Tag Archives: 5-stars

Review: Eliot Treichel – A Series of Small Manoeuvres

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A Series of Small Manoeuvres
Eliot Treichel

Out on a camping trip, 15 year old Emma inadvertently causes her father’s death. Swapping between the days preceding and then following the accident, this novel depicts how life can change rapidly around death and how one girl survives the rapids to the other side.

25408142This novel doesn’t have an ending. Sure, the novel ends, but you are left not knowing all the answers. But that’s ok! I didn’t mind that I didn’t have all the answers, because it allowed me to really delve into the text, and come to my own conclusions. Enough had been said that I was satisfied.

What was refreshing about this novel was that Emma didn’t need a love interest or a best friend to get out of her trauma. It’s a more relatable picture of grief, and so so realistic. Not everyone has a soul mate waiting to pick them up! Emma has to deal with things by herself, and through that come to realisations about life.

The swapping between the time periods could have been confusing, but Treichel made the time periods so obvious, even a serial chapter heading ignorer like me could manage. It was obvious that she survived anyway, so it’s not like that was a giveaway. The hints at the future from the authorial voice worked for me.

So what about the world-building? Well, I think the camping scenario got plenty of air-time, but the outside world was dim in comparison. Again, that seemed to reflect the way Emma and her dad thought about the world – everything is deeper and more colourful in the bush. The other characters? I would have loved to hear more about Peg, and really very few other characters got a full space of description. They weren’t the point of the novel though, so I wasn’t worried.

The more I think about this novel, the more stars I want to give it. Unfortunately, for me, it’s no longer a reread (a bit outside my age group perhaps?). But I do think it has a lot to offer. 4 very strong stars from me, and a wish I could give it 4.5 stars.

4star

Thanks to the lovely people at Ooligan Press for sending me a review copy of this novel. They publish great things!

Review: Catherine Jinks – Theophilus Grey and the Demon Thief

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Theophilus Grey and the Demon Thief
Catherine Jinks

Philo runs a tight-nit team of link-boys whose role is to guide Londoners home in the dark. Their secondary goal is to collect information about all of the people of importance – and carry it home to their master for rewards. When thieves start dropping senseless to the ground, Philo can’t seem to get any information about it. What appears to be a simple argument between rival groups gets more complicated the more Philo thinks about it.

Philo and the boy26700148s are unique. Philo seems a very alert kid, yet unworldly in his own way. He’s far to used to taking orders! But you do see his character develop in the novel, and that’s a big thing for me. I can see the other link-boys getting more time in the sequel. They’re easy to remember the differences between them, which is important for someone like me who forgets names.

This novel twists and turns just like the streets of London. Just as you think you’ve worked out who the culprit is, the amount of information you have changes, and you are forced to reevaluate the whole situation. You feel with Philo when things go wrong, and you match his confusion with your own. I got right inside the character.

I’ve never been to London, but I have read a series of novels about being in London. Olden London somehow seems more interesting than current London to me! This noel effortlessly puts you into Philo’s shoes, and opens your eyes to the everyday life of Georgian Londoners.

There is plenty of room left open for a sequel, but at that same time I was entirely satisfied with the story. I finished it in a brief gasp, and hated that I had gulped it so quickly! The story was just so compelling towards the end that I had to keep reading.

I’ve given this a very generous 5 stars. I realise that I’m heading out of the target age zone for this novel, and so its entertainment value for me is potentially less than it was before. But it was a brilliant novel that I would suggest reading again.

5star

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for providing me with a complimentary review copy of this novel.

Review: Juliet Marillier – Tower of Thorns

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Tower of Thorns
Juliet Marillier

Blackthorn and Grim live together in peace and quiet, waiting out the 7 years of Blackthorn’s contract with the Fey folk. While things seem to be travelling as smoothly as they can, there are always bumps. When Blackthorn is faced with a new challenge, the two will need to keep the lines of communication open – but fail in interesting ways.

22567177I saw this book being opened by its author on Facebook, and thought it was too late to request a review copy! Never fear though, I sent an email to my trusty representative, who sent me a proof copy within 2 days. It may not have looked fabulous, but the story was a strong one.

I had forgotten about how the perspectives change between the characters – and how effortless Marillier makes it seem. The character voices are so distinct that you can’t possibly get confused. This holds true both when the character is the point-of-view, or when they are just appearing in the text. Additionally there is a storytelling section running through this novel that was just as distinct.

The world is as lush and vivid as in other works. I could literally see the tower rising from the tower, and see the storytelling playing out (it’ll make more sense once you read it). Drool. I could see the monastery being built, and also the one in Grim’s memories.

There are some twists in this that I truly didn’t expect. I mean, I read the blurb, noted that things might not be as they seem, and then got on with reading it! In fact, I found myself half-way through and just wondering what was going on. Why aren’t they communicating? How can they been so selfish?

There’s nothing like a little creeping hint of malice to string through a novel when the main points are developing. Just like in the first novel of this series, Blackthorn’s past is constantly chasing her. And in this one, Grim’s catches up to him.

Something that I really appreciate about this novel is the unflinching reality of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how that might manifest in a fantasy world. I’m not certain I have ever read another novel that deals with it in the same way. It’s certainly compassionate, but also realistic.

5 stars from me (did you really expect anything else??). Get out there and buy it. I’m hoping that an audio copy will eventually come my way, and I can share this novel with my non-paperback reading partner.

5star

Thanks to the lovely folks at Pan Macmillan for sending me this copy for review.

Review: Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti – Zeroes

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Zeroes
Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti

Scam’s voice can say whatever he needs it to – whether to pick up a hot girl or to get himself a lift home. He never really knows what the voice says though, and it tends to get him into trouble if he isn’t specific enough about what he wants. When he ends up running from druggies and ends up with the police, he needs some of his old Zero friends to get him out. What he’s started is more messy than he imagined.

24756394The blurb on this novel simply doesn’t do it justice! Don’t read the blurb, just do what I tell you and go buy it to read right now. It’s action packed, and yet still manages to get some character development going, and swaps perspectives all the time, but I still loved it!

I hated Glorious Leader. Hate, hate, hated. He was drunk on power from the beginning! I can understand why he wants to be the leader, it’s his job, and I can understand why his power is so tempting, but ugh. As a person, I’m really disappointed in his -rich- parents and the way they must have brought him up. Or perhaps he has always been this way. You don’t get enough backstory about him to come to any conclusions for yourself.

The passing references to school, mainly from Kelsie’s perspective, made me wonder how long they had been a group of Zeroes. We know that Scam’s voice has made a mess of things, but only because someone else goaded him into it.  Scam’s power seems the more personally dangerous, and other powers more passive, but everyone knows it takes a mix of powers for things to work.

I can’t believe that the timeline of this is one week. Most novels couldn’t imagine packing in so much action into a month and still have the characters surprisingly well alive at the end of it! This novel doesn’t let you put it down, and it made me read it until I was sunburnt.

 

I couldn’t believe it when this novel finished! I needed more! I want more from this series right, right, right now. I found myself thinking that a book this good with a premise this interesting must just be a standalone, but no! It’s in a ‘thrilling new series’. I don’t think I can wait another whole year for the next one. 5 stars from me.

Of these three authors, I’ve only ever read Scott Westerfeld, and that last novel was ages ago – read my Afterworlds review here. I wish I had more reading time to devote to those other greats, because a book this good isn’t just created by one genius write with two tag-alongs. I fully expect their individuals works to be fantastic.

 

5starThis book was sadly late to me because my mailing address with Allen and Unwin was wrong. But thanks so much to the rep that resent it to me anyway!

Review: Seth Dickinson – The Traitor

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The Traitor
Seth Dickinson

The Empire of Masks has come to conquer Baru’s home. Baru is collected into the Empire’s new school while her old life crumbles – same sex relationships are now cause for torture and death. Baru wants to save her homeland and is driven to do anything to save it – even when it looks like it will be too late.

26055193Baru, Baru, Baru. I don’t understand you. I found it really difficult to connect to any of the characters, and at one point I asked my partner why on earth I kept reading! But there must have been something there, because I lost the two afternoons to reading it after it arrived in my inbox as an ebook (and I don’t even like reading ebooks, because they dry out my eyes!).

Baru’s bird counting was supposed to tip me off that she was a savant, but I didn’t get it. Only after reading the novel and the last couple of notes did I really understand what that really meant for her. Perhaps they should have said autistic savant. According to my good friend the online dictionary a savant is: ‘a person who knows a lot about a particular subject’ or ‘a person who does not have normal intelligence but who has very unusual mental abilities that other people do not have’.

 

The beginning caught me. I didn’t understand why the first couple of ‘chapters’ were written differently from the others, and in fact, I don’t think they were necessary. I guessed that they were supposed to tell me how important Baru’s family was to her, but this isn’t repeated throughout the novel. Instead, it turns to the drama and suspense of winning over a war-torn country using the financial system.

What I missed was the subtext that should have warned me about the ending. How will she save her own people? How does she know who is still alive? How do I know that she cares about them? I had left the novel with 9 pages remaining overnight, and I wanted to know how it ended. Yet I don’t know how I really feel about the ending.

My question is whether there is going to be as second novel. Or perhaps Dickinson feels like he has done enough to expose how empires can be made to crumble or how a single person can mean the difference between a ‘democracy’ or a ‘sovereignty’. Or whether he has sufficiently taught us how monsters are created.

I simply can’t give this 5 stars like some other reviewers. Yes, it’s good, yes, you’ll feel things, but I’m not sure I can accept it as a reread for me. In the end, my emotions had been so wrung out that I couldn’t care about any of them. I remain confused about it, which is perhaps a good sign. Go and read it for yourself, but be prepared for the unexpected.

4star

 

Review: Rachel Caine – Ink and Bone

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Ink and Bone
Rachel Caine

Jess has been brought up as a book smuggler. In a world where the Great Library of Alexandria still exists, books are powerful things. With the library dictating all knowledge, librarians have absolute power – unless they are trainees, in which case death is a threat against changing the status quo. Jess isn’t very good at being passive, which tends to get him into a little bit of strife.

25090918Love, love, love this novel! What reader couldn’t like a novel about a library? Sorry, but libraries make me excited normally, and learning about librarian training? Yep, call me a convert. I’ve always dreamed of being a librarian.

My one sadness is that the next novel in this series won’t come out for ages. And I NEED the sequel. If I do not get my hands on the sequel, I will be very very sad. This is a novel I would gladly pay my own hard-earned money to buy. And naturally, I think you should too. The last novel I read that compares to this one would be The Iron Trial – not quite as awesome, but also good.

The characterisation in this novel was flawless. Jess was consistent and grew as the novel progressed. The secondary characters also won my love, even the ‘antagonist’, and I actually cared when they died. This is what Crystal Kingdom just didn’t capture for me. I kept thinking about those characters and their plights after I’d finished reading.

The world building was also powerful, and I could literally see each of the events as they happened. I buried myself in the novel and refused to come out, even for promises of dinner.One thing though, I left the novel having a really clear idea of the world, but having no idea what the characters looked like. I guess that’s because in my head, Jess has mousy brown hair, Morgan has flowing tresses of dark brown, and Wolfe sports a salt-and-pepper short cut.

A final touch that put the sugar flowers on the imaginary cake? There’s gay characters in the book, and they aren’t treated any differently from anyone else. I know it sounds like I’m biased towards novels that have gay characters (and I admit, I am a little biased), but really I just want a more realistic selection of characters to like.

An unequivocal 5 stars from me. I can see myself adopting this novel as an old familiar read when I want something I know is good to pull me out of a reading slump. Get out there, buy this novel, you won’t regret it.

5star

Review: Li Cunxin – Mao’s Last Dancer

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Mao’s Last Dancer
Li Cunxin

A poor Chinese boy, one of seven brothers, is the favourite of his mother and family. With little food and littler hope for the future, Li is determined to make something different of his life. This chance comes for him when he is selected to become a ballet dancer for Madam Mao. Li’s determination to make his family proud means that he rises through the ranks, and eventually sees outside of China.

298137It’s interesting to see within the head of someone raised during the time of Communist Mao. Such brainwashing seems absurd now, but it happened not that long ago. Goes to show that corrupt politics can have a huge impact with brainwashing, and the people within it don’t even question it. Perhaps that explains some of the religious stuff that people can get away with now…

There’s not actually very much I can tell you about how this novel was written. As a non-native English speaker, Li does an excellent job of communicating. His written English (with considerable editing support I admit), flows more naturally than his spoken word. The ‘episodes’ or ‘chapters’ of Li’s life fitted in well, and I didn’t feel like I had missed out on anything important in his life.

I listened to this novel as a talking book. The reader of Mao’s Last Dancer was amazing. His voice was just how I wanted it to be told, soft in the places it needed to be, and louder when it was more important. I felt like I was really experiencing the things that happened. I’ve never tried searching for audiobooks using the reader’s name, not the author’s, but this reader makes me want to do it.

I had the privilege of speaking to Li in person, and hear him give an interview about leadership. Some of the little things he told us about in the interview were covered again in the novel, and it made a huge impact on what came out as the most important point of the narrative. The thing I took out of it was the savour the process, not just the endpoint, and that just because things have always been that way, doesn’t mean they will be that way forever.

Would I have been so interested in the story if I hadn’t met Li? Possibly, but perhaps it never would have gotten off my never-ending reading stack. I’ll give this one 4.5 stars, because it is a brilliant and well-told story, but I wouldn’t re-read it. I really want to watch the movie and see if it is as wonderful as the novel. Inspiring, and you should go read it, but it might not be for everyone.

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Review: Jerry Kaczmarowski – Sapient

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 Sapient
Jerry Kaczmarowski

Jane Dixon is on the hunt for a cure for autism – a subject close to her heart because of her son, Robbie. Robbie is a high functioning autistic pre-teen, who nevertheless needs complete order and routine to survive. After Jane successfully transforms a rat, Einstein, into a brilliant typing rat she finds Robbie on the run and herself imprisoned.

25334953Although the blurb makes a big deal out of Jane being single thanks to an abusive husband, this wasn’t something that really concerned me. I was more interested in her current relationships, which I felt weren’t particularly influenced by her past.

I loved seeing things from the different perspectives. Each character had a very distinctive mind-voice, and I knew what was going on at all times, even if I felt pleasantly frustrated that the other characters were so clueless. All the characters were real people to me by chapter 2.

You can absolutely feel the tension radiating through Jane and the entire novel. Robbie and the animals add some humour at least, but I found myself wanting more and sitting on the edge of my seat. The plot is gripping and well thought out.

Even the end is innovative. I wanted to know what happened next! And I wouldn’t have objected if there was a sequel in the making. At the same time, I was satisfied by the ending, and didn’t feel cheated.

All I can think to myself after reading this novel is “Wow, let me get my hands on Jerry’s other novels!” I read this novel in pretty much one sitting while on vacation. I was completely absorbed and didn’t feel like doing anything else. I had forgotten what compulsive reading felt like – this is it. Get your hands on it ASAP.

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Review: Brandon Sanderson – Firefight

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Firefight
Brandon Sanderson

David has overcome Steelheart but continues to track Epics – mainly because they seem intent on killing him. When a new threat is identified, David and Prof travel to the next nearest city. There, David needs to find himself again and redefine what he believes.

20945146David! You’re such a nutter! And it makes me love you all the more that you’re so gullible and transparent, yet clever and quick-thinking at the same time. Ah, betrayal. Nothing like it. And it takes David’s wiliness he has developed through Epic hunting to deal with those that seem to be on his side.

Ah, Firefight! I love you! Please don’t die on me again, and again, and again. Especially with what David works out about weaknesses and their significance to all Epics… And how powers are gained too…

There was so much suspense near the end that it near killed me! All the things happening at once, everyone deceiving everyone else, people being discovered. Not to mention the great reveal of.. well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a reveal. Get out there, buy this book.

Just like when I had finished reading the first novel in this trilogy, Steelheart, I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. My brain was left wondering with more questions than answers.

My one sadness is that the third book in this trilogy doesn’t come out until March 2016. Arg! I can’t wait! I’d love to get my hands on an ARC, but since his work is so popular, I wouldn’t be surprised if ARCs only went to ‘professional reviewers’. Now if only I had that job for a living…

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Review: A.C. Burch – The HomePort Journals

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The HomePort Journals
A.C. Burch

Marc longs to be an author, but the words never seem to come to him in the city. After he breaks up with his abusive partner, he flees to Provincetown, where he’s taken in by an old woman and her enigmatic companions.

25244093The novel is well realised, with scenery which I can vividly picture right now. There was only one inconsistency towards the end of the novel, when the Captain’s journals appeared in two places at once. I can see them walking down the beach, and Marc trying to write in his tower, complete with the art workshop on one of the middle floors.

I like that in this novel, all of the characters are ok with being one form of queer or another. This is a world I dream of, where it’s ok to be yourself! Everyone in the novel has a role somewhere, even if it’s not where you expect. They were lovely, three dimensional characters that reached out to me through just Marc’s perspective – a mark of a strong writer.

I spent most of the novel in suspense that Brandon would track down Marc. I knew he would eventually, but I didn’t know how much Marc was going to be able to stand up against him. Marc draws people to him without even knowing it, and those people think he’s worth a lot more than he gives himself credit for.

The romance that occurs in this novel is subtly layered and sort of incidental. What threw me was some of the comments of Marc to himself about being extrainged from love. He had been so badly hurt (which is mainly just alluded to intriguingly through the novel), and yet he can’t open up when someone else is trying to help! If the romance was the main theme, the reader wouldn’t keep going.

Instead, the mystery and suspense of the plot grips the reader. I wanted to know the history, and how all the competing interests would be served. I loved the ending. So happy, and yet, bittersweet, and arg, why didn’t they fix things earlier.

At some point recently in my reading, I have moved into the pure fiction genre. I never expected it to happen, usually finding those sort of novels boring and repeditive. But add a hint of mystery and a strong queer element, and you’ve got an avid reader on your hands.

I give this novel a very solid 4 stars, moving up to 5 stars. It’s just not a 5-stars for me because I don’t have a strong desire to read it again. But by all means, go out there and buy it, it’s awesome!

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