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Reading, Writing and Reviewing

As work becomes less intensive I feel I ought to contribute something to the blog. I have read and enjoyed several books of late. Unfortunately none of them inspired me with the burning need to write full length reviews. Instead I will gather them all in one post – into a mass reviewing of books.

Book cover from the interwebs.

Free Agent by J.C. Nelson was a fun, fast-paced romp through a fantastical urban setting drawing heavily on fairy tale imagery. The protagonist works for the local Fairy Godfather, who will help you find your Happily-Ever-After for a reasonable fee. When working on assignment, Marissa mistakes a blacksmith for a prince things start to unravel around her. She is suspended from the job she loves and hates. She causes her crush to be targeted by a dangerous curse. She ends up in the hospital on more than one occasion from near death experiences. But things turn really dangerous when her boss is targeted by a rival Fairy Godmother. Sorting out all the tangles and surviving to work another day is not an easy task. The writing is fun and imaginative. The story is high energy and fun. I will be adding the (yet unpublished) sequel to my book-list.

Book cover from the interwebs.

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan is the third and conclusive book in the Lynburn Legacy novels. I really enjoy the character development in Brennan’s writing. Yes, it is a young adult novel. So yes, it follows around a bunch of hormonal teenagers. However, Brennan doesn’t write dialogue like teenagers speak. Her characters are far more engaging. They have distinct voices that are often filled with lively banter and cleverly crafted phrases. With the author’s awareness of classic tropes, she handily makes fun of many of the clichéd moments in the story. Even the main character is able to reflect on how easy life would be if she was an orphaned heroine, rather than burdened with a family she cares about. I really appreciate the variety of relationships built (or broken) in the story. The inclusion and prominent use of family in the story helps to build a world that is real. While we might not be facing an army of murderous wizards, we can all relate to family feuds that disrupt our lives. It is the characters that drive the story and create the interesting world of Sorry-in-the-Vale. I really did love this series.

Book cover from the interwebs.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas is the third book in the Throne of Glass series. I have really enjoyed following the saga of Celeana – world’s best assassin. It is a richly developed world with multiple locations and people all interacting at various points. Though the story revolves around Adarlan and its recent abolishment of magic and all those associated with it. It is a kingdom set to conquer the world – seemingly at any cost. Despite the inclusion of the fey, the world is interesting. Celeana is a fascinating character. She is not the most verbose of leads, but her actions are loud and energetic. There is something engaging about her struggles in a world that has become increasingly grim. My biggest complaint of the book that followed not only Celeana, but Captain Westfall, Prince Dorian and the Heir of the Blackteeth clan was the lack of conclusion. For whatever reason, I had it in my mind this series was only three books in length. I was a little surprised and disappointed to reach the end of the book and not have a conclusion to the story. On the other hand I have another book to look forward to. It is a fun, if somewhat violent, young adult fantasy setting. Still I enjoyed it.

Book cover from the interwebs.

Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn is the sequel to Trubled Waters. The story is nice (if somewhat predictable), the characters are nice, and the pacing is a tad on the slow side. What draws me to this series is the world. I love the description of the capital city with its temples, plaza of women and men, the potentially dangerous river, and the mix of modern elements. There are a number of more ‘modern’ elements mixed with more traditional fantasy; from the trousers and tunics worn my most people to the automobiles clogging the city streets. Yet this is a world where the sword (or knife) is the deadliest weapon. Magic is both overt with the primes and their ability to move the elements and subtle when mixed with the spiritual religion. While I appreciate the author’s reorganization of the calendar into five seasons, each eight weeks long with a changeday between them. Each week is nine days. I like the neat organization of the calendar. But I love the religion and its focus on blessings. There are eight blessings (things like wealth, change, joy, etc) for each ‘element’ (wood, water, earth, air, and fire). At the temples you pull your blessings three at a time. They can offer guidance or reflection for where you are in life. I like that while you are typically born into an element it does not depend on your parents and is more a reflection of your personality. There is something about this setting that I find lovely. It is more for the setting that I read this series and will continue to read this series.

Book cover from the interwebs.

Tin Swift by Devon Monk is book two in her rough and tumble new world western frontier setting. It is an age of steam and mechanism, with rail lines crossing the land and airships sailing above. It is a land where the gods can curse a man. Where the fey are dark and hungry, the thing of shadows and nightmares. Witches are few and clustered together in covens. Man is restless as he seeks his fortune (whether that is power, safety or freedom). It is a rough world filled with violence, death and mysterious dark forces. But there are also glimmers of hope mingled in the mixing of magic and machine. There is something intriguing about the gritty world Monk has created. The writing itself is also well-constructed.

I am Divergent

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Book Cover – not my image.

The latest greatest craze for young adult novels is Divergent by Veronica Roth. It is well loved by more than just teenage girls (though I am not entirely certain on the breadth of its audience). Divergent is described as a well-written dystopian future with a richly created female lead. As I said, I have only heard positive things about this book. So, with some trepidation I plunged into the futuristic world of crumbling cities, segregated populace and randomly running trains.

Divergent is set in an unspecified city – though according to the back it is meant to be Chicago. I am not American, so likely I missed all the obvious references. For reasons, definitely not explained, society as we know it has crumbled and been replaced by five competing factions that have until the start of the story managed to work peacefully and effectively together. Each faction is dominated by a single personality trait: honesty, selflessness, happiness, intelligence and bravery. Each faction is responsible for a different aspect of life in a functioning society: Candor = the legal system, Abnegation = government and all volunteer organizations, Amity = farming and health care, Erudite = research and development, and Dauntless = security.

At the age of sixteen each member of society takes an aptitude test which is a short series of hypothetical scenarios in a virtual reality setting. Using a process of elimination the results will tell the person which faction they belong in. After the test, the sixteen-year-olds then choose the faction they would like to belong to. Strangely this Choosing Ceremony involves cutting your palm with a shared knife and dropping blood into a bowl representing one of the five factions.

Image from the recent movie – not my picture.

My first question was why? Why do they need to physically shed blood during the Choosing? Yes, I get that it is symbolic. The words that hold up society are Faction before Family. By bleeding for your faction you are binding your blood with theirs. Still, it seems unnecessary.

While most children will stay in the faction they were raised, those that leave for new factions are then condemned by their families and taunted by their new faction. I don’t really understand this reaction as it seems to run counter to the Choosing Ceremony and Testing. If you don’t want your children to change factions, then why give them a choice in the beginning?

After the Choosing, the sixteen-year-olds undergo Initiation. Again, I don’t know why we have a redundant set-up. The person has already been tested via some system whose results are not generally called into question. The young person has then made their choice. What is the purpose of Initiation? The flimsy excuse that it is the factions’ chance to weed out its members seems contrived. It is clearly an excuse to bully the Initiates, to put them through hazing rites.

So we follow our young female protagonist from the life she has been raised to the aggressive chaos of the Dauntless Pit. The cult of the Dauntless styles itself as a cross between military discipline and aggression and punk rebellion. They wear black. They are heavily tattooed, pierced, and dyed. They do crazy, bad-ass stunts that would normally be considered stupid. Ostensibly to prove how brave they are, the Dauntless will jump on and off moving trains. They will fight each other using their fists, guns, knives or any other weapon. They will theoretically face their fears. Everything about them is aggressive and often violent. They drink until drunk. They yell loudly. They jump off really high buildings to ride zip-cords. And they apparently only see violence as evidence of fearlessness.

Wow, don’t they sound cool?

Book Cover – not my picture.

Well, not really. Bravery or fearlessness is not marked by the ease in which you can kill another person. Just because you can pound the flesh of your opponent into the ground doesn’t mean you are dauntless. It is a very limited view on the concept. Now, to show some fairness the author obliquely mentions this was not always the way the Dauntless worked. However, the manner in which she concludes the story with a very violent night of executions ending with their protagonist easily killing dozens of people seems to celebrate the violence of the faction.

One thing that struck me in this world: who controls the trains and why do they never stop? It seems like such a simple question, almost inconsequential. However, the fact that there is no answer really starts to demonstrate the incompletion of the story’s world. I am not even going to question the serum or the fact that the protagonist inexplicably finds herself drawn into the greater conflict. I will not ask why the male lead randomly is attracted to our female protagonist – because presumably that can happen in real life. Of course this is a perfect relationship in which he truly understands her, though they don’t spend a great deal of time talking. I will not even question the timeline. In only one month’s time, our decisive protagonist becomes an expert in hand-to-hand combat and the most amazing marksman. All this while still recovering from a number of very serious injuries – I think she might be a relative of Wolverine.

There are two final things I would like to bring up in this incoherent ramble.

First, it is obvious from the start these factions are cults. There is no better way to describe the uniformity of action and thought demanded by the factions. It makes you wonder again how they started and how they had been getting along for so long before our book starts. It is makes me question the initiation process once more. Initiates that fail this process are kicked out of the faction (or the case of the Dauntless are likely dead) to become Factionless. The factionless are the homeless in this futuristic world. Why? I suppose they must all have failed their initiation. Strangely enough they also serve a purpose performing jobs that no one else wants. So why do they continue to accept the abuse they are given? Why does the Abnegation not incorporate them back into the factions? Perhaps the answers to some of the questions are answered in the other two books of this trilogy.

Symbols for the different factions – found the image on the interwebs – certainly not my own product (I think it is a movie poster but I could be wrong).

Second, how does being Divergent give you super powers? Just because your test results are inconclusive (you show equal aptitude for two or more factions), you suddenly can perform actions faster and better than anyone else. If anything, I could see this being a hindrance, you are not so focused. Instead those who are divergent can recognize they are in simulations (a trait unique to them) and they are harder to mind-control (which apparently is the purpose of each cult – I mean faction). This is stupid. There is – at least there shouldn’t be – anything special about our female protagonist. However, in fact she is special, super-powered because of her divergent nature. It is rather amusing as we start to learn there are a number of divergent people living in this world. But don’t tell anyone.

Divergent bears a strong resemblance to the Hunger Games. Both narratives are told first person, present tense from the female protagonist’s perspective. Both involve poorly structured dystopian societies. Both books celebrate and glorify violence and the killing of others. They both end in the slaughter of a number of characters. Tris in Divergent is more decisive than Katnis in the Hunger Games. I find both characters waver between bland and unlikeable – perhaps a reflection of my ancient age.

In summary: Divergent is a silly story with serious flaws of character, plot and world building. That said, it is far better written than Twilight (the lowest of low). Having read the story, I still don’t understand why people who are not sixteen like it.

God and The Folk – Book Reviews

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While procrastinating my other work, I managed to read four books over the past four days. What follows is a simple book review of what I read; it may not be well-written, but you notice that I at least contributed!

Book Cover (not mine) – retelling of Beauty and the Beast

The first three books were all written by Melanie Dickerson: The Captive Maiden, The Fairest Beauty and The Merchant’s Daughter. They are all young adult, set in medieval times and retell classic fairy tales. The author is a devotedly faithful to the teachings of the bible, Jesus and God. I don’t know her exact denomination – however, her religious views are evident in her stories. All three of the books I read were modified to work some semblance of actual medieval reality (namely women have not position in society and there only goal is to marry someone who will take care of them) and God (all three maidens are deeply religious and it is their faith in god that allows them to succeed in overcoming hardships and finding the perfect man).

The books were fine. They felt authentic to the times with actual research into medieval life obviously completed by the author. The stories progressed along the classic lines of Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the 7 Dwarves and Cinderella. There were some changes – as one would expect in a new retelling of a very old tale. I will also add that I like the way the author tied together Fairest Beauty and Captive Maiden to her other novel The Healer’s Apprentice – that was neatly done.

Book Cover (not mine) – retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

They were slightly offensive in that every heroine was divinely beautiful (inside and out – the author was quick to point out). I found this most frustrating in the Cinderella retelling as the evil people in that story was generally described as hideous – and much effort was made to emphasize the ugliness of the villains. Yet, while I appreciate the effort made to reflect the medieval period in which the stories were set, I found the general oppression of women too much for me to handle. There was no complexity to the characters or genuinely interesting twists to the old plot lines. Being that I am not devotedly Christian, the insertion of God only made these stories more banal and lifeless.

I like the classic fairy tales. I love when they are retold in new and exciting ways. I prefer when they are told in different worlds – so are not restricted to our history. These were fine stories, but they were not exciting, were definitely slow in pace and progress, and were not my thing.

The other book I read (not young adult) was surprisingly more enjoyable than I had expected when picking it up. Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold had an ugly – at least unappealing cover – but I picked it up anyway. Without reading much of the back I borrowed this book from the library. The main protagonist, Evvie, is a spirited orphan thief when we first meet her on the streets of London. She is about to get roped into a devious plan that will involve training at Britannia’s School for female spies, learning as much as she can about etheric sciences and travelling halfway around the world in an airship. Granted the time in Shanghai doesn’t happen until the very end.

Book Cover (not mine) – I still think there is something unappealing about the monsterous creature (which does not say Dragon to me).

It was an interesting tale set in steampunk, Victorian England. It was darker (but not too dark) and filled with the Fey. I am not a big fan of the Fey (or Fay or however you spell it). In this book they were the Folk. And while the Folk were intimately tied to the story they did not overpower the telling so I was able to ignore most of the aspects of the Fey I don’t like (primarily their other world – which is often considered underground of our own). The main heroine is quite likeable and the plot generally progressed at a good pace. There was the strange cut out, part way through the narrative when we skipped back in time to experience Evvie’s childhood. It was not my favourite section – though I do appreciate the author’s attempt to show and not just tell.

Still of all the books I have read recently, and not just the four I admit to reading this weekend (but the other’s really terrible books not worth mentioning by name) this has been my favourite. I like that it was fun. I like the twists in the plot and the character development. I liked the world in all its imperfect, smoke choked glory. I liked that it is a stand-alone (at least it is to my knowledge as I write this).

Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain – Part 2

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Well, I can formally say that all my predictions for Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain were wrong. As for my final verdict on the book: it was largely a waste of time. It reads like filler, a story that has no real bearing on the great arch of the world.

So what went wrong? The primary culprit was the time travel. This was a problem in many different ways.

First, the reader was disconnected from the Green Rider world. The fantasy medieval setting with its largely equal views on the role of women and hate of slaves was replaced with a repressive society. Two hundred years in the future, women are treated more like Victorian Era ladies, to be barely seen and rarely heard. In fact they are to wear fully covered bodies and long veils. Further slaves abound (mostly to show how Evil the future is). This was disconcerting in many ways. While the author tried to use Karigan’s perspective to show how bad society in the future was, it was all tell and no show. It came across as preachy and utterly unnecessary. The entire set up of the Green Rider world with its strong female characters does more for equality than Mirror Sight’s long-winded rants ever could.

Book 4 in the series. I was not fond of this one either.

The steampunk elements served no apparent purpose in the world other than making it different. Long sections were spent describing some of the mechanicals. This bloated the book but added nothing as the descriptions were not engaging. There was no sense of wonder when reading about Enforcers. In fact, machines seemed to be present as further evidence the Emperor was Evil. If anything was to come out of it, I would say the author was once again expressing a negative (preachy) view against technology.

Finally, being in the future stripped the reader of all their favourite secondary characters. Personally, I feel the previous books became too tangled with secondary plot lines and additional points of view. So in principal I appreciated the more focused story telling in Mirror Sight. On the other hand, we had glimpses of other characters, teasers, to remind us that we would certainly be returning to the ‘proper’ time. This lessened all the experiences of the future. Ultimately, the author undercut her long-winded novel herself when she returned Karigan to the past (the main-character’s present) with hints the future was completely changed (unmade) and the main character now forgetting all her experiences (because they never happened). If this doesn’t scream Waste Of Time, I don’t know what else would.

Now, I might have been able to forgive such terrible set up if the writing had been brilliant. It wasn’t. This was the least engagingly written book in the series. After a little thought, I believe there were a couple of very obvious and correctable problems. First, it was by far too long. I don’t know the word count of a novel with 770 pages, but it felt like it was well over 300 000 words. The author cannot even claim that she was rushed and didn’t have time for editing as it has been three years since Blackveil.

Book 5 in the Green Rider Series.

Another complaint (that I will reiterate from the previous mess of a post) was the long exposition about what was happening without ever doing anything. Description is both good and important. However, every chapter in the book should serve a purpose. The first half …. Hell, the entire book dragged because of its inflated word count and lengthy paragraphs of explanation. The book should NOT have summarized every previous novel. It should NOT have described events like a log-book of a scientist. The reader didn’t need the information and they can read the earlier works to better understand the references. Also, I am pretty sure it was repetitive in its descriptions. One clear example stands out. About 4/5 into the book Karigan ‘explains’ her experiences from Blackveil (previous book) to another character in the world. The reader gets a one page paragraph rehashing old information. This could have been handled in several ways. For example one sentence could have been used to indicate what Karigan was talking about (topic only). Or Karigan could have related her experiences in dialogue in some interesting manner.

Further, the character development was weak and often last minute. There was little progression of the characters and when they did ‘grow/change’ it was rushed, requiring more paragraphs of explanation. For example, the kindly Professor that shelters Karigan is driven to turn against her. The explanation of why he is doing this comes mostly as he is giving her a large dose of morphine (or the fantasy world equivalent). Now, I will grant the lead up to this decision was not entirely out of nowhere. It was not well structured, but not entirely surprising. However, within two sentences, the Professor instantly regrets his decision, has a complete about face, helps Karigan to escape and kills himself in part to protect her. Really?! If it only took 10 seconds for the character to go from betrayer to martyr why did he have to betray her in the first place?

Like the above, there were too many instances when characters did things only to drive the plot. Which is amusing as this was the slowest moving plot in the world. But while Miriam never betrayed Karigan, the Professor, Arhys, and Luke all did. Why? Well, we were given explanations as needed to help explain why these characters did what they did. Sure, the explanations were reasonable, but that doesn’t change the feeling everything is more than a little contrived.

Book 1 in the series. The best book I think.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to indicate how disappointed I am with the manner in which the Author dealt with her other great creation, the Black Shields (Weapons). This order of elite swordfighters has dedicated their lives to their monarchs. They are cultish in their oaths and highly secretive. Yet, throughout all the books the Author has teased her readers with the idea of ancient order of Weapon masters. In the first books there was just enough mention and reaction to the Weapons to make their mysteriousness intriguing. However, here we are in book 5 and the Author is trying to incorporate a Black Shield (well, a want-be-Weapon) into the story. Now is the time to unravel some of the mysteries, at least to the reader if not the main character. Only she still only teases about the goals and beliefs of the Weapons. Why? Well, I have come to the conclusion the Author does not herself know anything about this elite order. It is a great shame, because this was an opportunity for her to do something new and interesting that was still tied to the familiar world of the ‘past’.

I could continue to complain about the introduction of p’hedrose (half human half moose creatures – which don’t make any sense), the suggestion of a half-Eletian (half-elf), the tediously drawn out relationship between Karigan and her King (please let it end) or any other of things that irk me. But I won’t.

Instead I will say in my own self-defence that I do not hate everything. In fact I am still quite fond of the first Green Rider book. It was good. It was fast paced. I had magic, adventure, structure and compelling characters. Even the second book, though much dark, held a world in change. So, while I might not continue with this increasingly ridiculous series, I will fondly reread the Green Rider (book 1) periodically.

Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain – Part 1

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Book 5 in the Green Rider Series.

I was terribly excited when the library called to inform me that my hold had arrived – and on the day the book was released! Mirror Sight is the latest book in the Green Rider Series by Kristen Britain. Over the past 20 hours I have managed to consume 276 of the 770 pages in this thick novel. So, while this post will be full of Spoilers. It is part one for a reason.

Before I start, I just want to clarify. I really enjoyed the Green Rider (book 1 of the series). I really appreciated what Britain tried to do with book 2 (First Rider’s Call). I thought book 3 was lots of fun (The High King’s Tomb). I was sorely disappointed with Blackveil (book 4) and so started Mirror Sight with mixed emotions. On one hand it is very exciting to read something new in a world I generally enjoy, especially when the author takes 3-4 years to write the next work in the series. However after the abysmal failure that was Blackveil I could only foresee disappointment in the newest novel.

Fortunately the book starts by dealing with the cruel and unnecessary cliff-hanger that ended the previous story. So far that is the best thing to have happened. Almost 300 hundred pages into the book we have finally started to create a plot.

The story takes place nearly 200 hundred years in the future. This leap in time travel is a bit weird to say the least. It is as though Britain became bored with her standard fantasy world – more medieval in feel than anything else – and decided she wanted to do something Steampunk because that is the latest greatest thing. Well, the attempt to add steampunk is meh at best. It mostly comes across as preachy against technology. And the leap forward 200 hundred years is silly – at least when you try to think of the mechanisms. Sure time travel has cropped up in the previous tales, but in small bursts and largely into the past (far more acceptable).

The future world lacks the feel of the original setting. It comes across as flat, underdeveloped and largely uninteresting. It is too much evil emperor à cartoonish in the villain. Granted, the villains in the stories do tend towards the Evil variety. It is one of the drawbacks of the writing. Evil villains (with a capital E) are really bland. It was one of the strengths of the earlier books. While Evil existed in the world, each story centred around a much more approachable villain – a force with clearly defined motivation.

The huge surprise that the Emperor in the future is not the Evil Mornhavon the Black was so clearly set up from the beginning as to be unsurprising. It is not entirely a bad thing; at least this was set up in advance.

I heard Mirror Sight was supposed to be a stand-alone story in the series. Not dependant on the previous books. Again, I have not finished the story, but thus far I would not recommend it to anyone not already indoctrinated. Mostly because I still feel the first story is the author’s strongest. This book suffers from weak writing and some silly characters. The silliest characters are the Eltians à Tolkien’s elves reused in a different setting. Yup I am bored with these immortal, perfect, beautiful, arrogant, tree-hugging non-humans. They are tiresome in the extreme. Their use is lazy and their character traits are all derivatives of Elves. There is nothing particularly new in these magical beings that are superior to humans in every obvious quality.

The weak writing surfaces most in the telling and not showing. There is far too much info dumping in these first 300 pages. Everything is description and explanation. Sure you could argue the author is providing a recap of all previous books so a new reader doesn’t feel lost – but it sucks! If there is something that has to be retold then find an interesting way of doing so. Don’t just have our main character think about it. At the very least make sure her perspective is biased. But the fact of the matter is I have read all the previous books. If I wanted to know more about them, I would pull them from my shelf to reread. Just to be clear, I totally love the idea of referencing previous events/books. Again it should be done in a new and refreshing way. It can be done obliquely so those familiar with the early part of the series are able to make the connection and those new just skim over that part as unimportant.

Which brings me to one of the interesting connections I had the pleasure of making. The earlier books deal with an underground movement (secret society) dedicated to replacing the world’s king with an ancient emperor (the Evil Mornhavon the Black). This group skulks in the shadows and plots against the good guys. Well, fast forward to book five where our heroine finds herself on the other side of things. Now she is part of the group wanting to over through their emperor and hiding in the shadows. I rather like the symmetry of the situation. Only of course, in this case everything is so decidedly black-and-white we know the emperor is Evil and has to be overthrown.

I feel like I should wrap this up with some sort of unifying comment. I don’t have one, so instead I will put down some of my predictions for the rest of the story.

*Mirriam will end up betraying the underground movement in some fashion.

*Karigan will help to burn the future capital but have to return to the past to prevent Amberhill from becoming the Sea King Reborn.

*The weapon they seek is really a jewel used to trap the spirit of the dragons (possible akin to gods).

Now it is time to find out how are sword yielding, horseback riding heroine fares at a dinner party in a restrained Victorian-esp social setting.

Cinderella

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Haha! It is not even the end of April and I am posting. On the downside I am procrastinating my novel writing … Don’t expect too much.

From the movie version.

I am a fan of fairy tales. I was brought up with the Disney retelling of the Grim Brother’s classics. Over the years I have read a number of iterations and have watched numerous movie versions. Recently I found myself watching the film adaptation of Ella Enchanted, which urged me to reread the source material. Then as luck would have it another book arrived at the library for me – another Cinderella-based story.

All three of these stories involve the same basic characteristic elements. They have a young girl whose mother dies when she is young and whose father is either mostly absent or dies. There is a stepmother who despises her stepdaughter and works to make her life miserable. There is a charming suitor of prestigious background and a grand ball somewhere towards the end. Magic is thick through all three of these Cinderella retellings, though each one is different.

While the movie Ella Enchanted starring Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, and Cary Elwes (and others) is based on the novel by the same title they should be treated as two different works. Certainly, I could not stop the flood of ‘that was not in the book; that was not how things happened, and where did that come from?’ comments while watching. The movie version takes the idea of freedom and runs with it. Everything is changed to make freedom the driving theme. Suddenly, there is a wicked uncle who is enslaving portions of the population. Of course Ella is the primary example, for she is under a curse of obedience which has stripped her of her freedom since birth. While this is not a bad way of dealing with the transition, I do think it removes much of the elegance found in the book. The movie is garish in colour and humour. It is loud, oversized and extreme. But it is also fun. It has an interesting mix of modern music, ideals and dance numbers set in a more medieval setting (with some visual quirks like the moving stairc

The book cover.

ase – also not found in the book). The evil stepsisters are even more comically driven to woo the prince than they are in the book. I would say it is fun, but childish and certainly lacks any depth.

I infinitely prefer the book version by Gail Carson Levine. Though my recent rereading reminded me it was written for a much younger audience. It is not the plot, by the simplicity of the writing, aimed more for early rather than late teens. Still, I really like the struggle the cursed Cinderella faces over the course of the novel. Her we can see how she has always fought against the curse. It also better explains how the orders work. Ella is not magically good at everything. When ordered to sing she does so, but being untrained her voice is awful. However, after a series of increasingly more specific commands, she can be ordered to do what is required. The specificity of the commands is not dealt with at all in the movie. Which actually brings me to the other thing I liked about the book, there is an incident with ogres in which Ella clearly helps the Prince – rather than being saved by him as is seen in the film. Being a book the story spans a year or more, in which Ella is allowed to slowly fall in love with her prince. It shows them building a relationship, something that is difficult to do on film because of time constraints.

While both works could be described as dealing with Freedom they come across very different. The film is taking the most obvious route of oppressed and oppressor. The message being that no one should be ordered around and told what to do with their lives. The book is not so blatant. Here the author explores choice and responsibility in less obvious ways. Ella is still cursed and ordered around by those who know. However, the ogres are also capable of making unwary people do what they want. It is more manipulation of people and freedom on a very personal level being discussed in the book; the freedom to be yourself in expression and personality. It seems such a slim difference. However the manner in which these ideals are expressed produced two very different works.

Both of these works are targeting a younger audience with their Cinderella retellings. Glass slippers, another Disney element play only a nominal role in the novel version and are not present at all in the film.

The glass slippers take on a slightly different role in Wayfarer: A Tale of Beauty and Madness by Lili St. Crow. Here the stepmother’s job is to manufacture high-end footwear. While many of the Cinderella elements are present in this book, much was done to create a different and unique fantasy world. I would say the world building was successful – I also enjoyed the first book in this series dealing with Snow White. However, my age started to show through while reading Wayfarer. Ellie Sinder – Cinderella – was not the spunky girl from Ella Enchanted. She was ultimately depressed, convinced that no one would believe how terrible her stepmother was (at least no adult) and that her friends only stayed next to her through pity. Even while she professed these ideas, Ellie also admitted that her friends were really good to her. And really, so many of Ellie’s problems would have been solved if she just told someone she needed help. Instead she flopped between bleak desperation that no one cared and the noble need to sacrifice herself to protect her friends. It was tiresome. Especially, since you get to the end of the book and the adults are quite reasonable and ready to believe the stepmother was evil (she really was). So, while there were many good ideas brought forth in this world it was simply too much self-pity and needless whining for me to really enjoy the story.

Moth and Spark – Book Review

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In my dutiful attempt to chronicle the books I actually finish reading I present to the readers of this blog another hum-drum title: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard.

While searching for fantasy book suggestions I stumbled across a list that was supposed to include: good, new, adult fantasy titles that are not the common big names (things like a Game of Thrones, etc).

The tagline held promise: A Prince with a Quest. A Commoner with Mysterious Powers. And Dragons who Demand to be Free – at any Cost.

The jacket cover than goes on to introduce the two leads, Prince Corin, just returning from the North with strange tidings for his father, the King and apprehension about the Summer court and his mother’s intensions to marry him off. Tam is joining her sister-in-law at court. She is cuirous to see what it is like, though disdainful of the flighty chatter of insipid airheads (not quite the words used in the synopsis, but close enough).

“Chance leads Tam and Corin to a meeting in the library, and he impulsively asks her to join him for dinner… Tam is surprised by how easy it is to talk to Corin, and Corin thinks to himself that Tam is the first person to genuinely see him as a man rather than The Prince.”

Well, this section holds promise. Obviously, we are expecting a romance. However, from the last line I am looking forward to a developed romance based on wit and conversation. Things are looking good.

The jacket cover continues to explain that the Dragon’s want Corin to free them from bondage and Tam will discover she is a Seer. Good, good, we have dragons, a romance based on strong personalities, a threat of war, and a bit of magic in the form of a Seer. Things are looking up. And in fact I enjoyed the opening. The prologue spoke of vague, unsettled powers starting to waken and dangerous things to come.

The first couple of chapters were solid in their introductions of the key players. Everything was looking up. Until things stagnated. Until my romance was utterly crushed. Until the ending resolved itself in the most contrived and poorly explained matter that destroyed my enjoyment for this stand-alone novel.

First, the political intrigue initiated at the beginning was solid. But it didn’t develop into anything. What was the importance of the death at the start if it was not to play a roll later in the work? Why kill that character and why do the murder with a very illegal and dangerous substance if you are not going to use that for character development?

Second, the romance sucked. Granted part of that was based on my expectations of strong, witty dialogue. However, even without my preconceived notions I would have been disappointed as the attraction between the characters was physical. She was sooo pretty he just wanted to bed her right then and there. He was sooo handsome that she wanted him as a lover even if that ruined her chances of marriage at some later date. Bleh. Their conversation, when they got past staring longingly into each other’s eyes was flat and boring. It was so restrained as to say nothing. The teasing was so mild I would not have noticed it if the author hadn’t drawn obvious attention to those lines. While she tried to set up conflict within the romance: Corin was a Crown Prince and Tam was a commoner, she undermined it at every opportunity. Tam was from a wealthy, respectable family, who had married into the edges of nobility. Worse, the King and rest of the Royal family instantly liked Tam the moment they met. And unfortunately Tam turned out to be so beautiful that she attracted the attention of everyone at court – all the men wanted her. Which was tedious.

Then there was the magic, it was undefined and supposedly relegated to myth and legend. Certainly, the fact that wizards existed was kept secret. I don’t have a problem with this. I do have issue with the manner in which the King miraculously seemed to know about all the magical happenings around him. He was not fazed to discover his son had been recruited by the dragons. He was the only one who recognized that Tam was a Seer – something she didn’t know anything about. To top it all off magic did stuff without ever being properly defined. The cutting away of reality just meant that it could do anything whenever it was needed. Sigh.

While I liked the animal characteristics of the Dragons their plot line was stupid. They were stolen from their Valley by the Emperor who used them to solidify power and claim more lands. How was this accomplished? A Wizard did it! Really, somehow (though it is not properly explained), the wizards managed to steal the Fire from the Dragons. And how does one correct the problem? Well apparently, the Prince had to enter a crevice and die. Only then the Emperor came, he fought the Prince, nearly died and Tam told a story and ta-da the dragons were free. Confused? I know I am. How did any of those actions return Fire to the Dragons? Hard to say. Why did the Emperor have to live? Apparently because he drank dragon blood which meant that the dragons could only be freed while he lived. Why? Reasons, I suppose. It never was clearly communicated in any manner.

The first two thirds of the book was spent setting up conflict and introducing problems: Dragons want Corin to Free them; the Emperor is plotting against our heroic vassal Kingdom; another evil threat is sweeping its way in from the East (with a torturous and twisted leader); there are bandits in the country and war on the horizon and political unrest at the court (only I was never entirely certain what the court nobles were trying to do as their goals became mudded in the confusion). The last third was a rush of trying to tie up all these loose ends. We spent a little time experience war. A little time talking with Dragons. A little time talking with the mysterious Wizards. A very little time being introduced to and then killing the mean Emperor. And someone else went off to kill the Evil Guy from the East – cause really we were running out of time. Still, we did manage to spend more time with the leads as they kissed, touched and proclaimed their love for each other – oh and they had some weird, prophetic dreams and freed their people at the last moment.

The good thing about this book – it is a standalone. The bad thing about this book is the plot progression, the undefined use of magic, the illogical trapping and freeing of the dragons, the random war, the random evil killing of the minor noble, the bland main characters, the king that knows everything for unexplained reasons, the rushed ending …

In short, it could have been better. Though, in all fairness it could have been much worse too.

Fade to Black – Book Review

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It has been a while since I picked up a book that I either hadn’t already read once or wasn’t ashamed to admit I read. Fade to Black by Francis Knight was found on list of fantasy suggestions. It met my requirements of sounding like it might be an interesting story and most importantly was available at my local library.

Book Cover.

As books go, it was Ok. I liked the attempt to create a slightly different fantasy world that was a good mix of modern-seeming technology (moving carriages run on some power source other than animal) and high fantasy (mages). The world was just discovering guns, having been restricted to knives and swords, but was very familiar to artificial lights (similar to the neon lights found in so many city centres). The writing was dark, gritty and had me thinking the author was male. Yes, men usually have a different voice than female authors – at least in my limited experience. The plot was solid, though not surprising. Actually it was all rather predictable. The first person narrative was solid. In the end the book was fine, nice, ok and any other generic adjective. I didn’t hate it, I sort of enjoyed it. But it was not engrossing, so I can’t say I loved it.

In fact, I wouldn’t be bothering with a book review at all if I hadn’t stumbled upon another reader’s review. While they appreciated the setting and the system of magic in use they complained loudly about the dark, gritty nature of the imagery and the overly sexist protagonist.

In one sense I understand where the reader is coming from. The book is dark, the plot is dark the setting is dark – literally you do not get to see the sun at all. Most of the story takes place deep in the shadows and underground, at least buried under layers of city to be effectively underground. But the complaint about the gruesome nature of the description seemed exaggerated. Sure the mages fuel their magic on pain, but that requires injury. And the beating of the main character’s had into the floor was no more gruesome than the torture that was happening in the background. Besides, it was no worse than a fight scene.

But the truly entertaining complaint regarding Rojan’s sexism is what made me chuckle. Yes, the main character is sexist. It is his flaw – the character flaw. All good characters need a problem, something that will serve to make them more human, make them less perfect. And since the only significant female in the book didn’t end up in his bed, I think this was a fair and reasonable flaw. He bungled his interactions with women becomes of his absolute belief that he could charm any woman he wanted into his bed. Arrogance is part of his character flaw. In fact, he needed very strong and very real flaws to fit into the broken world.

The author was clearly going for the dark. The main character is a bounty-hunter living on the edge of squalor in a dystopian city. He is to represent the average citizen living in the slums, eking out a meagre life in a world of despair. The character needed to reflect that in his attitudes, his appearance and his actions. He was supposed to be caustic, abrasive and cynical. He needed a tough personality to survive the harsh realities of his world.

Besides, his sexist ideas leaned more towards his arrogant assumptions of how all women would eventually fall for his charms rather than limit their role in society. At no point did he think that the only good woman was one staying at home and keeping house. His eye was drawn to strong females clearly capable of taking care of themselves. Does that excuse his attitudes? Well no, it is not supposed to. A character flaw is just that – a flaw. It is not a trait that makes the character more likeable, just more human. Flaws are meant to be detractors and clearly this one worked well.

So, what is the point of this review? Well, there isn’t much of one. Fade to Black is still a passable book made worse when I discovered it is supposed to be the first in a series. The best part was not the story itself (though it was fine), but the reactions of others.

Crown of Midnight

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This week’s brief review is looking at Sarah J. Maas’ latest novel the Crown of Midnight. It is the second book in A Throne of Glass series.

The stories revolve around the young assassin, Celaena Sardothien. She is working for an evil King in order to win her freedom. Naturally nothing about life is as simple as she pretends. There is the crown prince Dorian and the Captain of the Guard Choal for a love triangle. And then there is her friend, the princess Nehemia, who would like to see Celeana fighting for the people, the land or good in general instead of her own selfish desires.

The novel is a quick read. The pacing is fast. The main character is physically strong. The use of magic should appeal. It is a land that was once seeped in the ancient and mystical, until suddenly it wasn’t – until the King decreed magic was banned and set about slaughtering all its visible remnants. There is an undercurrent of bringing back the forgotten magic – a concept I like.

However, I find the book has been tainted by the Fae. I am not entirely certain I can articulate what it is about fairies that displeases me so. Perhaps it is the fact they are thrown into the world as a seemingly easy way to explain things like magic. Perhaps it is because they are nothing more than lifeless derivatives of Tolkien’s work that I find so insipid. The Fae are always magical, always gorgeous, always faster, smarter, prettier, with golden pale hair and pointed ears. They live forever and are often – especially those following in Tolkien’s glorious footsteps – perfect in morals and rule. This holds true once more. The Fae have been persecuted, driven from the lands/hunted from their homes – slaughtered and killed and etc.

The big twist in the book regarding the main character’s past was not unexpected. I thought it was a bit excessive for two reasons. First it was a bit too predictable – which I suppose would could interpret to mean that the author was successful in setting up the plot. Except that it is an old plot twist that is common to this style of story. The second thing that rubbed me as being slightly off was a comment made by one of the characters, Nehemia. The princess says and does what is most convenient to the plot. At one point she is speaking with the Prince will Assassin and Captain dance in the moonlight.

“Responsibilities. We will always have burdens that no one else can ever understand. That they…will never understand.”

These words bother me even more having finished the book and knowing the big twist. They bother me because it has been implied at several junctions Nehemai know of the twist, yet I do not feel this is accurately expressed in her words – and sometimes in her actions. Of course, it could be related to some other idea yet to come. For while this book certainly felt like a second book in a series, I cannot tell from the story ending or the author’s webpage if this is going to be a trilogy (most common) or longer series (increasingly common). I suppose only time will answer this question.

So, to wrap this up. Yes, Crown of Midnight is a good read. I think it holds up rather well to the first book in the series, Throne of Glass. It is fun, fast and frivolous. It is a solid young-adult fantasy novel that does show the influence of Cinderella in subtle ways.

Gail Carriger – Author Review

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Gail Carriger is an amazing author of highly entertaining Victoria Steampunk novels. To date I have read both the adult and young-adult, all of which take place in the same world – England mostly.

What I absolutely love about her work is the quirky way she has of using words. Carriger does not shy away from the use of a larger vocabulary often ignored by current fantasy authors. She pairs descriptors in absurd ways that still function most hilariously. It is absolutely the very best thing about her books – her writing.

The names in her works have become increasingly ridiculous – and thus increasingly amusing to pronounce. For example in the young adult books about finishing school we have Professor Shrimpdittle and Lord Dingleproops. Not all the names are so over the top to make reading them an entire distraction. She does strike a balance between the outrageous and slightly less exotic.

As for the stories themselves – well I certainly enjoyed them, but they are far from perfect. Really, have you ever read a book that didn’t have at least one thing you would change? In this case I sometimes struggle with the amazingly fantastical nature of the technology. The first series, The Parasol Protectorate, had a new automaton creature each book: swarms of lady bugs and needle shooting hedgehogs come to mind first. I suppose it would be less of a bother if she didn’t try to explain each one with science – the humanoid with clockwork gears and thick greasy blood covered in a wax skin was particularly cumbersome.

Another aspect I completely disapprove of is the direct interactions with Queen Victoria. I am really not fond of authors involving actual people in their fantasy stories. Of course, I would prefer if the author would simply make up their own world, similar in flavour and style but different in name, history (which it already is) and people (no actual historical figures present please). It is often jarring to read.

Actually, one of the neat things about her books was the use of the supernatural – which should be nothing but silly. I don’t know why all steampunk must feel the need to include Vampires and Werewolves and the like. However, I did appreciate the way it was dealt with in these books. The supernatural was in the process of being incorporated into society – it was used to explain some of the social rules that govern that time period. It was interesting the way the characters of the time tried to use science to explain the supernatural around them – in this case an excess of soul. But what was best about the explanation, it was done in such a way the author could use a completely different one as the technology and science evolved over time. After all scientific views are not static in the least. It was also impressive the way different people viewed the supernatural – some clearly supported and emulated them, others tried to hunt them down and kill them. There was a healthy mix of both, with a clear bias leaning in favour of the main character.

Both heroines are adorable. They are spunky, go-get-them types that work to some degree within the confines of their social world. Again, the writing is immensely entertaining when it comes to the dialogue and the frequently outrageous clothes donned by several of the secondary characters.

The young adult stories – Finishing School series – predate the events of the Parasol Protectorate series. It is interesting to see the author’s struggles with technology. The Finishing School – located on a dirigible and staffed by clockwork servants – seems almost more advanced than the more typical housing arrangements of the Parasol Protectorate, so I am curious as to how she will explain some of its loss.

Those reading both series will find that some overlap in characters. Though they are not primary characters, some are strong secondary ones. Also, the Finishing School series has a much lighter, faster and more youthful feel to it which is appropriate to the audience. Again, because of the brilliant writing, it is still wonderfully entertaining to older audiences.

So, for those that like well written books of the supernatural steampunk persuasion I would highly recommend Gail Carriger. Both the young-adult and adult books are instantly captivating. The element of the absurd is laugh-out-loud fun and the characters are ridiculously engaging. This is not your average fluff fantasy, this is perfectly written entirely diverting fluff.

The Books:

The Parasol Protectorate stars Alexia Tarabotti in five novels.

Soulless – In which the intrepid heroine accidently kills a vampire and becomes embroiled in a plot to manufacture the supernatural.

Changeless – In which our heroine is forced by circumstances from the comforts of fashionable London to the uncivilized backwaters of wild Scottish highlands.

Blameless – In which the practical heroine must flee homicidal mechanicals for the dubious safety of Italy.

Heartless – In which family and history clash and ghosts request our heroine’s aid.

Timeless – In which the story of supernaturals and our heroine’s own extended family (including their histories) are explained, if not by science, then by their limitations in the exotic lands of Egypt.

Finishing School stars Sophronia Temminnick in four novels (two of which have been published to date).

Etiquette & Espionage – In which our fearless heroine discovers mysterious going-ons at a rather atypical floating finishing school.

Curtsies & Conspiracies – In which our crafty heroine continues her studies into the nefarious practices of poison and deportment.