C.A. Gray's Blog, page 61
May 3, 2019
Review of A Mind of Her Own
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This is a quick, interesting listen about the life of Marie Curie, told sort of in a novella format. It’s fun to experience her love of science and her budding romance with Pierre Curie from her perspective. And I didn’t realize how much she had to overcome in order to study science: she had no money, and her sister wanted to be a doctor. So she worked for five years as a governess to send her sister through medical school, and then they traded: her sister sending her wages to send Marie for a Ph.D. Very inspiring!
My rating: ****
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In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen
Today’s podcast review comes from this blog post, Review of In Farleigh Field.
The post In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen appeared first on C.A. Gray.
May 1, 2019
Review of In Farleigh Field
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Set in WWII Britain, “In Farleigh Field” is the sort of novel I guess I’d call “sweeping,” in the sense that it covers many different characters, most of them aristocracy in the highest circles. A parachutist falls to his death in Farleigh field, and even though he’s dressed in a British military uniform, he has no ID. Various people begin to suspect that he was a German spy. But if that were the case, why Farleigh? What could the possible connection be? Each character tries to figure this out in his own way, and each begins to suspect everybody else. Pamma, one of the sisters who grew up at Farleigh, is thought to work at a paper-pushing desk job… but she’s really a code breaker. Ben, the son of the vicar, injured his leg in a plane crash before the war, and is therefore not in uniform. Everyone thinks that he’s a mere courier, and treats him that way–but really he’s working for MI5. He discovers that there is a twisted sort of patriotism among the British Aristocracy that calls themselves the Ring: their goal is to murder the royal family and put the Duke of Windsor back on the throne, because he has pro-German leanings. With him at the helm, Germany will invade, and therefore the war will be over, and they can go back to life-as-usual. So was the parachutist connected to the Ring?
Meanwhile, Pamma’s boyfriend Jeremy escapes from prison camp and makes his way home–but he’s so changed she hardly knows him. Ben has to deal with watching them together, because he’s been secretly in love with Pamma for years. Pamma’s younger sister Phoebe and a local Cockney boy take it upon themselves to investigate the parachutist’s identity themselves. And Pamma’s older sister Margo gets picked up by the Gestapo in France and tortured (mildly) for information, because she and her lover are both members of the Resistance. They let her go… but only if she will infiltrate the Ring in Britain and further their cause.
Rhys Bowen is a master at historical British fiction! I wouldn’t know where to start, to believably create a story like this. The intrigue was great, and the characters mostly sympathetic (except for Jeremy–she did a great job of making him subtly despicable from the beginning, even though it was in such a way that you *could* explain it away, but you didn’t really want to.) I love reading historical fiction because I actually learn something at the same time (especially when there’s a note at the end that tells you what’s true and what’s not.)
My rating: **** 1/2
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April 26, 2019
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
This week’s podcast review comes from this blog post review of Stars Above.
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April 20, 2019
Review of Stars Above
Second time through! This is a collection of short stories to fill in the backstory of each of the main characters. They were all good, though this time through I just re-listened to the last two short stories: “The Mechanic,” a retelling of Cinder and Kai’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective (which was sooo sweet!), and “Stars Above,” the epilogue short story that wraps up what happens to each of them after the end of “Winter.” I have to say, while most stories just end right after the resolution of the main conflict, when you invest so much into a set of characters, you really want that epilogue, even if it doesn’t contain any conflict. This one didn’t, exactly–there was a bit of minor conflict, since it was Scarlet and Wolf’s wedding and due to their fame, it attracted the paparazzi. The conflict was how to give them the wedding of their dreams, even if it required a bit of improvisation. But I was grinning the entire time… SUCH a satisfying ending. I had been a little disappointed that (spoiler alert!) when Kai sort of semi-proposed to Cinder at the end of “Winter,” she put him off like she wasn’t ready yet. Even though she was 16 and clearly that’s a little young for marriage, so it was appropriate for her to do so… I am SO glad that we got that moment at the end of “Stars Above”! This was the true fairy tale, happily-ever-after that the entire series has led us to crave. And the peasants rejoice!
My rating: **** 1/2
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April 19, 2019
Winter by Marissa Meyer
Today’s podcast review comes from this blog post review of Winter.
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April 16, 2019
Review of Winter
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I loved the entire series, and raced through it the second time. The action is non-stop!
On the plus side: like any good fairy tale, this one ends with a “happily ever after.” And yet it doesn’t seem too perfect–there are still casualties, and even the main characters don’t all escape unscathed. But everyone ends up with his or her pair, the good guys win, and justice is served for all. I also love Winter’s character–she’s fascinating to me as an author, because somehow Meyer managed to make her lovable, and crazy at the same time. That’s very hard to do in a main character! I think she only managed it because by this point, there are three other main characters (or really six others: three other couples) to dilute Winter’s insanity.
As much as I enjoyed the whole thing, I did think this story was a lot longer than it needed to be, though. There were plenty of moments, but one in particular, where I thought she could have wrapped it up and cut out about half the book. I also felt like Cinder as a revolutionary was a bit of a let-down–she makes stirring emotional speeches (without actually saying much of anything), but I have a hard time buying the idea that that alone is enough to induce hoards of people who have been slaves for generations to suddenly rally behind her and sacrifice everything. Then again, I don’t really know how she could have done it better, so I can’t fault her too much for that. I also felt like the actual climax was a bit of a let-down, partly because I didn’t buy the reason for Levana’s sudden weakness.
But! I always love happy endings!
My rating: ****
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April 12, 2019
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Today’s review comes from this blog post review of Cress.
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April 9, 2019
Review of Cress
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I don’t know if I liked Cinder or Cress (the book) better… I definitely like Cress and Thorne second best (next to Cinder and Kai) of the couples in the Lunar Chronicles, though!
Cress is the only one of the four female heroines in the series whose name doesn’t seem to directly relate to her fairytale counterpart. You can tell by the cover that she is Rapunzel, but she is Lunar, and therefore named for the moon (Crescent Moon). But she’s a shell, which means she was born without the ability to glamour others. Queen Levana supposedly condemned all shells to death, so far as the country of Luna knows, because shells are also immune to the glamours of others, and therefore cannot be controlled. But really, Levana sends the shells underground, where she experimented on their blood in order to create the Letumosis plague (and develop the subsequent vaccine.) Cress, meanwhile, turns out to be a tech genius, so she was banished to a satellite (her “tower”) where she works under Head Thaumaturge Cybil (her “mother”) for the Queen. Because she’s been alone almost her whole life, she has developed a very active imagination, which is one of my favorite things about her… sweet Cress is always fantasizing her way out of every tight spot, imagining that she is a famous actress, an opera singer, or a spy. Whatever happens to suit the situation.
She also has developed a raging crush from afar on Carswell Thorne, Cinder’s arrogant but gorgeous partner-in-crime… only in Cress’s idealistic mind, Thorne is really a misunderstood hero. When Cybil sends her satellite crashing to earth in attempted murder, Thorne and Cress find themselves stranded in the African desert together–and Thorne, struck with blindness on impact, finds himself at Cress’s mercy. It’s a clever way to induce a character arc for Thorne, and it really turns out to be quite believable (at least in the whimsical world of the Lunar Chronicles, where there’s already a high suspension of disbelief).
But aside from the fact that I find Cress herself so endearing, and Thorne becomes endearing through her eyes, I think I liked this book so much largely because it’s also the book where Cinder stops the royal wedding (in SUCH a badass-yet-bashful way–I cheered out loud the first time I heard it!), and reveals her true identity to Emperor Kai. We’ve been waiting for that moment for three books now! So satisfying!!!
My rating: *****
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April 5, 2019
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
This week’s podcast review comes from this blog post: Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer.
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