Tag: Fantasy Page 52 of 54

The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healy

By

On June 25, 2014

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle (The League of Princes, #2)The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle

by Christopher Healy

Hardcover, 477 pg.
Walden Pond Press, 2013
Read: Jun 17 – 20, 2014

This is not as good as The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, let me get that out of the way. But it’s hard to stay fresh with this time of humor. Still, it wasn’t stale, it was still a fun — sometimes very fun — adventure and a good story for the young — or those that can act young while reading a good book.

After their last adventure, the heroes find out that even in Fairy Tale Kingdoms, you only get 15 minutes of fame. No longer hailed as greats, their loser status has been restored and their lives are pretty much what they were before they banded together. So they all jump at the chance for further excitement, even if it comes in less-than-favorable ways. This time, the band is off to steal

We get all the characters from the first book back (at least the ones that anyone would notice), plus a few new faces — most of which I want to see again. In particuar, the character of Smimf the messenger was a great addition to the cast — he’s the proper mix of ridiculous and impossible. I could’ve used a little more of him — but not too much, I think he’s one of those characters that would grow old pretty quick.

I really enjoy Healy’s way of looking at the world and describing things, I know I posted some quotations last time, so I’ll limit myself to just one taste from this book where he explains the origin of the very nasty Warlord of Dar:

Some peole say Rundark was born out of a mad alchemist’s attempt to distill the essence of pure evil. Others claim he emerged fully grown form an erupting volcano. Although it’s also possible that he was the son of a used-cart salesman from Nebbish Village — they didn’t keep very good records in Dar.

I don’t care what age level you’re writing for, give me paragraphs like that, and I’ll read.

The last thing anyone should think about while reading this is Game of Thrones, but I couldn’t help myself. Someone needs to make a movie of this series, and they cast have to those of Maisie Williams and Rory McCann as Lila and Ruffian (quickly, before Williams grows up even more). If you watch the HBO series, I don’t know how you can read this without seeing the two of them with your mind’s eye as you read this.

I did chuckle at the tip of the cap The Princess Bride — so few in the target audience are going to get it, but for us Moms and Dads out there, it was a nice touch.

Last, but not least: Kudos to illustrator Todd Harris — his drawings are full of life and mirth. They’re the perfect accompaniment for the writing.

A lot of fun, almost as fun as the first book in the series, and well worth your time. I note there’s a third book in this series, and I really look forward to it.

—–

3 Stars

Wake of the Bloody Angel by Alex Bledsoe

By

On May 30, 2014

In Alex Bledsoe, Authors, Eddie LaCrosse, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Wake of the Bloody Angel (Eddie LaCrosse, #4)Wake of the Bloody Angel

by Alex Bledsoe

Paperback, 350 pages
Tor Books, 2012
Read: May 28, 2014

I looked up at the stars. Finding one pirate after twenty years was a lot like picking one star out of this sky. Just when you thought you had it, a cloud slid by and you had to start all over when it passed.

Yet that’s just what Eddie LaCrosse sets out to do — find the unfindable, track the untrackable. For those of you who don’t know — Eddie lives in a fairly standard fantasy realm, and makes his living as a “sword jockey” — what we’d call a P.I. in our world. These books are first person narratives and read a lot like good detective novels — but with swords, horses and the occasional dragon or whatnot.

Eddie doesn’t go alone on his search for a pirate — he brings along his old friend/colleague, Jane Argo. Jane’s a former pirate turned pirate hunter turned sword jockey and is as tough as that résumé suggests. Having her come along on this adventure as the Hawk/Joe Pike figure was a great addition to a series that I didn’t think required it. But now, I want more of her — back in Eddie LaCrosse #6, or in Jane Argo #1. I could be pleased either way, as long as it’s soon.

There’s adventure, piracy, sword-play, banter, friendship, and a bit of betrayal. Enough to keep you engaged, if not turning pages as quickly as you can. Every now and then, in the middle of this fun read, Bledsoe reminds you he can do more than tell a fun action story, and drop a sentence, or phrase that shows he’s just a good writer, period. One such line that stood out to me, and I’ve tried to find excuses to use in the last couple days is:

Hawk’s been called many things over the years, but you know what captures him best, in my opinion? That he’s simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.

You get a real clear idea about this Hawk guy, the image is pretty creepy in and of itself, and yet, it looks and sounds breezy unless you think about it. I like Eddie and the rest of his world plenty — but it’s that kind of thing that keeps me coming back to Bledsoe.

Part of me is glad I read Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies before this, if I hadn’t, I’d have spent too much time comparing the pirate-y bits between the two while reading — and I think Lynch would’ve come up short. Bledsoe did a great job of nailing the life of a ship (says the guy who gets too seasick to even contemplate a day-long voyage) — both the tedium of day-to-day and the excitement of the boarding.

The last thing I can think to note, is that this book briefly features the creepiest little girl I can remember since Let the Right One In. I really can’t talk about her without ruining too much, but let me just say that absolutely loved the way that Bledsoe used her.

I couldn’t have seen the ending coming, nor the details it revealed. But it worked, it absolutely worked both as an interesting plot development, and as strong character moments. So well done. Shame on me for putting this off for so long — not a mistake I’ll make again.*

—–

* and I mean that — book 5, He Drank, and Saw the Spider came out this year, and is on my hold list at the library.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Dusted Off: Dragon Precinct by Keith R.A. DeCandido

By

On May 19, 2014

In Fiction

Dragon PrecinctDragon Precinct

by Keith R.A. DeCandido
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What a great concept–take a typical D&D-ish city, filled with Elves, Half-Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Magic Users, etc. and throw in a typical Law & Order-ish police force investigating a variety of crimes. Most notably, a serial killer knocking off legendary members of a band of heroes embarking on an epic quest.

Not the greatest fantasy novel I’ve read in the last few months–but such a fun one, I hated for it to end. The detectives (and most of the supporting cast) were a lotta fun, and I could spend a lot more time with them, just bantering at the tavern after their shifts, much less working their cases.

—–

3 Stars

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

By

On April 29, 2014

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Oy vey. After this, I’m forty-five books away from being caught up. 45.

—–

Outlander (Outlander, #1)Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Mass-Market Paperback, 870 pg.
Dell Publishing Company, 2005
Read: March 7 – 19, 2014

So when the announcement was made that this was going to be a TV series, the descriptions offered sounded intriguing — a mix of historical fiction and time travel. I figured the series was at least worth a look. I mean with that many sequels, it had to have something going for it. 50,000,000 Elvis fans can’t be wrong, you know?

Well, they’re probably not wrong, but they sure aren’t talking for me. What an exercise in futility. I literally knew nothing more about the key plot point on page 870 than I did on page 100. While I don’t demand to understand everything fully (even if there weren’t a half-dozen sequels to explain things), but I want to learn something, not just watch hundreds of pages of plot go by to get us nowhere.

So, in the days after the end WWII, an English nurse and her husband — both back from the War and reunited — go off on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. While her husband, the historian, is off talking about local history, Claire goes off for stroll and (skipping details here) finds herself face-to-face with her husband’s great-great-something-grandfather. Who turns out to be not-a-nice-man. So Claire ends up running away from this British officer with a group of Scots. Eventually, she finds herself married to one of them, falling in love with her second husband and having loads of sex. And there’s some running from the Brits, dealing with local politics, merging 18th century medicine with 20th century medicine, and getting some sort of religious instruction.

Outlander is big, sweeping, well-written, maddeningly dependent on coincidence, with one-dimensional villains and wayyyyy too much sexy-time — and, worst of all, it’s ultimately pointless. There is literally no point to this all. getting to the expected point is really what kept me going for the last 600+ pages. There are people who will love this (obviously, just do a quick Google search), but I won’t be joining that number.

—–

2 Stars

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

By

On January 3, 2014

In Fiction, Steampunk

Kinslayer (The Lotus War, #2)Kinslayer

by Jay Kristoff

Hardcover, 432 pg.
Thomas Dunne Books, 2013
Read: Dec. 6-13, 2013

It’s a law that the second part of a trilogy is going to be darker in tone than the rest and will leave things in a precarious position. The mark of a really good second part of a trilogy is that even as you expect that, the tone and direness of the events affect you as they ought, and don’t just seem as ways to advance the overall story arcs to get through the third installment.

Kristoff’s Kinslayer delivered on that. And then some — I’m not sure where I expected/wanted things to go following the calamitous events at the close of Stormdancer — obviously there’d be fighting between the Guild, the Kagé rebellion, and various groups trying to fill the void left by the death of Yoritomo. And, of course, Buruu and Yukiko would be smack dab in the middle of it. Beyond that, I really had no idea.

Which is fine and dandy, because I was pretty wrong — yes, there’s conflict between the Kagé, the Lotus Guild and various Shōgun, but not all-out warfare (mostly). And for the bulk of the novel, Yukiko and Buruu aren’t directly involved in that story — they are off on an important quest on their own, their storylines intersect with the rest at the beginning and end of the novels (like Luke and R2 off to Dagobah in another noted second part of a trilogy).

Don’t get me wrong — it’s not all doom and gloom. There are more than a few chuckles, some fun times to be read here. Early on in the book, I wrote the note, “the conversations between Yukiko and Buruu are fantastic — the playfulness, the teasing, the love — it’s like Temeraire with snark.” But then things started to turn — in the capitol, in the Kagé wilderness and even with the thunder tiger and his stormdancer. Yukiko is having trouble controlling her powers, there’s division in the rebellion’s ranks, and it seems that nobody in the capitol is telling the truth to anyone about anything. Betrayal courses through this novel. It’s raw and powerful.

What makes all the betrayal effective isn’t how it moves the plots forward, but because with established and new characters, Kristoff has created characters you can believe, characters you can empathize with, identify with, care about — no matter their allegiance in the conflicts. So that when plans go awry, trust is broken, loved ones abandoned (or worse), it matters to the audience.

True to form, things are bleak — if not worse — as the novel closes, but Kristoff has set the stage for something very exciting, and many things that I’m not even going to pretend to predict. Can’t wait for what’s next.

Lastly, I am indebted to Kristoff for the Character Reference pages at the beginning and wish that more serial fiction people did something like that — an easy way to re-orient yourself in this strange world. If only there was a pronunciation guide, too. But now I’m getting greedy.

—–

5 Stars

Dusted Off: False Covenant by Ari Marmell

By

On December 3, 2013

In Fiction

False Covenant (Widdershins Adventures, #2)False Covenant

by Ari Marmell
Series: Widdershins Adventures, #2

Hardcover, 281 pg.
Pyr, 2012

It doesn’t matter what Ari Marmell writes — whether the fantasy is YA or not — it’s gripping and intense. The only difference is the swearing and amount of blood.

Still reeling from the events of the first volume — the death of a close friend, a showdown with a demon, a burgeoning friendship with an up and coming star in the Guard (not a good move for a professional thief)– this adventure will push Widdershins even further and harder and will keep the pages turning ’til the jaw-dropping end.

Marmell has created a rich and elaborate world for Widdershins — the magic/mythology system, the thieves’ guild, it’s a soil that many volumes could be grown in, I certainly hope they do.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: Thief’s Covenant by Ari Marmell

By

On December 2, 2013

In Fiction

Thief's Covenant (Widdershins Adventures, #1)Thief’s Covenant

by Ari Marmell
Series: Widdershins Adventures, #1

Hardcover, 273 pg.
Pyr, 2012

Marmell’s first foray into YA is exactly what it should be–his kind of story, without the adult-y material, which he managed to do without feeling like he watered anything down. There’s some light moments–and some flat-out clever writing–but on a dime, Marmell can turn things dark and gruesome

Adrienne/Widdershins/insert-alias-here is a heckuva character — tough, but vulnerable; wise, yet naive; reckless, yet skilled–a good YA character. She’s good at what she does–maybe even great–but not perfect, which I really appreciated.

A good, solid fantasy in a package that’s smaller than a doorstop. I’ll be back for more.

—–

3.5 Stars

Dusted Off: The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell

By

On November 25, 2013

In Fiction

The Conqueror's ShadowThe Conqueror’s Shadow

by Ari Marmell
Hardcover, 448 pg.
Spectra, 2010

What a rollicking good read! This book has it all…great battle scenes; the fate of the world in the balance; wise crackin’ tough guys; wicked witches; ugly, brutish trolls; snarky demons…

Sure, it’s a story we’ve read/seen before–baddest of the bad guys retires, reforms (at least sorta), and has to come out of retirement to stop a new bad guy.

This telling of that familiar tale is done with panache and a clever trick or three to shake things up. Well done, and more than primes the pump for reading more in this world.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint

By

On November 11, 2013

In Fiction

The Riddle of the WrenThe Riddle of the Wren

by Charles de Lint

This was not the best fantasy I’ve read lately, and I know (well, strongly believe) I’m going to read at least one this year that will dwarf its quality by a magnitude I can’t calculate. BUT…

there pretty much has to be a but here, right?

BUT…this character, this world (better, these worlds), the supporting characters…there’s something about them all that just works. More than works, charms you and wins you over.

de Lint does a great job of introducing the incremental changes happening to Minda as she journeys to and through worlds she didn’t know did or could exist until she’s thrown into them. Not only the changes that are happening to her that she’s unaware of, but the ones she sees–and decides to make in herself–as she travels. It’s absolutely believable, utterly winning.

—–

4 Stars

The Arrivals by Melissa Marr

By

On November 7, 2013

In Western

The Arrivals
The Arrivals

by Melissa Marr
Hardcover, 274 pgs.
William Morrow, 2013

This is a very hard book to describe, which is a positive in this case — a portal fantasy involving sympathetic vampires, semi-domesticated dragons, outlaws and magic — in a Wild West-ish setting. On second thought, guess it’s not that tough to describe after all.

That may sound like Marr’s tried to throw too many things into the mix, and technically she made have — but she made it work well enough to get through almost 300 pages. Decades ago, a brother and sister (Kitty and Jack) from the Berkeley Area in the late 1800’s vanish and reappear in a new world, called The Wasteland. Some time later, they’re joined by others — including a Prohibition-era mobster, Edgar and then others from various periods in America. And other than one particular event in their background, there’s virtually nothing these people have in common.

Once they arrive in The Wasteland — each new person has to make a decision, to live with Jack and “The Arrivals” or to become a henchman to a pretty twisted proto-mafioso. Independence or some sort of servitude. The majority opt for the security and safety of the latter.

Oh, did I mention there are demon-summoning monks roaming around?

Jack and his people make ends meet doing odds and ends for the local governor, and other miscellaneous figures. Just trying to eke out a living, have a little left over for fun (read: whiskey).

It could be coincidence, it could be a matter of timing, or maybe it’s just the new presence of someone who showed up from 2013 Earth — but things that have been pretty much the same for decades start to change — and the Wasteland will never be the same.
quickly develop into well-rounded characters. This is probably Marr’s strength (not a knock on anything else she did here), as we see that the heroes aren’t always that heroic, most of the villains aren’t that bad either (most of them).

It’s a fun read, a quick read in an incredible world, with well-build and realized characters. Worth your time.

—–

3 Stars

Page 52 of 54

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén