousters, he needs to get a wriggle on!

There are a lot of missed connections in this novel, and parts where I felt like a sub-story had started, yet wasn’t completed. For example, the original ‘wing’ has a huge discussion on how to deal with the oldest Jousters, and they decide that a new wing is a great idea. But none of the shuffling is ever realised. We just jumped from this concept straight onto Kiron with a new wing finding the body.

I wanted something comfortable to read that I wouldn’t need to review (since I’m still behind)… So I reread Joust and Alta, then Sanctuary (oops, I haven’t reviewed that one either). My memory of this novel was a bit rusty, I just haven’t read it as many times as the others. And no wonder why! There’s not enough dragon training here for me, and too much politics and self-doubt. I seem to remember this originally being a trilogy, and then turning into a quartet. You don’t need to read this novel to enjoy the others, and I personally found it a let down.

Review: Raymond E. Feist – King of Ashes

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King of Ashes
Raymond E. Feist

The Fire kingdom has been betrayed an decimated. But a Prince may have survived… Hatu, Hava and Donte are being raised in the way of the Hidden assassins, and Hatu has to constantly hide both his affection for Hava and his fire red hair. In the mean time, a blacksmith’s apprentice is getting ready to perform his Masterwork and go out into the world.

The thing for me about this novel was the pacing. It was just so incredibly slow! I figured that the three perspective would end up together eventually, but that ‘eventually’ wasn’t until the end of the novel (trust me, I haven’t spoiled it for you). The multiple perspectives worked against the suspense in this novel. Despite the blurb being very keen to state that there is a price on Hatu’s head, and the Hidden ones ulterior motives, I didn’t feel a sense of danger.

I actually liked the blacksmith the most. He was portrayed as a simpleton for the most part (not worldly etc) but he wasn’t as gullible as he might have seemed. His character didn’t ring true for me – why didn’t he go back to the town if he was so concerned? And in the end, I didn’t see his place in the bigger picture at all.

I was surprisingly disappointed in this novel. Raymond Feist is a huge name in fantasy and so I was really excited to be lucky enough to receive a review copy. Maybe this set up my expectations to be too high. It was easy to be bogged down in the details of life and not see what the novel was trying to set up. The whole novel feels like a set up for the last chapter – maybe the action will occur in book 2?

I’d read the second novel in this series, but I wouldn’t reread this one. There wasn’t enough depth or foreshadowing for me. I found myself constantly comparing it to The Way of Kings by Sanderson and finding it lacking.

HarperVoyager | 5th April 2018 | AU$39.99 | hardback

Review: Veronica Roth – Allegiant

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Allegiant
Veronica Roth

Tris has shattered her Faction-based society, yet still finds herself under the thumb of a despotic ruler. When she is a given a chance to explore the world outside the fence, she takes it and runs, hoping that whatever is out there will calm her rage and allow her to forgive herself her wrongs. Tris has only just begun to realise what is happening when it is almost too late to right those wrongs…

The revelations of Insurgent come back to bite Tris in this novel. It seems like there is only one way to solve things when you are Tris – and that’s by irritating and hating the other people around you as much as possible. Tris is such a frustrating protagonist! Her self-destructive urges often just get everyone else into trouble, but she never learns.

I feel like this novel is in the same era as The Hunger Games. The heroine is spunky and rough, and always determined to ignore love as much as possible. The outside rules don’t mean anything in comparison to their own problems and rules. By trying to do what they think is best, they make a huge mess of things!

For the first time, we see both Tris’ and Tobias’ points of view. This novel left me feeling ambivalent. The first novel was worth rereading, but this one doesn’t hold the same appeal. Tris’ character development seems to have stalled and the great reveal has already happened. I didn’t feel anything much as more of the characters were killed off – and I still felt that if Tris was killed the novel wouldn’t have lost anything…

This is the third and final novel in the Divergent series that started with Divergent and Insurgent. I would strongly suggest that you DO NOT read this novel or the blurb without having first red the first two novels. Otherwise you will have significantly ruined the storyline as it builds. 4 stars from me. If you’ve read the first two, you’d better read this one for your peace of mind.

Review: Karelia Stetz-Waters – Worth the Wait

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Worth the Wait
Karelia Stetz-Waters

Once upon a time Avery Crown and Merritt Lessing were the best of friends – but only friends. Then, neither was willing to admit that they loved the other, but now 15 years later they might have a chance together. But Avery’s career would be ruined by coming out as a lesbian, and will Merritt be willing to wait for her to work things out?

Avery, get your head in the game! Merritt, I love you the mostest but please get over yourself and get started loving Avery properly. Even if it’s just sex, enjoy the time you have, grab it! In line with this, there are sex scenes, and I can’t decide whether they helped with the storyline or hindered. As the author is a lesbian, you’d be able to assume that the sex scenes are not unrealistic and pornographic.

I liked how Avery was guilted into continuing with her career by the threat of her co-star being bankrupted by the show ending. However, Avery, grow a spine and admit that you’ll need to look after your co-star a bit better, and keep your mother in line. How old are you now?

I’m really sorry, but I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as the others by Karelia. I much preferred The Admirer and Something True. It just felt sort of ‘meh’ in comparison. Neither of the women really had jobs or personalities that I connected or empathised with.

I’m giving this 4 stars in the knowledge that this book may be someone else’s cup of tea, particularly people who enjoy ‘reality’ or ‘makeover’ TV shows. Identifying as a lesbian isn’t enough for me to love this novel.