Meh. This was a disappointment after I LOVED the first book, but I also knew from the overall Goodreads rating that this seems to be the weakest book Meh. This was a disappointment after I LOVED the first book, but I also knew from the overall Goodreads rating that this seems to be the weakest book in the series.
I haven't looked yet to see what other reviewers didn't like about it....but for me I had issues with the fact that like 75% of this book is about the main character Dreaming. I already dislike books that have a lot of dream sequences, and in this book Sophia's "Talent" is being able to Dream (ie, see what people might be doing now or very soon). She can also touch objects and have Visions where she sees through the owner's eyes, thus finding out what they're doing in the moment.
I just.....*sigh* Like, the main character spent MOST of this book lying down. Literally. Yawnfest.
The big conflict was that she was trying to find proof that a guy named Endicott was involved in making counterfeit money. He's apparently discredited her in events prior to the start of the book (I can't remember whether or not this was something that happened in Book 1), so her reputation was *slightly* tarnished and she was asked to leave military service. For that, she wants him dead. DEAD. Eehhhhh....I mean, yes, it sucks to have someone defame your character, but Sophia's actions take on obsessive qualities that end up hurting both her and people in her life. Endicott ends up becoming violent BECAUSE Sophia couldn't leave him alone. She claims she's looking for justice, but she just has a chip on her shoulder. Sophia gets called out for it near the end of the book, but still can't admit to going too far. "You want revenge. Endicott hurt your pride and made you look like a fool, and you can't bear that." It's not until (view spoiler)[the man she's in love with, Rutlidge, gets shot by Endicott (hide spoiler)] that she accepts that maybe she can be satisfied with Endicott having a punishment that's not as severe as death.
Sophia's pride even got in the way of her potential romantic interests. She really liked this guy Rutlidge, but she wouldn't let him even be her friend because he (like everyone else) thought she'd been mistaken about the Dream that got her kicked out of the service. He didn't think she invented it, he didn't think she lied...he just believed she was mistaken. And she was so offended by that that she refused to work with him or admit to liking him. *sigh*
So, I don't know. I found her motivations a bit weak/petty/prideful, and her overall Talent a bit boring. She barely took any non-Dreaming action until the last 25 pages of the book. I honestly skimmed the last 50 pages or so because I was ready to move on to the next book. I was WAY more interested in her friend Daphne, who's a Bounder, which means she can teleport from place to place. To my delight, I looked at Book 3 and it seems to be about Daphne! Huzzah!
So while this book wasn't a winner for me, as expected, I'm still eager to read the rest of the series.
Merged review:
Meh. This was a disappointment after I LOVED the first book, but I also knew from the overall Goodreads rating that this seems to be the weakest book in the series.
I haven't looked yet to see what other reviewers didn't like about it....but for me I had issues with the fact that like 75% of this book is about the main character Dreaming. I already dislike books that have a lot of dream sequences, and in this book Sophia's "Talent" is being able to Dream (ie, see what people might be doing now or very soon). She can also touch objects and have Visions where she sees through the owner's eyes, thus finding out what they're doing in the moment.
I just.....*sigh* Like, the main character spent MOST of this book lying down. Literally. Yawnfest.
The big conflict was that she was trying to find proof that a guy named Endicott was involved in making counterfeit money. He's apparently discredited her in events prior to the start of the book (I can't remember whether or not this was something that happened in Book 1), so her reputation was *slightly* tarnished and she was asked to leave military service. For that, she wants him dead. DEAD. Eehhhhh....I mean, yes, it sucks to have someone defame your character, but Sophia's actions take on obsessive qualities that end up hurting both her and people in her life. Endicott ends up becoming violent BECAUSE Sophia couldn't leave him alone. She claims she's looking for justice, but she just has a chip on her shoulder. Sophia gets called out for it near the end of the book, but still can't admit to going too far. "You want revenge. Endicott hurt your pride and made you look like a fool, and you can't bear that." It's not until (view spoiler)[the man she's in love with, Rutlidge, gets shot by Endicott (hide spoiler)] that she accepts that maybe she can be satisfied with Endicott having a punishment that's not as severe as death.
Sophia's pride even got in the way of her potential romantic interests. She really liked this guy Rutlidge, but she wouldn't let him even be her friend because he (like everyone else) thought she'd been mistaken about the Dream that got her kicked out of the service. He didn't think she invented it, he didn't think she lied...he just believed she was mistaken. And she was so offended by that that she refused to work with him or admit to liking him. *sigh*
So, I don't know. I found her motivations a bit weak/petty/prideful, and her overall Talent a bit boring. She barely took any non-Dreaming action until the last 25 pages of the book. I honestly skimmed the last 50 pages or so because I was ready to move on to the next book. I was WAY more interested in her friend Daphne, who's a Bounder, which means she can teleport from place to place. To my delight, I looked at Book 3 and it seems to be about Daphne! Huzzah!
So while this book wasn't a winner for me, as expected, I'm still eager to read the rest of the series....more
DNF after about 60 pages. I really wanted to like this one since I enjoyed the show "TURN: Washington's Spies" but unfortunately I just couldn't get iDNF after about 60 pages. I really wanted to like this one since I enjoyed the show "TURN: Washington's Spies" but unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. The writing had a kind of juvenile feel to it, and I didn't care for the back-and-forth POVs. I also kind of felt like the author had seen the Hamilton musical right before writing this, because the first few chapters were definitely dropping key characters: Aaron Burr, Hercules Mulligan, Alexander Hamilton.... It just didn't feel like a natural introduction to the characters. Plus, one of the three female MCs met Aaron Burr and IMMEDIATELY fell in love with him, to the point of basically proposing marriage to him. Definitely made her seem like a totally airheaded girl, rather than the clever spy that (presumably) she becomes later on in the book.
Soooo...yeah, this one wasn't going to do it for me, so I decided to quit sooner than later. Onward to the next book!...more
An entertaining and irreverent accounting of England's kings and queens from the imaginary King Arthur up through Shakespearean time. At times it feltAn entertaining and irreverent accounting of England's kings and queens from the imaginary King Arthur up through Shakespearean time. At times it felt a bit rushed (there was a lot of ground to cover) and sometimes I didn't get the contemporary culture references (not being British), but overall I enjoyed this. I like informative non-fiction best when it's humorous, and this had that kind of Bill Bryson-esque feel to it. More serious history buffs might find this to be a bit shallow, but for a quick crash course on this particular topic, I thought it was worth the read.
“Obviously she didn’t marry him when she was eight. That would have been barbaric. They waited until she was twelve.”...more
Suddenly remembered this book from my childhood, so I got a copy from the library to reread it.
I remember this book having more of a plot, but really Suddenly remembered this book from my childhood, so I got a copy from the library to reread it.
I remember this book having more of a plot, but really it's a series of memories/events from the author's own childhood. I was surprised by how many of the stories I distinctly remember reading when I was a kid, so this book definitely stuck in my own memories pretty well.
Of course...reading this as an adult in the 21st century, about kids in the 1930s(?)...it's pretty wild. I mean, nowadays most people wouldn't DREAM of raiding an owl's nest in order to steal a chick just because you decided you wanted a pet owl. Even less would you dream of (as the author's friend suggested) shooting the mother owl so that you could more easily steal the chicks to raise as pets. What an insane suggestion. In a way it made me "glad" when the author only obtained a chick after a huge storm knocked down the nest, leaving one bedraggled chick alive for him to rescue. Glad is the wrong word for that situation....but I guess we can now say that at least he was "helping" instead of hurting? He still messed up that chick for life, raising him with humans and other pets, so that Wol never learned to properly fly or live as a wild owl.
The other owl (Weeps) was more of a true rescue, since some other boys had done just what Farley's friend wanted to do: shot the mother owl, and then grabbed the chick for themselves. They were abusing the owl when Farley came along to save it (by trading a pocket knife for the sorry little owl), so in this case it really WAS a rescue. Still, 21st century me is still screaming, "Oh my god, take it to a rehabilitator!"...though of course maybe those didn't exist in that time/region.
Speaking of an excess of trigger happy dudes in this book, there's a part later on when a bunch of crows were harassing the owls while everyone was in a canoe, so afterwards Farley's father went and got a shotgun...and just annihilated a bunch of crows. Not to eat or anything. Just shot and shot and shot until "by then, there were a lot fewer crows in Dundurn". Jesus Christ, I guess that's one way to handle things.
Ok, ALL of that to say...this book is still a very interesting "slice of life" look at life during that time period, and it is really funny throughout most of the book. The funny parts are what I remember most. One part in particular made me laugh out loud this time. Poor Weeps:
"Weeps never learned to fly at all. I tried to teach him by throwing him off the garage roof, but he wouldn't try. He would just shut his eyes, give a hopeless kind of moan, and fall like a rock without even opening his wings. Weeps didn't believe he could fly, and that was that."
In the end, Weeps may have never survived in the wild after his traumatic ordeal, but Wol (the original great horned owl) could have stood a chance if he'd been raised by a proper bird handler. As it was, the book basically ends with Farley's family moving to a city, so he gives the two owls to a friend...and that was it. We never learned how long they lived after that, if they were content in their new home, or anything. Sheesh.
So...this book definitely has heavy nostalgic vibes for me, but it is strange to ready nowadays. I have no idea what kids these days would think of this book.
A decent fantasy adventure book that's on the border of middle reader and YA. I decided to read JUST the first book in the series, to get a feel for iA decent fantasy adventure book that's on the border of middle reader and YA. I decided to read JUST the first book in the series, to get a feel for it, without committing to reading the whole series.
This is definitely a book I would have loved in middle school. I think it would be a good one for reluctant readers because it's not too difficult to read, while still being full of action scenes.
I really only have a few quibbles: first, this book dealt with a lot of bullying, which is FINE but it definitely made this feel more middle reader than the rest of the book. Like, boys beating each other up in the schoolyard just feels a bit juvenile, and of course the comeuppance scene was almost too reader-satisfying (I can't think of the word I want to use here). But overall, it's fine. This is a book for younger readers, after all.
I was also occasionally thrown by the omnipotent third-person narration style. I don't mind shifting perspectives, but I prefer a clear break between when we're going to know one character's thoughts and when we're going to know another character's. Here, you were sometimes in the head of different characters as quickly as changing paragraphs.
The last quibble was the introduction of the girl characters in the beginning. The main character has part of a group of other kids hoping to become apprentices. Two of these are girls. One is described as "blond and willowy", and the other is described TWICE as blond and pretty. Twice in the first....23 pages, we're told that she's "blond and pretty". I don't know why, but this irked me. The same girl wants to be a chef's apprentice, so of course in addition to being blond and pretty, we're told that she's also "a little on the chubby side". Other characters made sure to agree that she's a little "well rounded" which makes her suited to being a chef's apprentice. What's the chef's name? Master Chubbs, of course. *sigh* After those somewhat cringey introductions, the girl characters are pretty much dropped for the rest of the book until they make a cameo at the end. But don't worry, the "blond and willowy" girl finally gets her due, when the main character notices that although she never struck him as pretty, her elegance/grace/gray eyes gave her a "natural beauty that far surpassed mere prettiness". Well, thank goodness for that. She kisses him right after he notices her natural beauty, so it's a good thing he notices. Can't have one of our two female characters being...plain. Especially not if she's going to KISS him. Plus, now we have two certifiably attractive female characters to serve as potential love interests later in the series (I can only assume).
Okay okay okay....aside from THAT, this was otherwise a decent, fun book. Definitely had that kind of old school YA fantasy feel about it that's hard to pinpoint. Definitely worth the read, especially for younger readers. I don't need to continue with the series, but I'm glad I read the first one. ...more
Mmm, this was just OK for me. A fantasy novella with a tinge of horror to it....kinda felt like a T. Kingfisher book, but lacking the whimsy/charm/humMmm, this was just OK for me. A fantasy novella with a tinge of horror to it....kinda felt like a T. Kingfisher book, but lacking the whimsy/charm/humor that makes me love Kingfisher. I know I'll forget the details of this one by tomorrow....more
DNF after one chapter. I could tell almost immediately that the over-the-top style of humor was just not my thing. I think this is going to be one of DNF after one chapter. I could tell almost immediately that the over-the-top style of humor was just not my thing. I think this is going to be one of those books where you either love it or DNF it when (like me) you swiftly get tired of the constant d*ck jokes and sexual innuendoes....more
Phew, last book in the series! This is another one that I may have only read once or twice in the past, so I remember very little of it. And no wonderPhew, last book in the series! This is another one that I may have only read once or twice in the past, so I remember very little of it. And no wonder....this was possibly my least favorite of the series. The whole business with the ape dressing a donkey up in a lion skin just felt annoying rather than amusing or devious. The ending was another dream-like sequence, similar to the first book, which is deeply uninteresting to me. And of course, the worst part....more of C.S. Lewis' preference for fair skinned people equaling good and dark skinned people equaling bad. This one was even complete with a truly cringeworthy blackface scene, and much use of the term "darkies" to refer to the bad guys. Yikes.
The one good thing I liked was that the audiobook was narrated by Patrick Stewart. I'll seek out more books with him narrating.
Overall, I think my series preference (best to least) is thus:
1. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 3. Prince Caspian 4. The Silver Chair 5. The Magician's Nephew 5. The Horse and His Boy 7. The Last Battle
I own a 7-in-1 hardcover volume of this series, but I think this reread has confirmed for me that while the series has sentimental value, I actually love less than half of the books. Maybe the top two are ones I might want to ever re-read again, in which case I can just order them from the library. I'll pass my volume onto someone who will appreciate it more. ...more
This is one of the Narnia books that I remember the least about. Since it doesn't involve any of the original four Pevensie children, I think I dismisThis is one of the Narnia books that I remember the least about. Since it doesn't involve any of the original four Pevensie children, I think I dismissed it a bit. I think I may have only read it once before....so this reread was pretty much a fresh start. I was surprised that I actually liked it. Not as much as "The Dawn Treader" or "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", but more than "The Horse and His Boy" or "The Magician's Nephew".
There were, of course, some moments of old timey misogyny, such as a repetition of the "fact" that girls can't keep maps in their heads and/or they don't know directions. I also find it a bit suspect that when it comes to beings that are true evil, they seem to be female: the White Witch and this serpent woman whose name I can't remember right now. There are bad guys that are men, of course, but they tend to just be greedy. Methinks C.S. Lewis may have some Lilith energy in mind when he's writing his baddies....
There was also one chapter where I reverted back to being a twelve year old. Our protagonists need to trick some giants into believing that they're quite happy being prisoners in a castle. "Gay!" one of the characters shouted. Then they kept exclaiming how they needed to be gay! They just kept using the word "gay", exclamation point! and I just couldn't help giggling. Who knew CSL was such an advocate? To make matters worse, Jill then ran around the castle, smiling prettily (being gay!), and then it said she "made love" to everyone in the castle. And later there was a line that referenced "hooters" outside the window. Listen, I can't be mature under these conditions. It was just too many things in one chapter.
This continues to be one of my favorite of the Narnia series. It may actually be my MOST favorite, if not tied with "The Lion, The Witch, and the WardThis continues to be one of my favorite of the Narnia series. It may actually be my MOST favorite, if not tied with "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" for #1. I don't know what it is, but this one just charms me. Maybe it's the fact that it's a sea voyage. Maybe it's the fact that it's not just a lot of dreary conversations leading up to a barely-described battle. Maybe it's the episodic nature of the story, reminiscent of "The Hobbit" in some ways. Maybe it's the fact that this has very little allegorical stuff (that I noticed) outside of the little bit right at the end. Maybe it's Reepicheep, that bold warrior mouse. Whatever it is, I like this one best out of all the sequels. The ending with the sea of lilies is such a vivid visual that's always stuck with me....
I know this one was made into a film in recent years, but I honestly can't remember if I watched it or not. I may have chosen not to, so as not to ruin my own visuals for the book. Or maybe I did watch it and immediately blocked it from my memory...
A note on the audiobook: so far in this reread, the audiobook narrators have all been fine. The one for this book is also fine.....except for his voices for girls and Reepicheep. He makes his voice so squeaky and shrill, it's a bit grating. Remember in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", when King Arthur runs into those two peasants gathering mud, and they have a debate about systems of government? Remember the voice of the old woman(?) who asks, "Well, how'd you become king then?" That's exactly the voice that this narrator uses for Reepicheep. Not exactly what I would have chosen to represent that fierce little fighter......more
This is one of the better Narnia novels, though I can't really say why I like it better than "The Horse and His Boy" or some of the others. I think itThis is one of the better Narnia novels, though I can't really say why I like it better than "The Horse and His Boy" or some of the others. I think it's because we're back with the OG group of Pevensie kids, and I always liked the part about them re-finding Narnia and figuring out how much time had past. The rest of the plot is ok, but there are those nostalgic portions. I also enjoy the cast of side characters, especially the introduction of Reepicheep.
This is another one where the allegory stuff is sometimes laid on a bit thick. This one has some heavy messaging about keeping your faith in the second coming of Aslan/Jesus, even when others scoff at your lack of evidence. It went over my head as a kid, but once you know, you know....more
Made it an hour into the audiobook and then quit. Pretty much nothing happened in that entire hour except that the main character watched a hanging. SMade it an hour into the audiobook and then quit. Pretty much nothing happened in that entire hour except that the main character watched a hanging. Such tedious narration. My understanding is that at some point this book splits into two timelines, with a pointless/annoying present-day character? I'm all set with that......more
This is one of the Narnia stories that I barely remember. I know it was never one of my favorites because it doesn't have the Pevensie children as theThis is one of the Narnia stories that I barely remember. I know it was never one of my favorites because it doesn't have the Pevensie children as the main characters. Nah, it's just some random kid who has an adventure along the way to meeting up with the now-grown-up kings and queens of Narnia. It's fine, the adventure part is fine, but even now it's just an immediately forgettable story for me.
Also, I'm not an expert on race/culture issues, but this one has always felt to me like there was a general undercurrent of maybe racism/culture-ism or Eurocentrism throughout. Middle Eastern culture/religion= bad, European culture/religion = good. Of course, C.S. Lewis wrote this a long time ago, and so there's some historical context for this style of worldbuilding shorthand. Still.
Anyway, not one of my top Narnia books, and I may never find the need to reread it....more
Picked this up because the audiobook was available on my library's app AND because I saw that one of the narrators was River Song/Alex Kingston.
OveraPicked this up because the audiobook was available on my library's app AND because I saw that one of the narrators was River Song/Alex Kingston.
Overall, this was an atmospheric and moody mystery. Told in alternating narrators and time periods, it took me a while to get a hang of who was who and when was when, but I eventually got there.
This was engaging enough that I may seek out the two previous books (I didn't realize this was the 3rd in a trilogy until after I started)....more
This has never been one of my favorite Narnia books. It's totally unhinged most of the time, the uncle is a straight-up creep, there's a light smatterThis has never been one of my favorite Narnia books. It's totally unhinged most of the time, the uncle is a straight-up creep, there's a light smattering of old timey misogyny, and the religious allegory stuff can be a bit strong. Most of it feels like a dream sequence, because it takes place in a world that hasn't really been formed yet...and dream sequences are not my thing. Still, it's fine. It gives us the background of how Narnia was created, and there are a few amusing moments. ...more
Rating based on my own particular enjoyment...though I recognize that the quality of this book would justify a higher rating for another reader. I thiRating based on my own particular enjoyment...though I recognize that the quality of this book would justify a higher rating for another reader. I think this book is GOOD, but it just wasn't for me. I love books set during the Napoleanic time period....but I just don't care for dragon books. I was hoping the former would cancel out the latter, but alas no. The whole time, I was trying to justify why these dragons, who are apparently intelligent beings capable of critical thought and processing things like physics and mathematics, would voluntarily submit to being slaves for humans. Why should they care about the silly wars of humankind and sacrifice themselves to fight for whichever side happens to own them?
Anyway, if you LIKE dragon books, you'll enjoy this series. For me, it was just OK....more
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