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Marseguro
by
Edward Willett (Goodreads Author)
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Silence is Michelle Sagara's first book in the new Queen of the Dead urban fantasy series. As most of you know, I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, but I love Michelle's other fantasy books, so I decided to give this one a try.
The main story revolve...more
Silence is Michelle Sagara's first book in the new Queen of the Dead urban fantasy series. As most of you know, I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, but I love Michelle's other fantasy books, so I decided to give this one a try.
The main story revolves around Emma, who lost her father a while ago, and has recently lost her boyfriend in an accident. Grief-stricken, she's taken to visiting the graveyard at night to relax. However, on this night, she's not alone. Erik, a new student at her school, is there, and he's hunting Necromancers--people who can use the power of the dead to essentially perform magic. the only problem is that Emma is beginning to show signs that she could be a Necromancer herself.
The book continues with Emma coming into her power, Erik constantly on edge waiting for her to become what he fears the most, all while they try to help a four-year-old boy escape an eternity trapped in the house fire that killed him. And, oh yeah, the real Necromancers show up to try to bring Emma to their side.
The book has the standard urban fantasy feel--a darker atmosphere, some harsh realities about life and death, etc. The only paranormal touch is the existence of the dead and how they are used and how they interact with the world. There is no hint of other creatures, such as vampires, werewolves, etc. Because of the ages of the characters, this also has a significant YA feel to it. I thought Emma, Erik, and there rest of their friends were especially well drawn out and their interactions with each other were realistic and believable. I especially liked Michael's character--an autistic friend who ends up being more significant than most of Emma's other friends.
I did have some issues: There was a strong case of "we aren't going to tell you" here, meaning that Emma is trying to figure out her new world as it changes, Erik (and others) have answers, but they refuse to tell her for no real or apparent reason whatsoever. I find this annoying--just TELL ME ALREADY!--especially when one of the characters literally says that what Emma doesn't know can kill her . . . so why not tell her and forewarn her! I so no reason they couldn't, except it meant that there would be no "mystery" about her power any more and that might cut the dramatic tension.
Another issue was that I'm still not quite certain exactly how Emma's power works in the end. I read the scenes where she's figuring things out a couple of times and I still don't understand what it is that she's doing. The Necromancers power is kind of obvious, and Emma is not doing what they're doing, but I don't see the "rules" that Emma is operating under and how it all ties together. Granted, she's new at this and those rules probably aren't clear to anyone, but I should still get a "feel" for those rules, moreso than I got here. I assume that what she has become will be made clearer in future books.
So, overall, I thought it was a good entry into the urban fantasy field, but I have to say the "just tell me already" aspects of the story were a significant drawback, more frustrating than mysterious for me. I'll be reading the sequels when they arrive, but I much prefer (not surprisingly) Michelle's epic fantasy.(less)
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Ooo, cool, another Dark Tower novel. I can't say I loved ALL of the Dark Tower series (the first couple of books were a little rough . . . but then the first book was really a bunch of short stories pieced together), but King certainly got it togethe...more
Ooo, cool, another Dark Tower novel. I can't say I loved ALL of the Dark Tower series (the first couple of books were a little rough . . . but then the first book was really a bunch of short stories pieced together), but King certainly got it together for pretty much the rest of it, whether you liked or hated the ending of volume seven. So hearing there was another story set in that universe was great. And this novel (really two novelettes nested together) will certainly help feed that craving that Dark Tower fans now have for MORE.
The basic idea is that Roland and crew get trapped by a storm called a starkblast and the storm reminds Roland of a story his mother told him when he was young, as well as one of his first "jobs" as gunslinger. To pass the time, he tells his ka-tet both stories, starting with his own story, which segues into his younger self telling the OTHER story to a young boy. Both stories involve storms, young boys learning to be men, and skin-men, tying them neatly together.
The most significant story--meaning the one with the most meat--is the story Roland's mother told him when he was young, called The Wind Through the Keyhole. It's about Tim, his mother, and his stepfather, and while it has the feel of a fairy tale in some parts, as you read it that facade falls away and you end up living Tim's story with him. It has all the hallmarks of a Dark Tower story--a slightly skewed "old style" setting mixed in with hints of a technological world that has somehow gone awry and faded into the past. I really loved this story, and it's certainly the heart of the book.
The story that bookends this one--with young Roland on one of his first missions--is also excellent, although as I said, it doesn't have as much meat to it as the other. Not because it wasn't developed enough, but because it's just a simpler story. Young Roland is sent to resolve the rumors of a skin-man threatening a small town. This section of the book has the most Western feel to it, dry like desert, hot, with ranches, a mine, and the makings of a ghost town as the setting. And yet there are still hints of that lost technological world.
The final bookend--of Roland and crew weathering a storm--doesn't have its own internal story and is there simply to place what's here into the larger Dark Tower series. As stated in the intro to the novel, this could be considered Dark Tower 4.5 in the series/timeline.
So, definitely a great Stephen King novel, full of everything fans expect of King AND of the Dark Tower series. It was great to return to this world and these characters, and I hope that King does future stories in this world as they pop up. No one ever really wants to leave a series behind, and it was nice to sit back and revisit old friends.(less)
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I loved the first book The Hunger Games, although I wanted it to go a little further and thus NOT be a young adult book when it came to the actual Games. I absolutely LOVED the second book, Catching Fire. I had no issues with that book whatsoever. So...more
I loved the first book The Hunger Games, although I wanted it to go a little further and thus NOT be a young adult book when it came to the actual Games. I absolutely LOVED the second book, Catching Fire. I had no issues with that book whatsoever. So I naturally moved on to this third book without hesitation. I have to say I was disappointed.
The premise, in case you're one of the few out there who isn't in the know, is that Katniss won the Hunger Games in the first book by essentially snubbing her nose at the rules and the Capitol, forcing their hand. This act became a sign of the rebellion already stirring in this nation of Panem, and Katniss herself became am unwilling and unwitting symbol of that rebellion. In the second book, President Snow attempted to get Katniss to quell the rebellion, and when that didn't work, attempted to kill her by sending her back to the Games. But the rebels rescued her from the Games and now the rebellion is in full swing. In Mockingjay, Katniss has to deal with the her new status as the Mockingjay, symbol of the rebellion, and that Peeta was NOT rescued along with her and is in the hands of Snow. How far must she go to help the rebellion in its aims in order to save Peeta? And what will the consequences be to herself, her family, and Gale?
I think my main disappointment with this third book is that, except for one moment at the very end of the book, Katniss herself is simply a witness to events that others initiate. The rebellion is, in essence, out of her hands and she is a piece being moved here and there in order to further the cause. Katniss herself makes almost no real decisions herself, and those that she does make gets her into further trouble with not only Snow, but Coin, the leader of the rebellion in District 13. I don't think Katniss should have been an integral part of the rebellion, in the respect that she should have been fighting on the front lines or anything. That's unrealistic. She IS a symbol, and is used as such. But she should have been stronger and voiced her opinion more, especially after what's happened to her up to this point. I wanted her to ACT, to do something more significant than what she does. And for a long while, it seemed that she would, once the rebels reached the Capitol itself. However, that plotline ended up simply rambling into nothing, a huge disappointment.
That said, her one significant act was tremendous and a game-changer. Even though it was obvious it was coming (at least to me), it still had a huge impact and made the book at least a satisfactory conclusion to Katniss' story.
I think that's the main problem with the third book--it attempted to focus on events that were outside of Katniss' story, when it should have remained exclusively about Katniss, her family, Peeta, and Gale, with the greater rebellion happening off stage from this more personal story. Where the book isn't quite as good is when it's dealing with the rebellion and world as a whole, when the focus is OFF Katniss. If it had stayed more focused, and Katniss had been stronger and dealt with the personal storyline more directly, it would have been a better book.
Not that is was a bad book by any means. I have some critical things to say, yes, but it was still a good book, and definitely a series worthy of the attention that it's gotten up to this point. It would have been nearly impossible to live up to the greatness of Catching Fire (IMO) regardless. *grin*(less)
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Finished this book yesterday. Here, a plague has bene unleashed on Bajor, brought on by contaminated material smuggled in by a woman attempting to keep the people in her town from starving. As the disease spreads across the planet--even jumping to De...more
Finished this book yesterday. Here, a plague has bene unleashed on Bajor, brought on by contaminated material smuggled in by a woman attempting to keep the people in her town from starving. As the disease spreads across the planet--even jumping to Deep Space Nine--Kira, Sisko, and the rest of the crew, including the Maquis rebel Ro Laren (from Next Generation fame), attempt to trace the origins of the contaminated material in hopes of finding a clue about a cure. Bashir, of course, attempts to find a cure himself, while aspects of the tragedy dredge up some harsh past-life memories in Dax.
The story is interesting and kept me involved, although there weren't really any serious twists along the way. It's a fairly straightforward storyline, easy to follow. The most interesting aspects of the story were the commentaries on government and how corrupted the Bajor officials are who seize control after the Cardassians left. The fact that such individuals would seize control, and the corruption would run rampant, feeding a healthy smuggling enterprise, is totally believable. The plague simply brought all of these issues to light, and gave Bajorans the opportunity to take control and begin dismantling the criminal ring. All of these social aspects are brought out more in the second half of the novel, and were what made the novel work for me. The first half had a few rough spots (writing-wise), but nothing significant.
I enjoyed the book. A good addition to the Deep Space Nine storyline.(less)
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The second book in The Hunger Games trilogy is better than the first, in my opinion. I have to admit that when I finished the first book and really, really wanted to read the sequel, I asked myself what Suzanne Collins could possibly do in the sequel...more
The second book in The Hunger Games trilogy is better than the first, in my opinion. I have to admit that when I finished the first book and really, really wanted to read the sequel, I asked myself what Suzanne Collins could possibly do in the sequel. I literally thought, "The obvious thing to do is put Katniss back into the Games, but that would be just a rehash of the first book." Then I heard from someone who'd read the books that that's exactly what happens in book two. I was . . . disappointed, and so didn't get around to reading Catching Fire right away.
I should have had more faith. Yes, Katniss does end up back in the Games, but Suzanne Collins does it in such a way that it totally makes sense--in fact, it sort of HAS to happen this way--and it ISN'T just a rehash of Katniss' first Games. Not even close.
So, the premise is that Katniss and Peeta have won the Hunger Games and have returned home. But their little ploy with the berries has earned them the hatred of President Snow, because it has sparked rebellion in some of the Districts. Snow charges Katniss with the impossible task of convincing the rebels that she wasn't attempting to defy the Capitol with her ploy, merely save the "love of her life" Peeta.
Her attempts fail. In fact, she sparks even further rebellion. Katniss decides she must take her friends and family, including Peeta and Gale, and flee into the wilderness near her home. But before she can carry out her plan, everything in District 12--and everywhere else as well--escalates. Katniss is caught playing politics with President Snow, and the Games themselves become one of the tools used by both sides.
I like politics in my books, which is probably why I feel this book is so much stronger than the first book. (Although I raved about the first book as well.) I had some minor quibbles with the first book, but don't have anything to say bad about this book. It was spectacular. I got caught up in Katniss and her dilemma to the point where I set aside working on my own writing in order to finish the book. All of the emotional pain and actions of the characters here make total sense, and there is no point at which I thought anything was manipulated or "fake" in any way. This is exactly what would happen in such a situation, and Katniss' lack of control of the events because of her situation is perfect.
I would certainly recommend this series to everyone. I moved on to the third book, Mockingjay, immediately. No hesitation this time. I need to see how this story ends.(less)
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