Sarah Chorn's Blog, page 60

Taking a Break

The title basically says it all.

I’m almost 35 weeks pregnant, and the third trimester exhaustion has sunk into me big time. On top of that, the baby is in launch position, which is making my already incredible discomfort about 900 times more uncomfortable. It hurts to sit. It hurts to stand. It hurts to lay down. I am not sleeping. My joints are constantly dislocating… the list goes on. My last day at work is on July 24, after which point I will have three weeks before my c-section on August 17 to be miserable, lazy, and uncomfortable without having to expend a ton of energy I really don’t have at work.

Basically, what I’m saying is, I think I need to take a break from this website until I’m done with work on July 24. I just don’t have the energy or the brain power. I have a whole ton of reviews written and scheduled starting in August, which helps a ton… but I just don’t have it in me right now to balance my low energy and extreme discomfort and physical issues with work and reviewing. Right now, I read books, and my brain kind of says something like, “badub badub badub badub… drooool…” And what free energy I have right now is spent preparing stuff for said gestating wonder.

I feel like a complete slacker, and a huge letdown, but I’m really struggling right now. This is the first time (Wait, no, I had to take a break a while back when I was diagnosed with cancer again…) I’ve ever actually taken a break from reviewing, which makes me feel even worse. I didn’t want to have to do this, but here I am.

I’ll be back after I’m done with work on July 24th.

Thanks for understanding.

P.S. If you’re an author and/or blogger and you’d still like to offer your services in the form of a guest post or guest review, please feel free to send them my way.

Nightrunner Books 1 – 3 by Lynn Flewelling

Note: This is a review of multiple books. I won’t put the synopsis up, because it would take up too much space. Therefore, you can click on the pictures of the books to go to their goodreads pages, or these links to check them out on Amazon. 

Luck in the Shadows

Stalking Darkness

Traitor’s Moon

—

I’ve been having some sort of an issue recently regarding my place in the genre. I think it’s been because I’m so incredibly busy, and finding time for my obligations is hard, and the current genre drama has been stressful. I don’t really feel like the community is a place I can turn to just love something anymore. I kind of feel like I’ve lost a friend.

I was looking through the library audiobooks, and ran across some books that I fell in love with years ago. These are books that were some of the first ones I read when I started reading in the genre. These are some of the books that kept me reading in the genre. I decided to give them another shot. I needed something to remind myself about why I loved the genre so much over all these years, and re-reading (or listening to) books that brought me some nostalgia felt right.

The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling was one of the first fantasy series my brothers shoved at me. Currently it is seven books long (and I think, if I remember right, the author is going to wind it up soon). When I read this series, I read it as a trilogy, and I still haven’t moved past the third book. I should, and I keep telling myself that I will, but for some reason I never do.

When you compare these books with what is currently out there today, there really isn’t much here that is completely unique and eye catching. There are wizards that live long lives, recite incantations, and have long pointy beards. There are elves and half elves, an orphan boy who finds himself as one of the most important people in Skala, who learns to work alongside Seregil who is a thief/spy.

The plot kind of unravels the way you’d expect it to in just about each book, but despite all of that, I absolutely love this series. I can’t get enough of it. I have read it probably ten times, and I just finished listening to the first three in audiobook. These were some of the books that got me into the genre. The thing that gets me every time I read these books is the relationships that Flewelling builds, and the enthusiasm and passion she has with what she writes.

And that’s really what attracts me to the genre in general – it has so much heart and enthusiasm, and Flewelling served to remind me of that. In fact, she’s one powerful voice in a genre full of powerful voices. This series is a lot of fun, and a nice, light escape. Alec and Seregil are characters that you can’t help but absolutely love, despite the fact that the books they are in are a bit predictable, and some of the ideas have been done before.

There are some holes. For example, the big bad superpower of Plenimar is a bit too big and bad to be believed. I never really understood their governing power, but the necromancy was interesting, if a bit cookie-cutter. As for the Skala side of things, the world is much more fleshed out there, and there’s a lot of mythology (some of which Flewelling explores in another of her trilogies that I absolutely love), but I never really felt like her magic system made any real, deep sense. It never really goes beyond muttering incantations and making it so.

However, in the context of the books, I really didn’t mind either of these points that much. These are books I read to escape, to feel real passion, and remind myself how wonderful a simple adventure story with gripping characters can be, but it is worth noting.

The series starts with Alec’s journey, finding himself and his potential after the heartbreak of losing his father. Soon he becomes embroiled in something quite larger. One thing leads to another, and the second book is directly related to events that start rolling in the first book. I should note, that the ending of Stalking Darkness, the second book, is absolutely heart wrenching and really shows Flewelling’s skill for packing her books full of emotional gut-punches.

Traitor’s Moon, the third book, is probably the book I struggle most with. It takes place two years after the previous books, and after much emotional healing that had to be done by both Alec and Seregil. Seregil is called back to the country he has been exiled from. It’s a lot of politics, and a lot of divulging Seregil’s rather tortured past while he navigates through present conspiracies and difficulties. I’m not exactly sure why this book didn’t work for me quite as well as the other two, but it didn’t. I felt a bit distanced from the work as a whole.

In the end, this isn’t a series you’ll want to read if you want to re-evaluate how you look at life. However, it is the kind of book you want to read if you’re looking for something with a bit of heart, a lot of zeal, and some real enthusiasm and great adventure. The books are pretty short, and easy to breeze through. What they do best, however, is showcase Flewelling’s skill with emotion, relationships, and her passion for what she’s writing.

It’s good to revisit old loves, and rekindle that flame which, on occasion, does sputter a bit. It’s something I highly recommend. It’s like getting back to your roots. It feels good, and it’s refreshing. This is a series I’d recommend to anyone. It was instrumental in kindling my love of the genre. If you’re looking for something fun, and a bit of an adventure/escape, this is perfect for you.

The Book of Phoenix – Nnedi Okorafor

About the Book

A fiery spirit dances from the pages of the Great Book. She brings the aroma of scorched sand and ozone. She has a story to tell…. 

The Book of Phoenix is a unique work of magical futurism. A prequel to the highly acclaimed, World Fantasy Award-winning novel, Who Fears Death, it features the rise of another of Nnedi Okorafor’s powerful, memorable, superhuman women.

Phoenix was grown and raised among other genetic experiments in New York’s Tower 7. She is an “accelerated woman”—only two years old but with the body and mind of an adult, Phoenix’s abilities far exceed those of a normal human. Still innocent and inexperienced in the ways of the world, she is content living in her room speed reading e-books, running on her treadmill, and basking in the love of Saeed, another biologically altered human of Tower 7.

Then one evening, Saeed witnesses something so terrible that he takes his own life. Devastated by his death and Tower 7’s refusal to answer her questions, Phoenix finally begins to realize that her home is really her prison, and she becomes desperate to escape.

But Phoenix’s escape, and her destruction of Tower 7, is just the beginning of her story. Before her story ends, Phoenix will travel from the United States to Africa and back, changing the entire course of humanity’s future.

240 pages (hardcover)

Published on May 5, 2015

Published by DAW

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

 

—

Nnedi Okorafor is one of those powerful authors that I think everyone should pay attention to. She doesn’t just write, she powerfully writes. Her stories are evocative, emotional, and profound. Who Fears Death absolutely leveled me. The Book of Phoenix left me awestruck.

The Book of Phoenix, while written after Who Fears Death, is actually a prequel of sorts. Okorafor says that this book is angrier than Who Fears Death, and in a lot f ways, it is. She holds no punches, and really infuses her work with thought provoking, somewhat uncomfortable situations that will push readers outside of their comfort zone to think all of those delicious thoughts we should have been thinking long before now.

That’s the beauty of Okorafor. She makes me think.

There are a lot of reasons why I love her writing, but one of the main ones is how she often toys with mythology, twisting it and turning it to make it not just interesting, but actually applicable. She also infuses her books with cultures that aren’t typically focused on, and writes about them with respect and understanding that makes the world feel a little less big. What happens across the ocean impacts us here, and that’s a lesson that I seem to (re)learn each time I read one of her books.

Phoenix is a fantastic character. She lives a fairly isolated life in Tower 7, “easy” by some standards. She is the focus of studies; her life is regulated and ruled. She has no privacy, but she doesn’t really know any different so this is just normal to her. Quickly the frustration in her life boils to the surface, and things happen that push her outside of her comfort zone and forces her to question the life she’s living.

The Book of Phoenix is a fascinating story of growth and development, and one woman’s personal struggle that changes everything. This is really the root from which Who Fears Death grows. It’s angry and raw, uncomfortable and visceral, and Okorafor handles it all with poise and flawless prose that will pull readers in and leave them rapt.

The Towers that are the focus of much of the book are all on US soil, but once Phoenix travels to Africa, Okorafor really shows her skills at world building. There is a world that is ripe for her to create for readers, and she does it beautifully. It’s stark, and hot, and foreign, but so very beautiful, a land of contrasts and passions that is absolutely fascinating. The politics of the time span the globe, and Phoenix is inevitably sucked into them, making this a sort of cross-global story rather than a book rooted in one place. However, Okorafor writes this in such a way that it’s less of a global-cultures story, and more of a human story. That’s an important distinction, because suddenly what matters are the people, and the humanity, not so much the location.

In a lot of ways, this is a coming-of-age story. There is love and passion, true friendship and plenty of back stabbing moments. There is a ton of action, and plenty of quiet, intimate moments to balance it all out. It’s a book of contrasts, and that’s what makes it so damn powerful. In a lot of ways, this is also a book of mythology. This is a story that is not only unfolding, but is, in some ways, running parallel to so many myths that we have heard in our lives.

It’s powerful, and gripping, and one of the best books I’ve read this year. Okorafor nailed it in every respect. She’s an absolutely amazing author, and this book showcases some of her raw skill. The ending is incredible, and the journey to get there was worth every second. Nnedi Okorafor is one of those authors that you really should be paying attention to, because nothing she’s published has been less than gold standard quality.

 

5/5 stars

Help Wanted: Update

Last Friday I posted a Help Wanted thing. I got a ton of responses, which is super helpful. Unfortunately, as soon as I had the time to sit down and respond to email, a virus roared through my family, and we’re all under the weather this week. It’s been super fun (/sarcasm font).

In other news, it looks like I’m going to take a break from Special Needs in Strange Worlds until my life gets a little more controlled. I’m slowly filtering out some bookish obligations because, honestly, I’m feeling very overwhelmed right now. For the foreseeable future I’ll focus entirely on this website until my life evens out a bit and I have more time and headspace for other things.

So, if you’re one of the people who sent me an offer to help while I’m out with a baby, I will hopefully reply within a week. Thanks for reaching out to me. And I sincerely hope that next week I’ll be more up to reviewing on a regular basis.

The Exile – C.T. Adams

About the Book

Brianna Hai runs an occult shop that sells useless trinkets to tourists—and real magic supplies to witches and warlocks. The magical painting that hangs in Brianna’s apartment is the last portal between the fae and human worlds.

A shocking magical assault on her home reveals to Brianna that her father, High King Liu of the Fae, is under attack. With the help of her gargoyle, Pug, her friend David, and Angelo, a police detective who doesn’t believe in magic, Brianna recovers what was stolen from her and becomes an unwilling potential heir to the throne.

A suspenseful urban fantasy with a hint of romance, The Exile is the first solo novel by C. T. Adams, who is half of USA Today bestselling author Cat Adams. Like the Cat Adams Blood Singer novels, The Exile is set in a world where magic is real and contains Adams’s trademark blend of suspense, action, humor, and strongly emotional writing.

320 pages (paperback)

Published on March 10, 2015

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

—

It took me two tries to get into this novel. The first time I gave up (I wasn’t in the mood). The second time it worked. What I realized was, the start is pretty rough, but once you get past that, things are pretty smooth sailing.

I tend to struggle with most urban fantasy, which is no secret to anyone who has read this website. It tends to either work for me or not. There really isn’t that much middle ground. However, sometimes I get a book that captivates me enough to pull me through the rough parts, and this was one of those.

As I mentioned, the start of the book was the part where I struggled most. There are some incredibly awkward phrases, some really time-tested similes, and some incredibly jarring, weirdly detailed descriptions involving cars. Furthermore, there are a ton of different perspectives to get used to, at times too many for a novel of this size. All of that combines to make the first part of this novel hard to get used to. It’s jarring, and the pacing is off due to all of the things I just mentioned.

However, it doesn’t really take Adams long to sort all of this out and find her stride. While I never really got over feeling that there are just too many perspectives for a novel this length, it quickly became obvious that the book itself is incredibly layered and detailed for something this length. It’s short, and short books are usually pretty surface level, but this one really delves below the surface. Soon, very soon, readers will start to see that we aren’t just reading any urban fantasy book. Brianna is a pretty layered character, and while the secondary characters vary in levels of interesting and believability, none of them are surface level, and it makes all the difference.

The world has a lot of detail, though I never quite grasped the magic system, and sometimes the conflicts that took place were a bit messy and lacked some logic. However, for a portal fantasy, a novel that takes place both here and elsewhere, the foundation that Adams has laid for her readers is solid and she’s given herself a lot of fertile ground to build on in future installments of the series.

The plot moves pretty quickly once readers are past the lumps and issues in the first part of the book. Furthermore, the complex world, and complex characters makes the situations that readers will learn about even more interesting and believable. It’s hard not to get sucked into things, and these complexities work to make it hard for readers to pinpoint any one Big Bad Character and the Angelic Character. There really isn’t any solid good and evil, it’s just a bunch of people thrust into confusing situations, and you’re left to figure out what side of what gameboard they are all playing on.

There are a lot of surprises, not the least of which is the ending. And yes, this novel did have its fair share of problems, but it was also incredibly strong in so many ways that it balanced pretty well. This is definitely the start to a series. There is a lot of room for Adams to grow and develop, and is sure to move in interesting, unexpected ways as it progresses.

The Exile both underwhelmed and overwhelmed me, but what it left me with is a fond impression of strong, visionary writing and a series that is one I will anxiously anticipate. It is worth giving it a try. It will probably surprise you.

 

3/5 stars

Help Wanted

My c-section is scheduled, and I’m pretty miserable in the meantime. I have 8 weeks to set up her bedroom and get all the stuff ready that I need to get ready – we are like 1.5% prepared right now. Eight weeks seems like a lot until you’re pregnant. Eight weeks will fly by, and I’m starting to panic because there is so much I need to get done in such a short time.

I’m having a c-section (as mentioned above), which will put me out of the loop for a while during recovery. One of the reasons my website has been so quiet recently is because I’m preparing for said c-section and downtime by reading all the August/September released books that I can now, and prewriting and scheduling their reviews to release close to the books release dates so at least I’ll have something going up while I’m down. Things right now have been slow to compensate for my August/September planning.

I’m trying. I’m trying very, very hard.

However, it won’t be enough.

If anyone is interested in writing guest posts, or guest reviews to drop on my website during the months of August and September, then by all means, please contact me. It would be a huge help by giving me one less thing to worry about while I’m adjusting to having a newborn in the house again. The only thing I won’t be doing during August or September are giveaways, because I will probably be too sleep deprived to remember how they work, who won and all that jazz.

Now, I’m also failing at running Special Needs in Strange Worlds this year. I am just absolutely swamped by life, and I need help there, too. I need guest posts. I need some ASAP (my last one drops next week) and I will absolutely need some to drop after the baby arrives. I can promise you I won’t be up to the task of collecting posts and bothering authors for quite some time post-baby. I don’t want my column to shrivel up and die, but unless I get help, then that’s exactly where it’s going. I’m just too busy right now to keep up with it. I really don’t want it to die, but at this rate it might need to until I get my life under a bit more control. However, if I can get volunteers for posts, then I won’t have to worry about it. My column can keep going.

So yes, I need help. If either of those options above look interesting to you, please feel free to contact me at Sarah (at) bookwormblues (dot) net. Be patient with my email response. I’ve been pretty lax recently, but mostly because I’ve been so incredibly busy I haven’t had the time to spend on email that I usually do.

Thanks in advance!!

The Philosopher Kings – Jo Walton

About the Book

From acclaimed, award-winning author Jo Walton: Philosopher Kings, a tale of gods and humans, and the surprising things they have to learn from one another. Twenty years have elapsed since the events of The Just City.The City, founded by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, organized on the principles espoused in Plato’s Republic and populated by people from all eras of human history, has now split into five cities, and low-level armed conflict between them is not unheard-of.

The god Apollo, living (by his own choice) a human life as “Pythias” in the City, his true identity known only to a few, is now married and the father of several children. But a tragic loss causes him to become consumed with the desire for revenge. Being Apollo, he goes handling it in a seemingly rational and systematic way, but it’s evident, particularly to his precocious daughter Arete, that he is unhinged with grief.

Along with Arete and several of his sons, plus a boatload of other volunteers–including the now fantastically aged Marsilio Ficino, the great humanist of Renaissance Florence–Pythias/Apollo goes sailing into the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean of pre-antiquity to see what they can find—possibly the man who may have caused his great grief, possibly communities of the earliest people to call themselves “Greek.” What Apollo, his daughter, and the rest of the expedition will discover…will change everything.

352 pages (hardcover)

Published on June 30, 2015

Published by Tor

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

 

—

The Philosopher Kings is the second book in Jo Walton’s Thessaly series. I recommend that you read The Just City before you move onto The Philosopher Kings. The Just City really blew me away, making The Philosopher Kings an incredibly anticipated read.

The Philosopher Kings takes off years after The Just City ends, and begins with a tragic death. After the events of The Just City, the individuals in that experiment fractured and started their own cities based on various principles that they found the most attractive from before. Societies have evolved, and so have the people in them. Walton touches on how things have changed, and different perspectives bring light to different facets of these new cities and the cultures that have developed since the previous book. It’s quite well done, and interesting to see how the experiment of the first book evolved in some quite unexpected ways over the years.

The Philosopher Kings is interesting, as the dynamic completely switches from the previous book. This one is more family and relationship centered. The world expands quite a bit, but most of the action was between the father and the daughter as they both learn to cope with loss, and their new reality.

Apollo aka Pythias, really kind of falls apart early in The Philosopher Kings. He seemed so put together in the previous book, but here he’s almost completely unhinged and loses sight of a lot of his responsibilities. For example, his young daughter, Arete, who desperately needs his fatherly guidance, is basically left to fend for herself and cope with the tragic loss in her own way, though she is far too young. In so many ways she’s thrust into adult life too soon, and it’s easy to blame her father for that.

Then Pythias thinks of a mission, a journey of exploration to discover what is beyond where they live, and hopefully discover the person who is responsible for the tragedy he is coping with. A small group gets on a ship, and the adventure begins. Admittedly, this is where the book really took off for me. The first part of the story is interesting, but Pythias being rather unhinged loses its interest fast, and Arete felt far more interesting, in a sad, almost frustrating sort of way.

However, when they get direction and dynamic and start on their journey, Pythias sort of comes back to himself, and Arete slowly gets some direction and self-discovery that keeps things interesting and lively. Pythias spends most of the novel moping, but it’s Arete who quickly becomes the heart of events. She gets Pythias back to himself, and gives logic and direction to those around her, often belying her youthful age.

While Pythias and company are searching for Kebes, they run across many other contemporaries of the times, characters that Walton gives a zest and memorable voice. The world expands, and so does the thinking that drives many of the actions that takes place. What brought this book down a notch in my eyes isn’t just pythias and his moping, but the fact that this book lacked a little playful umph that the previous book contained. The thought experiments and philosophy still fuels much of the discourse and action, but it felt a little deflated.

I don’t think it is possible for Jo Walton to write a book that isn’t enjoyable, and while this book didn’t quite thrill me as much as The Just City, it is still a worthy, thought provoking read. Much of the action and interest lies in the relationships, and how strong emotions impact us and drive events. This book is like a game of dominos. One huge event sets off the whole chain, and it’s almost impossible to not want to see where it all ends up.

I missed Pythias through most of the novel, and I absolutely loved Arete, who had all of her mother’s heart and wit. I was frustrated at some points, and awestruck at others. Walton has a knack for creating strong character voices, and a vibrant world for them to inhabit. I love this series, and I’m anxious for more.

 

4/5 stars

Mother of Eden – Chris Beckett

About the Book

“We speak of a mother’s love, but we forget her power.”

Civilization has come to the alien, sunless planet its inhabitants call Eden.

Just a few generations ago, the planet’s five hundred inhabitants huddled together in the light and warmth of the Forest’s lantern trees, afraid to venture out into the cold darkness around them.

Now, humanity has spread across Eden, and two kingdoms have emerged. Both are sustained by violence and dominated by men – and both claim to be the favored children of Gela, the woman who came to Eden long ago on a boat that could cross the stars, and became the mother of them all.

When young Starlight Brooking meets a handsome and powerful man from across Worldpool, she believes he will offer an outlet for her ambition and energy. But she has no inkling that she will become a stand-in for Gela herself, and wear Gela’s fabled ring on her own finger—or that in this role, powerful and powerless all at once, she will try to change the course of Eden’s history.

480 pages (paperback)

Published on May 12, 2015

Published by Broadway Books

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

—

I absolutely loved Dark Eden, the first book in this series. Mother of Eden showed up just days after I finished Dark Eden. I was elated. The first book impressed me so much I was beyond thrilled to start book two. I didn’t even read the synopsis. I just jumped right in.

Mother of Eden is different than Dark Eden. Beckett could have continued the story right where Dark Eden left off, but he decided to jump into the future quite a way and explore what happened with society and culture after Dark Eden ended. This is both good and bad. I think there was a lot of room for Beckett to continue the story after Dark Eden left off. However, I think that jumping into the future the way he did gave him more fertile storytelling ground. In the end, I think his move paid off.

Mother of Eden is told from mostly a female point of view, and in large part it is the story of women in this world after all that happened before, which ended up permanently changing civilization.

One thing that Beckett seems to do really well is explore how certain decisions and cultural norms impact the lives of those living in those cultures. This often includes an interesting view of the evolution of said culture and its traditions. In Dark Eden, this was done with some subtlety, but in Mother of Eden, things have moved to a point where subtlety really can’t be an issue anymore. The things that are happening are in-your-face, like the status of women, and the status of those with “batfaces.” It’s a world of stark contrasts, and revolutionary ideas.

For example, the concept of money is starting to be important. Before goods were bartered, traded, or just made, but now there are markets, and money is used. It’s new, but it’s interesting to see how Beckett deftly explores in a quick, almost quiet way, how money impacts the cultures where it is being used. Another example is New Earth, an emerging kingdom (of sorts) which shows the start of the feudal system, territories, and indentured servitude.

Social classes are emerging. There are the rich and the poor, the well off and the subservient and into all of this is Starlight, a woman who agrees to become the “housewoman” of Greenstone, the son of the leader of New Earth. Starlight is from a more tribal, more “Dark Eden” feeling group of individuals, and being dumped into the middle of such a complex social structure with such foreign (to her) views on women, society, and life in general.

Thing are not what she expects them to be. She thinks that New Earth will be some sort of haven, a perfect utopia, but the reality is far different than her imaginings. She does the best she can to make it work, but the power she is given and the reality of where she is living makes that quite hard. It’s a completely different world than the world that John was living in in Dark Eden, and that’s half the appeal. Beckett does a great job at exploring just how the world would change after one man like John dared to explore, venture forth, and challenge it all.

Some things go wrong, and some things go right.

It’s really well done, perhaps not quite as well done as Dark Eden, but no less captivating or thought provoking. Starlight is a fantastic character to follow. Her struggle to give a voice to women, help the Small People is admirable, but it’s also obvious that she’s one woman in a society where women really aren’t much, and often it feels like she’s banging her head against the wall. But that’s relatable, especially in the context of where she’s living and the cultural norms that surround her.

Mother of Eden is rather interesting, because it is told from primarily female perspectives, where Dark Eden felt like it was told from mostly male perspectives. It’s really nice to see how women live in a world that is obviously turning into a man’s haven (in some ways). It’s also obvious that Beckett did his research and gave his female characters lots of thought because they are very, very realistic. Sometimes they frustrated me, and sometimes they pleased me, but there wasn’t ever a point where I thought that they were unbelievable or unrealistic.

My biggest issue with the book was the ending. There are numerous jumps in time, and a lot of important things that don’t really happen on the stage, but are referenced. Conclusions are drawn, and everything felt a bit rushed. It was a rather jarring change of pace, because up to that point, Beckett has done a wonderful job at keeping his readers in the know regarding important events. Some characters were dropped and only mentioned in passing in the Afterward, leaving me wondering what happened. It was a frustrating, rough ending and it left me wanting.

However, despite that, Mother of Eden was a good read. It wasn’t as good as Dark Eden, but it was still interesting and very well done. Beckett has a way with writing a captivating story with characters that will grab you instantly. I just wish the ending had been a bit more fulfilling, a little less messy.

 

4/5 stars

It’s time to get back to our roots.

I’ll admit it at the start. I’m 7, almost 8 months pregnant. It’s over 100 degrees outside. My feet resemble sausages due to swelling, and I’ve been in and out of the hospital and the doctor numerous times due to various complications (my stress level is in the red zone). Things have not been easy for me recently. I’m absolutely miserable, and being miserable pisses me off.

You have been warned.

I got into this genre, and reviewing in general, because I love reading science fiction and fantasy books and I want to spread that love if I can. That fundamental premise has fueled my website for five years now. Now, however, reading in our genre isn’t just reading anymore. It’s become some sort of a twisted internet-esque contact sport. Suddenly the books we read, and the publishers whose books we read, means something.

Our community is divided, throwing words, and at war. The chaos keeps spreading as a few people stir up the “cess” at the bottom of the pool, and a lot of other people can be counted on to constantly react. I’m finding myself a lot less interested in actually engaging the community that means so much to me. That’s probably what has me the most upset. I love this community, and I love the books and publishers and authors in it. Suddenly, I have almost no desire to interact with any of them.

I feel like I’ve been robbed, and all because a few people decided to have an agenda and be loud about it. Fine. Have a cause, and gird your loins for battle, but for hell’s sake, don’t forget you’re a bunch of adults. We aren’t on a playground at recess. Friendships have been severed because of this debate. Friendships. Are you kidding me? Suddenly someone on one side of the line isn’t good enough to be friends with someone on the other side of the line? You guys, this is getting out of control. Everyone needs to sit down, shut up, and let the teacher evenly divide the pretzels.

Everyone is offended, and everyone is finding more things to be offended about, and I’m over here wondering where the hell the conversation about books went.

Really. Where did it go?

I am so incredibly sick of almost every conversation in the genre having a context and a subtext, and lines and insinuations. If the puppies are so damn determined to get readers to enjoy that pulpy, fun goodness again, then please, by all means, TALK ABOUT THE BOOKS. Get me excited! Stop picking at scabs and looking for things to be offended about. I’m done with the pontificating. Right now I see almost no actual book conversation and a whole lot of, “he said, she said.” (That is pretty true for both sides of this debacle).

SJW’s, for the love of god, stop reacting and making it so damn easy. That’s the first thing I learned from my five older siblings – if you react, it gets worse. So stop.

Honestly, both paragraphs can be equally said to both sides of this debate.

I miss the days when I could agree or disagree with whoever I wanted, and we could still manage to talk about the books that make this genre so incredible. I miss the passion in those discussions and conversations. I miss the coming together of a bunch of people in the community from diverse backgrounds and the wonderful, enlightening conversations that often resulted (these conversations would make my librarians, who manage my hold list, scoff).

I realize that this post isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference. Not one iota. I’m not a powerhouse voice. I’m not even a loud voice, and I’m okay with that. I’m just sick of it. I’m sick of the bickering, and I miss the passion. I don’t care if you’re an SJW or a Puppy, or a little bit of both. We need to get back to what started this vibrant community – the books.

So let’s talk books. Have you (or are you) reading anything noteworthy? What is it?

I’m about halfway through Uprooted by Naomi Novik, which is absolutely blowing me away with its grandness. Yesterday I got an ARC of Dark Ascension by ML Brennan in the mail. I’m a huge fan of that series, so it instantly moved to the top of my list. I started reading it, and I’m already in love. I’m planning on starting the new Kevin J. Anderson book, Blood of the Cosmos, in the next few days. I’m pretty excited. Not only do I have a blurb on the back of that book (squee!), but I always tend to enjoy Anderson’s work.

In other news, I went part time at work because full time was killing me with my various health complications. This has given me a lot more one-on-one time with my daughter (3 years old) before daughter number 2 arrives in August (if this heat doesn’t kill me first). I’ve enjoyed that special bonding time. We joined the summer reading program at the library (She has to read 25 books over the summer and she’s already done with 15 – in two weeks). She’s starting to puzzle out words, and every Monday we go to story time at said library (which often includes a fun art activity). Last week story time included a puppet show telling a Polish fairytale. As a mother who loves reading, there really isn’t much that’s more exciting than seeing my kid start to feel that passion for the written word that I feel.

And her imagination is boundless. It’s delightful and invigorating. Nothing is impossible to her.

Isn’t that really what this community is based on – that childlike passion for literature that hasn’t ever really diminished – that awe and wonder we feel as we discover a new universe for the first time? All this other stuff is just surface. I think it’s time to get back to our roots.

Books.

It’s all about the books.

The Magician’s Land – Lev Grossman

About the Book

Quentin Coldwater has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams. With nothing left to lose, he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic, but he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him.

Along with Plum, a brilliant young undergraduate with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. But all roads lead back to Fillory, and his new life takes him to old haunts, like Antarctica, and to buried secrets and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers the key to a sorcery masterwork, a spell that could create magical utopia, and a new Fillory–but casting it will set in motion a chain of events that will bring Earth and Fillory crashing together. To save them he will have to risk sacrificing everything.

401 pages (hardcover)

Published on August 5, 2014

Published by Viking

Author’s webpage

Buy the book

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The first thing I’m going to mention is that, after listening to the audio version of this series, I will never be able to actually read it. It’s incredibly rare that a narrator manages to nail a book as perfectly as Mark Bramhall, but wow… he really did it. I completely and absolutely recommend listening to this series in audio form. You won’t regret it.

The Magician’s Land is the last book in (what turned out to be) one of my favorite trilogies. In this book, Quentin has been stripped of much of what made him special, and thrust into a world that he doesn’t understand, and equally doesn’t understand him. In many ways he’s truly lost for the first time since he found his way into Brakebills.

Not only that, but many of the things that Quentin (and readers) assumed made him special ended up not being that special. For example, his knack ends up being something rather mundane and unimpressive. It’s stated several times that many people are far more powerful than he is without even really trying.

And that’s part of what makes this third book so damn good. Quentin suddenly isn’t that special. He’s just your average dude slogging through a confusing world, trying to find his place in things. In the process he screws up pretty bad, and ends up in the middle of an operation he doesn’t understand, which spins him into a situation that is as captivating as it is nearly unbelievable.

However, things change, and it stops being a story about Quentin who lost everything, and it starts being a culmination of events, a nice wrapping up of an epic journey that turned a teenager into an adult. Quentin gets a mission: to create something, to build something that is more than just himself. It’s quite thought provoking.

Paralleled with all of that is the story of Fillory, which is dying, and the kings and queens of that land. We get to know Janet a bit better, and Eliot’s voice is quite humorous, adding a nice chuckle to a rather dark situation. However, Janet ended up being my favorite voice in the novel. She’s got an attitude problem and she owns it, and her sarcastic somewhat jaded observations really ended up brightening up parts of the book that could have been overly dark.

There really is nonstop adventure, and the delightful thing is nothing really ends up where you expect it to be, but the ending that it leads to is absolutely perfect for the series as a whole. New characters, (Plum) are introduced, and old characters make an appearance again. But nothing ever really stops happening. There is no real feel that this book is winding down after an epic journey, like some end-of-series books I’ve read. I never felt like I was reading one really long, long ending. There really is a full and comprehensive adventure in these pages, and it reads well as its own book, and as the last part of one of the best trilogies I’ve read (listened to) in a long time.

Lev Grossman has a knack for telling one holy hell of a story. His writing is superb, epic in scope, lyrical with its flow, and hilarious at unexpected times. This is the last book in a trilogy that absolutely blew me away. Some books I read and think, “Well, that was a fun few hours…” this one I read and thought, “Good lord, what can possibly follow that?”

Yeah, it’s that good.

 

5/5 stars