Hwaaaa... I freaking love this book. It is patently unfair that this series should be Abercrombie's first work, because he's only going to get better,Hwaaaa... I freaking love this book. It is patently unfair that this series should be Abercrombie's first work, because he's only going to get better, and now I will be forced to purchase all of his work. Has he no consideration for how broke I am?
The story, which is about a bunch of people who are flawed in entirely believable dimension, yet making every attempt to grow and change, is impeccable in its reflection of human foibles. Really, when was the last time you read a fantasy book in which one of the main characters, who is patently the manly man of the group, nearly stabs himself in the groin during a fight? Just the idea that an author should write a series centered around a quest, yet not allow the questors to leave town until the end of the first book, is not only hilarious but daring, as well.
Even the bad guys in the book are attractive in their own way. Sand dan Glokta, currently employed as a torturer and hideously disfigured by torture himself, is fascinating. Abercrombie will make you chuckle as Glokta interrogates a merchant to death. You will feel sordid, soiled, and damned, but you'll laugh. You'll find yourself sickened by the triumph of the handsome young man and cheering right along with the angriest female character ever written. You'll learn to question your judgment, as well as the judgment of the characters as they stumble their way toward heroism... of a sort.
I'm about to read the third book, and I'm still struggling with the theme of the series. I'm trying to choose between, "You can never carry too many knives," "Never make plans," "Your past will sneak up on you and stab you in the back, probably repeatedly," and "Nothing is what you think it is, except good intentions, or maybe a knife."
Read this. It's what life is and what human beings are, with no pretending and no excuses. ...more
Oh wow, is this bad. Usually, I try to find something redeeming about books, and it's true that I haven't read a romance novel since I was in high schOh wow, is this bad. Usually, I try to find something redeeming about books, and it's true that I haven't read a romance novel since I was in high school, but really, this book is better used as kindling than reading material. I read the book in the first place because it was obviously about vampires, and there's very little my students like more at the moment than a hot vampire. Unfortunately, I was quickly sunk in a mishmash of mythology (since when was Poseidon a god of a culture that had a well-developed vampire myth?) and people with insane sexual needs and passions. All of that aside, I could forgive the tale if it were well-written, but it just wasn't. The same weak adjectives show up over and over, applied to almost every situation, two storylines pop up with previously unmentioned characters for the sole purpose of padding out the original story line and adding sex scenes, and the main plot is shortchanged for lack of author ingenuity. None of that is the capital sin, however. The REALLY bad part is that this is the THIRD book in a string of four! Come on, publishing world. Romance is OK, but give women a little credit....more
Fantasy readers alert! Holly Lisle kicks butt! I'm not a fan of series because they tend to end up overworked and incredibly trite. This trilogy (WolvFantasy readers alert! Holly Lisle kicks butt! I'm not a fan of series because they tend to end up overworked and incredibly trite. This trilogy (Wolves, Dragons, Falcons) escapes that, first by choosing a female protagonist, second by creating an elastic fantasy scheme (lots of room to change and grow), and third by allowing her characters to form relationships the way real people form them: through proximity and common interest. Unlike her regular fiction (she tends toward mysteries), Lisle's fantasies are fully realized and avoid histrionics. My only reservation about this series is that it uses elements of 20th-century culture (hot air balloons) which make the story feel off-kilter, because the past of the story is obviously not the past of the reality we experience. I didn't read Vincalis the Agitator until after I read this series, but I'd recommend you do it the other way around. Though it's not as good as this series, read Vincalis first. ...more
Cornelia, you need a better editor. Your editor would tell you to figure out which characters are essential and kill off the rest. The difficulty withCornelia, you need a better editor. Your editor would tell you to figure out which characters are essential and kill off the rest. The difficulty with the book is that it's written for younger kids, but it is too complicated, not all of the storylines are as riveting as the rest, and there are too many complicated emotions for young readers to comprehend or enjoy. The characters are a bit static (and thus predictable), as well. This isn't to say that the emotions aren't realistic, or that the characters don't act true to form, or that the story isn't well-plotted. There's just too much of it to be enjoyable. In other words, it's too Harry Potter-esque to be fabulous.
On the other hand, this book is about 200% better than Inkheart. It doesn't ramble as badly, it has a relatively straight plotline, and the precipitous drops in suspense suffered by Inkheart are nearly invisible in Funke's second effort. The flat relationship between Mo and Resa is balanced by Meggie and Farid, the plot moves along in a confined space and time, and Dustfinger - the real mover and shaker in the plot - finally gets equal time. It's just a shame that you have to read Inkheart to be able to really understand and enjoy Inkspell.
Sorry to put this book into so many categories, but it's a book of short works (poetry, stories, descriptions, and other word-based oddness). Some of Sorry to put this book into so many categories, but it's a book of short works (poetry, stories, descriptions, and other word-based oddness). Some of the stories are brilliant... there's a truly creepy 100-word riff on Santa Claus that has just about forced me to embrace the Jewish side of my faith, and a 10-page story on that danged creepy Snow White, and a Swiftian story about eating babies that's tight and strong as a punch in the face. Unfortunately, there are also a couple of stories that, though I read them twice, I just didn't think they felt finished. I could be missing the point, and there could be some British references that I don't understand, but it could just be that some of the stories are better than others. Definitely worth a read, though, and I will be using several of the stories in my teaching!...more
The Blue Sword is a fantasy book that feels a bit more like an historical romance. It's not the best-written book ever, so if you're reading it for thThe Blue Sword is a fantasy book that feels a bit more like an historical romance. It's not the best-written book ever, so if you're reading it for the first time, don't send me a nasty note! I know it's not perfect. It came along at a moment in my life when I needed to know that it was OK for a woman to be different as well as powerful. I needed to see a woman give someone a good kicking and still win in the end. Blue Sword offers that. There's also a great Middle-Eastern/deserty feel to the narrative, and, as I grew up in the Midwest, it was exotic to read about a place so far from my own experience. I recommend this book for all of my young women who are searching for a powerful female character....more
If you liked Twilight, you'll love this book! The story is basically about a girl with the Sight (the ability to see fairies) who is caught up in a poIf you liked Twilight, you'll love this book! The story is basically about a girl with the Sight (the ability to see fairies) who is caught up in a political struggle between different groups of fairies. The ideas are interesting - with even a global warming tie-in. There are TWO hunks and a decent female main character. For me, the flaw is that there's a LOT of blah, blah, blah about feelings and what X thinks of Y and how deeply somebody feels about somebody else. I kept thinking, "Yeah, I read that two pages ago. Now get on with the story."
There are a ton of ancillary characters that are just as interesting - if not more so - as the main characters. That's a problem if you're trying to write a book that's tightly plotted. It almost feels as if the author is caught between developing the characters and developing the plot, and can't decide which one to stick with. At the end of the book, one of the ancillary characters suddenly becomes a main character. To me, that's a flaw.
I didn't like Twilight for exactly the same reasons, and my students love that whole series, so Wicked Lovely should be a hit, too. ...more
I'd heard about this book over and over by the time I gave in and read it, so my objections may be a reaction to that constant, enthusiastic push: I dI'd heard about this book over and over by the time I gave in and read it, so my objections may be a reaction to that constant, enthusiastic push: I don't like this book that much. It's OK. It's solidly plotted. The characters are well-rounded. The mix of universes is interesting. Any time you can write a dirigible piloted by a cowboy, your book can't be too flat. HOWEVER: The best character, bar none, is a polar bear who has only a tangential purpose in the story. I cared a heck of a lot more whether he got his armor back than if the heroine finished her quest. The second best characters were gypsies who appear and disappear in the story, being picked up and dropped at will when the story needed a deus ex machina. The best part of the story was the scene in the beginning, when a mysterious man catches the heroine evesdropping on a meeting, and it can be a long slog from there to the end if you're not prepared. Also, the villains of the piece just need a really good slap. People that evil don't survive for long in reality. Their own actions engineer their downfall. Because of that, the villains in Golden Compass are cartooney - like the bad guy in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The setting at the beginning of the book isn't distinct enough from Victorian London to be its own unique place, too, so the differences seemed to pop up at random, and took a while to get used to. Bottom line? Read the book. A lot of people love it. I'm just not one of them....more
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