Review: Mercedes Lackey – One Good Knight

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One Good Knight
Mercedes Lackey
Princess Andie is intelligent, waif-like beautiful and has just turned 19. Her mother however isn’t ready to see her as an adult, and would rather she was confused and silly with conventional beauty. When Andie finally gets a real ‘job’, she uncovers things that were probably better off hidden. Andie becomes a liability very quickly – as a virgin she’s very likely to be snaffled up by an evil creature…

Andie is smart, and bookish – just what I like in a female protagonist. She isn’t very good with common things, but her common sense is certainly in place. Yay for a non-traditional heir. Lackey has a good thing going, and she really works with it.
The different perspectives of this book, particularly the Queen vs Andie in the first parts of the book really set the plot going. Those that have read The Fairy Godmother in this series will recognise the Traditional path that is taking place, but Andie can’t see it. You just keep waiting for the penny to drop!So many good things to say about this book, but many of them would give away too much of the plot. It’s not a particularly hard read, but it will sucker you in and steal all of your time (oops to doing all that study I had lined up)

Andie’s knowledge of the Tradition, and also that of the other people in her Kingdom (such as Sophont Balen) seems strange, after the emphasis in The Fairy Godmother about most people having no idea. Yet everyone seems to be exploiting it easily! It’s nice to see how a situation can be resolved without a Fairy Godmother though – the regular people have a chance.
The cover of this book doesn’t match how I saw Andie at all. I though she was very thin with no breasts, and the girl on the cover certainly does have those! Also I expected that the dragon would be less fierce looking than that. Hard to discuss more without giving the plot away.
Worth a read. I’d say this book is suitable for teens as well as adults because it contains none of the explicit sex scenes of the first book. This series is a very good one, and worth buying to reread often. Lackey really breaths life into old fairytales.

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4star

Review: Midsummer Night's Giveaway (Fairytale Adaptations)

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Sam @ A Journey Through Pages put a call out for other bloggers to join her in a celebration of YA Fairytale Adaptations. Now, I have to say I don’t do a lot of YA reading of Fairytale novels. I have however read a couple of adult adaptations, children’s fairytale adaptations and another historical fiction fairytale that I can talk about. 
I have already published three reviews of adult Fairytale adaptations:
These two authors are very different in style and execution. While I’m a fan of Mercedes Lackey from a long while back, this was one of the first novels of Juliet Marillier’s I read and reviewed. 
Lackey makes believable characters in The Fairy Godmother, and focusses on them to the exclusion of all else. She warps the fairytales and creates ‘The Tradition’, a guiding force which forces people to follow their fairytales to a set conclusion – unless they are changed by Fairy Godmothers or the like. Lackey immediately draws you in, and it’s a great ride all the way through the book. A very enjoyable introduction to Lackey’s writing. Beauty and the Werewolf is actually the sixth book in the series, but you won’t spoil anything for yourself by reading it first.
Differently from Lackey, Marillier does a true adaptation, staying strictly to the tale of the six swan brothers and the sister who can’t talk until she has finished weaving her shirts for them. Nevertheless, Marillier puts a new spin on the book, and you are driven by her vibrant formation of the world around her characters. That’s not to say she doesn’t put effort into her character development – she does, but the thing I appreciate most about her novels is her rich world-building.

A YA fairytale I have previously read::

Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson
I didn’t love this novel, for reasons I have outlined within the review. Yes, it’s not a traditional Fairytale because that element is only a supportive idea for the historical fiction, but I felt it was worth including here as an example of me not always loving Fairytales!
This week I have lined up for you several more in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series (One Good Knight, The Fortunate Fool, The Snow Queen, The Sleeping Beauty) and a couple of short Fairytales by the estimable J.K. Rowling. I’ll try and read some more soon, but I think for the weeks that this will be happening I will be on holidays in the States! I’m pretty excited about that, and I’ll be sure to pick up more books while I’m away. Let the week begin!

A final note: I’ll be updating this post as the week progresses.

Here is a quick link for entering Sam’s giveaway! You can sign up here, or on her website, either way will get you entered to win some awesome books. Personally I’m hoping to get my hands on the Juliet Marillier novel, either in this giveaway or through The Book Depository.

Review: Mercedes Lackey – The Eagle and the Nightingales

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The Eagle and the Nightingales
Mercedes Lackey
Nightingale has travelled on her own for a long time. Now she has been set by three people to do a seemingly impossible task – work out what is wrong with the High King of the Twenty Kingdoms. Settling herself in at Freehold with the non-humans, she discovers a plot that runs deeper than they ever imagined.
I have no idea why the title of this book is ‘the Nightingales’. There is only one Nightingale, although she does go by a number of other names. I love Nightingale, and have almost as much empathy for T’fyrr. Nightingale has things that she is a afraid of, but for love, she is willingto work around them.
The reason that I love this book so much is that it combines a kingdom under threat with music and beautiful costumes. A strong female heroine doesn’t hurt either. I love the idea that music can be magic, and I only wish I had as much talent.
This book is decidedly plot driven, but that’s not a bad thing. Just as you feel like things are being settled in, they change! The ending is thrilling really – the first time I read it I was too hooked to let go. Even on this millionth rereading, I still couldn’t put it down.
This is a book in the Free Bards world, and there are a number of other books that you could read in this series about the Free Bards. I don’t feel that you need to read them in order, although it may be more interesting to do so. It references other books, but doesn’t give too much away.
You will find this book very hard to purchase! I personally got my rather battered copy from ebay – it was listed as being in good condition, but certainly wasn’t, which was disappointing. I am yet to find a nice copy, but I have hopes that this series will be republished.
I’d recommend this book for adults and teenagers. Although there are some adult themes, it is all very subtle and enjoyable. The hints about rape and sex are not explicit, and although torture is never nice to talk about, it’s not badly done in this book.

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Review: Mercedes Lackey – Alta

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Alta
Mercedes Lackey

Little Vetch has grown into a man, named for his father Kiron. With his tame dragon Avatre he has fled from Tia to Alta, the land of his birth. He does not know what he will find, or what he will be able to do for Alta. When he arrives, he finds that there are more troubles than he could have imagined.

This is the second book in the awesome Dragon Jousters Series (Joust is the first). I’m so very fond of it! I like Kiron, even though he’s a male protagonist (it wouldn’t have worked with a female), and the minor things that go on in this book are really down my alley. I love learning, and I love learning with Kiron and also feeling with them as the dragons hatch.

The dragons are so realistically realised. Lackey is an animal carer, and its obvious that she has drawn on that expertise. She has thought about everything – their breeding habits, the way the hatch, how they interact. This is the way dragons should be – they may be wild, but they can also be tamed and form bonds of love.

As Kiron learns to read, it becomes obvious to the reader that this series has a foundation in Egyptian history. The ideas of tombs and hieroglyphics really make that stand out. It’s nice to see some input, but not too much. It’s not intrusive at all.

This book is really unusual in that its climax doesn’t really feel to me like a climax. This is really a medium plot book – several moderately exciting things happen, and you often wonder whether they are going to get away with their tricks, but of course they will – because most things are relatively minor. I’ve read the book so many times now that I’m never surprised by anything happening!

Just as in any good book, it is obvious how Kiron is growing up and becoming more opinionated, as well as stronger. Things he has been through make him seem older than the other unique Jousters. It’s interesting that Kiron supports slavery, when usually Lackey channels characters that hate it. It’s understandable though, and I don’t think I could have expected anything else as it wouldn’t be in line with Kiron’s beginnings as a serf. The other characters also show development, particularly Orest and Aketen who we meet early in the novel.

I’d recommend this book for teens and adults. Nothing particularly controversial in this one – it’s all very above board. Yes, the Magi’s scheming is unpleasant, but its totally in keeping with the rest of the novel and not too confronting.

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Review: Diana Wynne Jones – Year of the Griffin

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Year of the Griffin
Diana Wynne Jones
The wizard university is suffering from severe money and staffing problems. The current head decides that his promising group of 6 students are likely to yield him money to repair the leaking roofs – but how wrong he is! With two students with jinxes, a griffin and a runaway dwarf things seem like they will go from bad to worse. Underneath all this, Wizard Corkoran wants to go to the moon but if he doesn’t change his set ways of thinking, he won’t get there – or will he?

As usual, I can’t do justice to the synopsis for the book. It’s easy enough to google one, and even just read the back of the book at the library. It’s a lot better to just read the book and be done with it! It isn’t a waste of your time to read anything by Diana Wynne Jones.

Elda is a strong female protagonist, even as a griffin she has her weaknesses. She is the youngest griffin daughter of Wizard Derk, and he doesn’t approve of her going to university, particularly the way the university has become hardbound and unable to teach anything but the basics. Even the basics are wrong, and together with the new friends she is making they must change the university from first year up.

This book is slow to start out in my opinion, but it is worth persevering. As the story progresses, it evolves from a simple university setting into a mess of assassins and mice! It is the characters and their various shortfallings that make the book interesting. It is rather plot driven, and I didn’t feel particularly attached to any of the characters, but finding out about each of their histories is interesting.
If you enjoyed ‘Dark Lord of Derkholm’, this book is a logical continuation. However, it is totally readable without having read the first book in this series. The novel is a little reminiscent of Harry Potter at first, with wizards going off to school. But really, it should be that Harry Potter is reminiscent of this! If you like school-based books, this one will draw you in.

The ending is just a little too neat, with everyone ending up happily paired! The story as a whole is good though, although not quite as good as the first book in the series in my opinion. Maybe I’m just tired of the old wizarding school idea? I would have much rather learned about how Kit and Blade (Derk’s sons) learnt magic from a dragon or perhaps about the childhood of Derk’s winged humans.

I would recommend this book for both children and teenagers. I wouldn’t say there was anything in it unsuitable for children, although I could be wrong. It is pure enjoyable fantasy, and I don’t regret having chosen this book off my shelf as my 40th book review reward.

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Review: Tamora Pierce – Melting Stones

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Melting Stones
Tamora Pierce
Melting Stones follows the story of Evvie, Briar’s foundling from Stone Magic. Evvie has a tendency to be quicker than the average stone mage, but still not too lively. When she goes to the Battle Islands with Rosethorn however, she finds her self a bit like a volcano set to explode.
It’s great to see another novel in the Circle Universe. It’s officially labelled as ‘Circle Reforged’, although I’m not quite sure how that fits in. No doubt The Will of the Empress should also be under that title. Both of these books occur during the same time period.
This one is a bit different from the others because it is told from a different student’s perspective. We also get some more insight into other dedicates at Winding Circle, not all of which are as ‘friendly’ as Rosethorn.
I can’t say I like this book as much as the others. It’s told from a first person perspective, which certainly works, but does feel a little forced compared to the seamless third person narration of the other books. As a stand alone however, it’s just fine.
You could read this book without having read any of the other books by Pierce in this universe. There are hardly any spoilers in them, except of course, if you didn’t know Briar was going to win Evvie over as a student.
I keep comparing this book to all the others! It’s hard when I’ve just finished reading all of them in a row to be objective about each of them individually.
I’d recommend this book for teenagers and children. Evvie is highly aware that adults have sex, but she’s very subtle about it, and there isn’t anything I’d be particularly wary of. In this book, there isn’t much blood shed at all, mostly human development.

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Review: James Clemens – Wit’ch Fire

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Wit’ch Fire
James Clemens
Wit’ch Fire is part of The Banned and the Banished Chronicles. First we follow Elena, who is coming into her womanhood, then we add a dark magician, an un-aging man, a werewolf and an og’re to the cast – all with likely important roles. There are plenty of characters to follow – it’s a pity that the book didn’t live up to my expectations at all.

First off, I love the prologue/foreword. It describes almost exactly how I feel about studying texts at a university – it takes all the fun out of it! It also serves to draw the reader subtly into thinking that they too are being initiated into the secrets.

The initial chapter appears forced, and didn’t draw me into the book. I persevered however, unwilling to give up this early. I know from experience that often authors seem to have a problem with the first couple of chapters, and then the narrative grows in strength.
I tried to keep persevering in this book, but it just didn’t grab me. I felt like Clemens didn’t leave enough time for me to get to know each character, and the plot was also lacking. It went from having 3 characters, to suddenly getting more and more and more. As a first book in a series, it’s understandable that Clemens is setting up everything he will need in the next couple of books, but I’d still like to see more plot movement (rather than just giving me more characters to keep track of).
The title of this book irritates me as well. Seriously, what extra meaning does an apostrophe give? There are plenty of different ways in which magic/witches have been presented in the past that no longer fit with the original concept of magic (if there is such a thing). By the time I got to el’ves, rock’goblins and og’res, I was really unimpressed.
Because I was having second thoughts about the book, and was very disillusioned, about half-way through reading I decided to google the author to give me a bit more information about what I was reading. The knowledge that this book is the first in a 5 book series was not comforting – even if I pushed through to the end I might not get a satisfactory ending. Also, Clemens also writes thrillers under another name James Rollins. This further showed to me why I found the style of this book not to my liking. I’m not fond of thrillers, and I think regardless of whether his pen name is different or not, the style is probably carrying through.
I’m looking for something to like about this book. The concept of magic as ‘Chi’ reminds me of Chinese therapeutic medicine, but the usage here is not the same. What I garnered was that Chi is a type of blood magic (different to dark magic) where the user stores his/her power in his dominant hand in the form of a red stain. As they use up their magic, the stain gets less. It is an interesting concept, and I’m glad he came up with something really original. It doesn’t save the novel for me though.

I got through 190 pages of 496 before I almost gave up. I have plenty of other things I would prefer to read, or have waiting on my shelves to be read for the first time. It felt too much like cheating to give up though… A quick look at the last couple of pages reveals another couple of characters that I haven’t met yet, and also a cliffhanger to the next book. However, I decided I had to keep going. And perhaps it was a good thing I did! All the different character strains came together, and there was a type of final showdown. I still lacked a personal connection to the characters though, and that leaves me not wanting to buy any more of the books in this series. I felt sorry for Elena, but that was it. I don’t think I would care if she died. Even the language choices such as her uncle Bol calling her ‘Honey’ just jarred for me and I couldn’t accept it. Things that should have been subtle, and shown to me were just stated. Not the type of book for me.

If I had to suggest an age group for this novel, I would say adults only, because it is filled with blood, guts and people dying for no reason left, right and centre! I wouldn’t recommend this book. I picked it up as part of a 3 for $15 deal a number of years ago, and I now see why it was in that stack. If you do feel compelled to read it (I’m not sure why you would, after reading my disillusioned review), you’re welcome to have my copy!

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Alternatively contact me about a book swap.1star

Review: Tamora Pierce – The Will of the Empress

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The Will of the Empress
Tamora Pierce
Briar, Daja, Tris and Sandry have each gone their own ways, and have now all returned to Winding Circle. But Winding Circle can not longer keep them – they are 18, and have reached the age of their majority. When Sandry’s uncle suggests that the other three accompany Sandry to her family holdings, it seems like a chance for the circle to be reformed.
The Empress is determined to court the four powerful mages and get them to stay with her. Things aren’t as rosy as they appear though, and various things conspire that Sandry soon finds herself wishing for home, even as the other three find things that they like in the Empire!
Once again, this book’s third person narration swaps between each of the four characters. Pierce makes it work really well, and it adds a further sense of continuity for the four characters. The character development is relatively obvious, as the four settle back into their relationships. Each of them has changed, but they are still able to connect and bicker as they once did. This is one of the real strengths of the novel, which takes me to read it time and time again.
Briar’s time away and how Luvo appears is something I’d really like to know more about. My suggestion for why Pierce hasn’t written about this is that it would possibly make the storyline too adult. I know that Pierce is planning a book where Tris goes to Lightsbridge, but I’m not sure if she is going to fill in any more of the time between ages 14 and 18.

Something that irritated me was the constant explaining of what a ‘kid’ and a ‘mate’ were. Perhaps in other countries, it’s not obvious that these terms refer to children and good friends, but to me, I knew what they were, and I didn’t need reminding! This was something that annoyed me a little in reading the other books of this series as well.

I would like to comment both positively and negatively for the specific inclusion of a gay/queer subplot in this novel. I’m happy that one has been included, and the idea is treated quite sensitively, but I’m not so impressed with who turns out to be lesbian. It’s a far too obvious choice to me, and seems to be playing to the stereotype of connecting sexuality and job choice. I won’t further spoil this for you, but it’s something I had to mention.

I hesitat to tag this book as queer, as some people would interpret this to mean that the entire book is about a queer character, but it really isn’t. I also wanted to label it with dragons, because Chime shows up again, but it is really a very minor role. Also, I could possibly tag it with depression, because one of the characters (not of the main four) has had several suicide attempts, but again, it’s not a focus of the novel.

I’d recommend this book, and the other eight books that came before this one, to children and teens alike. Please read them all in order! This one does stand alone, but really, why miss out on the story from before? It’s relatively family friendly, with some hints of violence and also of courtship. Some people may not be comfortable with the queer aspect, but I didn’t find it at all offensive.

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Review: JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit

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The Hobbit
JRR Tolkien
The Hobbit is a classic book, a sort of prequel to the Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins is the sort of hobbit that doesn’t want to have adventures, but they come to him anyway. He is recruited as the thief for stealing dwarfish treasure back from a dragon! Nevermind that Bilbo has never left his comfortable hobbit hole before!
227221The Hobbit is like a children’s version of the Lord of the Rings in a way. At the same time, some of the material from it is very useful for understanding that trilogy, while having read the trilogy before also adds information to this one, particularly the references to the elves. I’d recommend reading both together, but if you don’t have the stamina for the Lord of the Rings, give The Hobbit a go anyway.
It’s difficult for me to be objective about this book because it is such a classic. I have to say that the book’s style of description didn’t really draw me in. I continued reading mainly out of a sense of duty, because I just couldn’t get attracted to the characters, which is a very important element for me. As the book progressed however, I really wanted to see how they would achieve things, and so I went on!
It’s not a bad book by any means, the plot line is interesting and Bilbo is believable and laughable as a character, it’s just the style of excessive detail doesn’t really do it for me. What stands out to me about this book is Tolkien’s awareness of his reader, and the way that the text is addressed to the reader in order to make it more personal.
I originally listened to this as a talking book while painting Lord of the Rings style Warhammer figurines. I’m pretty sure it was read by a full cast, and so it was really enjoyable. Nevertheless, on this reading of it I found that I didn’t really remember anything from the talking book. I own two different copies of this book, the one above and also one that has a plain cover.
I believe that this is being made into a movie that will be released soon. I really enjoyed the movies of the Lord of the Rings, even though I had read the books (an exception to what I usually find), and so I will hopefully get to see this one on the big screen!
I would recommend this book for teenagers, adults and children. Although there are some scary sections, overall the book is very family friendly. Who doesn’t love hobbits?

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Review: Mercedes Lackey – Joust

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Joust
Mercedes Lackey

Vetch is an Altan serf labouring under a cruel and unjust master. Suddenly, Vetch finds himself swept up onto dragon-back and into the Tian dragon complex. Vetch is willing to work hard, but he is always consumed with anger against those who have killed his father and destroyed his rightful home.

Vetch is a fantastic character. Small and frightened, yet with a core of resiliency, he’s determined to make the most of any situation he finds himself in. He may just be a small boy when Ari brings him back, but in the course of the book he matures into a sensible young man who suddenly knows what he wanted.

This is a masterful book by Lackey. It’s not rushed like a number of her newer books, and it’s very enjoyable. Ok, so the plot progression in this is very slow. It’s more like a series of small plot highlights leading up to the eventual conclusion, rather than just a focus on a thrilling conclusion – although it has that too! Foreshadowing is used to great effect, so pay attention to every word you read.

I did have a problem with Vetch’s anger issues, which appeared to be very understated. I expected him to do more with them, and he just didn’t! It seems like he settles into captivity too well. Being downtrodden for long periods of time would do that to a person, but still, he is being fed well and cared for, and really, he should have more spice!

The print quality is ok, there are a couple of typos and spare punctuation marks throughout the text. I’m not entirely sure how the front cover of the book fits in, because Vetch certainly isn’t jousting or ever has a fancy hat like that. The dragon is almost certainly Avatre though.

I love rereading this book. I love it so much I have almost put a crease in its spine. This book is wonderful! If you liked Eragon, then you’re going to love Joust. I can’t say what exactly attracts me to it, perhaps the triumph of a low born character with added loving dragons does it for me.

Adults and teenagers will like this book if you like dragons and the underdog. I would almost recommend it for children, except the ending might be a little frightening and there certainly is an element of violence. I have also reviewed the second novel, Alta.

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