Victoria
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bookshelves: to-read
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"Pulls me in already...how great are these characters?!"
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by Rachel Caine
I can't wait to see how it is. :) ]]>
bookshelves: currently-reading
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What an amazing ride, and a brilliant beginning to what promises to be a trilogy of true high adventure and fantasy. The book was full to the brim with fantastic world-building, realistic characters, and a racing plot that I'm sure has only begun to reveal its secrets.
Where Cinda Chima used the real world as a springboard to fuel her wonderful Heir series, mingling reality effortlessly with magical elements, here she launches just as easily into a creative and original fantasy world of her own. Nomadic native clans in tune with nature roam the hills and mountains, kingdoms and queendoms sprawl across the landscape, each with their own wars and intrigue, wizards skulk in secluded citadels, distrusted by many, and cities and towns are thick with corrupt guards, street thieves, and common folk trying to eke out a living.
Into this world come two characters that carry the bulk of this amazing novel on their shoulders, alternating viewpoints from chapter to chapter. They are vastly different, and yet both are utterly relatable and easy to get attached to. One is Han Alister, former streetlord, reformed thief, occasional bootlegger, clan foster-child, and often unsure of what to do with himself. The other is fiery and headstrong princess heir Raisa, navigating a sea of politics, suitors, and intrigue. Death, danger, struggle, romance, friendship, and the uncertain future plague them both. It's hard to imagine how they would collide, but in a few very memorable scenes, they do. But even apart, each carries the story effortlessly.
In short, I totally loved this book. Han was the essence of a slick gentleman rogue with a dash of confused and ordinary teenage guy, and Raisa...well, Raisa gave my other favorite Chima girl, Ellen Stephenson, a run for her money, and that's saying something. Basically, she's everything I love in a heroine. The ominously hovering legends, especially the one involving the ancient Demon King and the first queen who slew him, add so much to the plot, more than can be imagined by the end. Everything about it flowed together to create a seamless, tightly woven world of pure story that I am very anxious to return to. ]]>
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Victoria wrote: "Sure! I'll be an editor for you. :) OK, I'll just bring the one book then. And no, Mr. Wells just...more " |
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Victoria wrote: "No, when I say "my library" I really mean the network of about 30 that I'm connected to. And none o...more " |
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bookshelves: classics
A terrifying window into the heart of the Holocaust, this was undoubtedly one of the best of its kind. From a first person perspective, Elie Wiesel unabashedly outlines every horrific detail about his life in the concentration camps and beyond. It's a heavy book, as of course it must be. You won't want to believe it's true, but at the same time you feel you have to read it, to keep the memory of the depths humankind can sink to alive.
The other factor of this book that interested me was Wiesel's musings on religion, the way he practiced, lost, cursed, regained, and questioned his faith in God. It became an integral part of his story, and I had always wondered how any person in his situation could possibly keep from considering atheism.
All in all, this book will make you sick, sad, and furious, but it is also a kind of fierce call to action, not so much to do something now, but to never forget and ensure it never happens again. ]]>
bookshelves: to-read
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