Review: Juliet Marillier – The Bridei Chronicles 3 – The Well of Shades

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The Well of Shades
Juliet Marillier
Faolan must return to his homeland and face his history. He encounters many obstacles, including one who may be more than she sees. Not all is right at home either, with Bridei’s court in disarray with the arrival of a new Light Isles Princess.
It’s amazing to witness the character development of Faolan in this novel. What was begun in Blade of Fortriu is lead to a stunning conclusion here. Faolan becomes more and more likeable for me, and a better person all around.
There are plenty of narrative threads in this novel, and plenty of action. Sure, there’s less warmongering than in the others in this trilogy but the people element is strong and carries the book well.
I can’t think of enough praise for this novel. I was desperate to finish reading it, but was very sad when I had done so. Marillier writes such great fantasy that if she was a touch more prolific she might be my favourite author of all time!
It seems to me that the 4th book in this series, as yet unpublished (and possibly not to be written) would do a good job of rounding up some open ends. In particular, the influx of the Christian faith is only briefly mentioned, and more could have been made of its inevitable progress.

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Review: Mercedes Lackey – Elemental Masters 3 – Phoenix and Ashes

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Phoenix and Ashes
Mercedes Lackey

Eleanor had expected to go to Oxford, but instead she finds herself as a drudge working for her evil stepmother and step sisters. She’s lived for 2 years with no hope, but when she starts seeing things in fire, she wonders about the existence of magic.

Like others in the Elemental Masters series, this is based on a fairytale – Cinderella. You couldn’t want for a more evil step mother! It’s an interesting rendition of the tale, complete with ball, but differing about the shoes. It means that you know how the novel is going to end up, but that’s not always a bad thing.

This novel has some more of the theory behind elemental magic that is both boring and interesting to read at the same time. The teaching method in this one is by Tarot cards, which in themselves are interesting because they are used by modern day Pagans and so forth. It makes a nice change from the other novels in the series where the student is taught by a real teacher.

Phoenix and Ashes is set during, I believe, World War 2, with the Germans and many pointless deaths. It’s powerful stuff. There isn’t that much focus on the war itself though, mainly the interest is what it does to the survivors of war, and the changing of social strata as a consequence of this.

I really enjoyed rereading this novel, and even though I remembered most of the storyline really well, this was like being enfolded in a warm comforting blanket. Just the right amount of thought provoking imagery, and the right connection with the heroine.

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Review: Juliet Marillier – The Bridei Chronicles 2 – The Blade of Fortriu

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The Blade of Fortriu
Juliet Marillier
Ana, a princess of the Light Isles, is being sent to make a strategic marriage for her King Bridei. Little does she know that her party will be changed, and that the self she presents will need to be ripped apart before life can proceed.
Ana’s character development is particularly convincing, as is Faolin’s. Drunstan is a bit more of an unknown element, but I think it suits him. Faolan is enigmatic, and it’s nice to see that shell finally crack a bit, even if it’s painful for it to do so.
The action in this novel is almost too powerful to read. I was gripped from start to finish. I couldn’t bear for Ana to end up with the horrible Alvin oaf. Something I did have difficulty reconciling with what I knew of him was that he actually was waiting for the wedding night to take her. It seemed to me like they were in a little isolated pocket and that they could have gotten away with anything they pleased.
Once again, I let this book go by without reviewing it promptly, and I’ve forgotten a lot of the good things I wanted to say about it. It’s entirely worth your time to read it though.

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Review: Mercedes Lackey – Elemental Masters 1 – The Serpent’s Shadow

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The Serpent’s Shadow
Mercedes Lackey

Maya has made a jump around the world from India to England. Still she is pursued by an unnamed shadow that threatens everything that she has worked for. More mundane problems hunt her steps too, as a female doctor in early English society.

I love Maya. She’s a strong female protagonist who won’t say die. She always takes the hardest path (a bit like me really), but always triumphs. It’s difficult for her though, because she doesn’t have all the tools she needs. Peter can provide her with those, and more than you would expect.

As an introduction to the Elemental Masters series, I think this novel is not as good as some others. More theory could have been discussed, and less abstract things by the counsel. Additionally, it doesn’t quite fit in, because as far as I know, it doesn’t have any fairytale elements like the others.

The ending of the novel seems too abrupt for me. I would have liked a bit more detail about the cleaning up of the temple, and the weddings. The letters in the epilogue just don’t cut it for me, and they break with the continuity that held the rest of the novel together.

I don’t know enough about British history to say whether this novel is accurate in the portrayal of Britain’s influences on India, and the number of Hindu people in London, but it’s a nice introduction even if surely it’s not all correct.

I’ve been a bit negative about this novel, but really it’s enjoyable. There’s plenty of action, and Maya’s path is never straight and narrow. It might even be possible to call this novel a bit of a romance, as well as being a strict fantasy novel.

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Review: Juliet Marillier – The Bridei Chronicles 1 – The Dark Mirror

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The Dark Mirror
Juliet Marillier
Bridei is being raised for great things, but he doesn’t know enough about them yet. When he rescues the foundling Tuala, he doesn’t know how this will change the course of his destiny.
The romance in this novel is very strong, and poignant – Marillier really gets it right. Some things you don’t see coming, and others you do, but all of them blend together beautifully.
I stayed up past my bedtime reading this novel – it was great, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t know why I waited so long to read it!
The perspectives allow enough insight into each character that you feel like you know the important ones really personally. It would have been nice to have a bit more knowledge about the old druid, but you can’t fit everything into a book of this length.
The ending almost doesn’t feel like an ending. Bridei’s recovery and the events after this proceed at a very rapid rate, and while I was reading them I felt like I had missed something.
I made the mistake of reading this novel, then quickly picking up the next in the series before reviewing it. Oops! So this review is much shorter than what this wonderful book deserves.

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Review: Mercedes Lackey – Elemental Masters 2 – The Gates of Sleep

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The Gates of Sleep
Mercedes Lackey

Marina has lived  most of her short years in a quiet village with her aunt and uncles. She is gifted with Elemental Magic, but has not yet come into her full powers. She doesn’t know why she hasn’t known her parents, or why she has a sinking feeling of foreboding about her aunt…

This is a retelling of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty. It is intelligently crafted, just as I would expect from an early Lackey novel. Although predictable in nature, it is the little things that make it a reread for me. I really like the character of Marina, and also the brief insights into Andrew Pike that we get through the changing narrative perspective  For the most part it is told from Marina’s perspective however.

I do have one little grump about this novel. Marina and Andrew get along well enough, but I feel like there isn’t enough contact between them for this to grow into something more. I would have also loved to have heard more about his treatments, and the care of the insane.

Don’t you just love the cover of this novel? I’m not sure it adequately captures Marina, but the skulls are a giveaway that things might not be all as they seem.

I don’t know what draws me to fairytale retellings. In this case, I had just watched the Disney film of Sleeping Beauty, and it sparked a desire in me to reread this novel.

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Review: Richard Yaxley – Joyous & Moonbeam

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Joyous & Moonbeam
Richard Yaxley
Joyous lives a peaceful life. Moonbeam’s life is in upheaval. Together, they might be able to work things around a little.
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The narrative style of this novel put me off right from the beginning. The first person narrator of Joyous was jarring, and really out there for me. I struggled to read his and the shared sections with Moonbeam.
It took me a little while, but I worked out that there was something wrong with Joyous, other than his inability to think straight. This made the blurb on the back of the novel even more intriguing – what is he going to teach someone called ‘Moonbeam’?
Ashleigh’s (Moonbeam) journal sections were much more to my liking. How could I not like a girl who writes a journal, and appears to be bucking the trend in high school? I always have a soft spot for the bad girls.
Add in yet another perspective – those of the letters from Joyous’ mother, Margaret. These added depth to Joyous’ character. I didn’t enjoy the changing perspectives, although I could understand why the author included them.

Overall I was unsatisfied with the novel. The plot lines were complicated and a bit depressing, but not really angsty enough to make this a must-have teen novel.

I’ve never read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime, which this book is apparently similar to, but I know it must be a deep and meaningful one because it’s on the VCE reading lists. If it is similar, I don’t think I’m going to go for it.
I received this book from Omnibus Books for Scholastic Australia without any prompting! That made me pretty excited by the book, but as I’ve noted, I was a bit disappointed in its contents.

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Review: Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff – The Meri

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The Meri
Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
Meredydd’s family was murdered, and she was taken in by the Osraeds for teaching. Showing an unusual aptitude for the Art, her path is stony. As a character, Meredydd is strong, and genuine, but lacks a little in self-awareness.
This is a traditional journey novel. Everything is focused on the Pilgrimage of Meredydd to find the Meri. The tasks she is set are quite interesting, and should be thought provoking for some readers. It really didn’t feel like much happened in the novel though, and so it was an easy read.
I’m not quite sure what kept me reading about this novel. Perhaps it was the strong female character of Meredydd who needed to hold against the odds. Or perhaps the riddles, which I enjoyed trying to solve (with little success for some).
I wanted to know more of Skeet. This is book 1 in a series, and I’m almost tempted to get the other books just to find out more about him. Almost tempted, but not quite. He was the character who interested me the most after Meredydd, although her other male friend also had potential.
I would have liked to know more of the exact teachings of the Osraeds. My academic interest in a novel has always been so inclined. I was also interested in Meredydd’s fascination with the spider and its web – was this a metaphor for something deeper?
The ending ruined the novel for me. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, and I felt cheated. That knocked what could have been a 4 star book into a 3 star book for me.

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Review: Ellen Wittlinger – Parrotfish

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Parrotfish
Ellen Wittlinger
Angela has become Grady. It hasn’t been an overnight decision, she’s known she’s a he for quite some time. The rest of the world has trouble adapting though, particularly his Jewish mother and ex-bestfriend Eve.
Parrotfish is a well written, thoroughly enjoyable teenage novel in the LBQT spectrum. Grady is an endearing character who will draw you into his story and make you feel along with him very nicely.
While some of the characters felt like placeholders (such as Grady’s dad, and Sebastian’s mother), the progression of other minor characters such as Sebastian himself and Eve were genuine. I liked the character of Kita, even if I felt that her reaction (and poor Grady’s reaction to her) was perhaps a little too over the top in terms of how accepting she was right away.
I felt that Parrotfish romanticized the truths of coming out as transgender a little bit. The fact that there was hardly any bullying, other than Danya and the glass of milk seemed hard to believe. Not that they weren’t hardships, and Grady really could have suffered if not for his friends, but just everything seemed a little too easy.
I enjoyed the subplot of the Christmas cheer. It’s hard to believe that so much can be packed into a novel from Thanksgiving to Christmas. If anything, I wished that the novel was a little longer – I wanted to know what Grady’s long term plans were.
I loved the analogy of gender being like a football field, with a continuum of gender. Some people aren’t girly girls, but they aren’t guys either. I’m probably somewhere on the middle of this genderfield too – I’m a girl, but I couldn’t tell you why I was one.
With a friend transitioning in the other direction (MtF) I felt like it was high time I got into the transgender set of literature. I’m so glad I picked this novel as my first real foray into it.

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Review: Michael Thomas Ford – Suicide Notes

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Suicide Notes
Michael Thomas Ford
Jeff has been committed to a psychiatric ward because he tried to kill himself. People keep asking him why he did it, but he’s not telling. Indeed, he’s not even sure why he did it.
I loved the metaphor of truth being like a blue radioactive ball filled with poison. It was a really vivid image that stayed with me.
The author had the knack of drawing the reader in, and then not letting them go. Each of the little particles Jeff lets out in the journalistic type narrative grabs you, and then you think you know what is going on, and then you don’t.
This novel made me laugh out loud more than once – not something you’d be expecting from a novel with a title like this one.The touches of humour made what could have been a depressing book into something that, while not exactly easy or enjoyable reading, I would consider good mature teenage reading.
It’s a touching novel, but I couldn’t have said it was anything particularly special – until I hit the real reason why Jeff tried to kill himself. Yay! That turning point in the novel made the novel into something I was excited about reading the rest of, and finding out how Jeff was going to cope with life outside the ward again.
The queer tones of ‘Suicide Notes’ made it resonate well with me, even if some of the time I felt that the situation couldn’t possibly have been portrayed accurately. It wasn’t a comfortable read at all, and I’d give it a little bit of a trigger warning if anything.

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