NEW BOOKS: The Lord of the Book Haul

All my Christmases came at once today when I got paid a lot more than expected ... so while at work I went through my Book Depository wishlist and ordered some must haves! I have a few that I told myself I would commit to buying first (because they finished off series' etc) but I am getting this lot sent to Tasmania where I will be working for the next five months, so I needed things I could start fresh.

So ... I got the first five books of A Song of Ice and Fire. I'd never heard of these before the TV series came out, so I assume they were just never really big in Australia. But I loved the TV series and they have nothing but good reviews, so I thought I better start. Similarly with The Hunger Games trilogy, I thought I better see what all the fuss was about - apparently they're brilliant and the upcoming movie looks pretty good too. I've read LOTR when I was younger but don't own copies so I bought those and will re-read. Finally, I got The Gray Wolf Throne which is the final book in the trilogy, so looking forward to that!

REVIEW: The High Lord by Trudi Canavan

I've had a bit of spare time over the last few days (including some very quiet reception shifts) and I was able to polish off the final book in the Black Magician trilogy, The High Lord by Trudi Canavan. I've made it my aim this year to finish off all the series I have left unread, in particular before I leave home for 8 months to work and travel on February 7th, so The High Lord is a small win!

This book followed on seamlessly from events in The Novice - even though a year has passed not much has changed. It was nice to see that the style and quality of the narrative and prose remained unchanged from the previous books - I've read a few series lately where everything has gone downhill in the last book, as if the reluctant author is being held at knife-point to finish it.

The pace of this book moved a lot faster (for the most part) than its predecessors. It seems that Canavan smartly divulged all the necessary exposition and information in books one and two, leaving the path clear for an action packed book three. The first third of the book is like one long climax, with several long-awaited revelations. There is a little lull in the middle with the obligatory 'traveling' chapters that seem to come with every fantasy book these days, but then things pick right back up again with a swift and dramatic conclusion.

As I mentioned in my review of The Novice, the linear and simple nature of this story is a welcome refreshment, but with the conclusion of the series, I do wish it had become a little more complex. I felt the struggles of the protagonists in the events at the end were a tad token - there was never any doubt that they would succeed. There was also never anything terribly unexpected or any great tragedy, which I think would have given it that extra oomph. 

The final fight got a little messy and confusing with the constant shift in points of view. While this was a welcome addition during the series, with each POV shifting slightly forward or backward in time, it really didn't do the final battle justice. Canavan was also not particularly creative with her use of offensive magic.

In terms of the story itself, I was extremely satisfied except for one element ... While I loved the evolution of the character of Akkarin, I was deeply put off by how his relationship with Sonea progressed. It felt it was unnecessary and unrealistic and thought something much more complex would be more suitable. Similarly, the relationship between Dannyl and Tayend was never evident in their actions ... it seems to me that romance and relationships are not Canavan's strong point and so most of it was left unsaid and unexplored.

In saying all this, I was very happy with the book overall and it is only in hindsight that I am picking it apart - the read itself was quite enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more Trudi Canavan, next time in the much nicer white covers!

Now I am going to try and finish off The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feis with Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon. Like The Black Magician trilogy, I read book one, Magician, years ago and never got around to reading the rest, even though I owned them.

REVIEW: The Novice by Trudi Canavan

The Novice is book two in the Black Magician trilogy and it has taken me quite a while to get around to it after reading The Magician's Guild about two years ago. I don't even remember how I came to reading it but I assume I must have bought it cheaply at some kind of sale. Back then, while I loved buying and reading fantasy, I wasn't completely obsessed and shockingly didn't even have a to-read list ... I pretty much just went and bought a new book randomly every time I finished one. The Magician's Guild was enjoyable, but nothing ground-breaking, and so I admit it was with mostly a sense of obligation that I finally got around to reading The Novice.

Reading this has made me think quite a bit about every thing else I have read in the last two years and how it compares. The Novice was not a best-seller and I assume never hotly anticipated by critics, whereas nearly every thing else I have read recently has been - the list including Patrick Rothfuss, Stephen Deas and Brandon Sanderson among others. While those books were wildly ambitious and incredibly original in their delivery and flavour, it can take time to get used to them and absorb the story.

What I loved about The Novice was its simplicity and familiarity. The prose was incredibly easy to read and the story was almost completely linear - but while this may be seen as a criticism, I actually found it refreshing after tackling so many heavy (in every sense) novels. I think it definitely had potential to be quite a lengthy and complicated novel, but Canavan leaves giant chunks of non-vital story by the wayside, choosing instead to focus intently on only the main event. While at times I was curious to know what happened in some of these instances, I was never left unsatisfied. 

The best thing I can say about the book was how incredibly easy it is to read. There was never a time where I had to stop to try and recall fiddly details, character names, or past events - even having read book one over two years ago. It is steadfastly uncomplicated and therefore also extremely memorable.

There were two themes involved which I found quite interesting ... the first being bullying. Throughout the story, Sonea is constantly being harassed and attacked by Regin and his followers. Even though everyone including the teachers know of this, it is seen as perfectly acceptable to let the novices have their own way. In Australia at the moment there is a lot of media attention in regards to bullying over some recent teen suicides and there are calls from multitudes of people including the Prime Minister to put a stop to bullying for good. Because of this, I really struggled to associate with the stance on bullying in the book and became increasingly frustrated that no one interceded. I don't think it was so much that I found it unbelievable, as it was certainly justified within the story, but that the story drew me in so much that I began having strong emotional reactions ... which I guess you could count as a good thing!

The second was the surprising emphasis on the journey of Dannyl, his relationship with the openly gay character Tayend, and the exploration of homophobia within the book. Being gay myself, I found myself infinitely more interested and empathetic than if it were a heterosexual relationship. I have never encountered a fantasy novel that featured this kind of exploration in anything more than a cursory way, (such as the character of Meteroa in the Memory of Flames trilogy) yet almost half of The Novice focused on it.

Things became significantly more interesting towards the end when Canavan begins revealing facts that hint at much larger events than we have so far encountered, along with some more influential foreshadowing. I honestly say I cannot predict where the final book, The High Lord, will go but I do think that it will not be as shocking or grand as I would like it to be as an ending - but let's hope it surprises me!

I would recommend this series for anyone wanting to take a break from the more esoteric and sometimes obtuse fantasies that we can get caught up in!

Fantasy Taglines

This is something that has been bothering me for a while ... Fantasy Taglines. You know, those mini, descriptive sententences on front covers? Nearly every one I come across is exceedingly lame and not only does nothing to promote the book other than scream 'THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK', I find it hard to convince people that what I am reading is not complete trash. Here are just a few guilty parties ...

"Gods and mortals. Power and love. Death and Revenge. She will unleash them all."
-- The Broken Kingdoms

"What if the Dark Lord won?"

-- The Final Empire

"There is still magic."

-- The Alloy of Law

I had someone look at The Alloy of Law while I was reading it at work and then say in a condescending tone, "There is still magic ..." and my only response was, "Yes ... I know." I totally get that fantasy is inherently nerdy and the stories are on epic enough scales that warrant this kind blatant and over-dramatic statement, but still! I have a feeling it has something to do with the very loud and unsubtle ways that are synonymous with Americans ... no offense guys.

I think we could come up with something a little more creative please, or just leave them off the covers altogether.

REVIEW: The Kingdom of Gods by N. K. Jemisin

 

The Kingdom of Gods is the final novel in the Inheritance trilogy, one I was anticipating greatly after reading and loving The Broken Kingdoms (and to a lesser extent, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms). In short, this is a strange and unconventional book/story, which does give it a certain originality and freshness, but is also slightly dissatisfying in the way it forgoes some of even the most basic writing principles.

My biggest problem with The Kingdom of Gods was that there never seemed to be one definite point to the story; something the narrative and characters were working towards. Instead, there were several that Jemisin flits in between constantly, leaving the reader confused and most of the story underdeveloped and a little pointless. It seemed like in an effort to make the book longer she halfheartedly added in a few more characters and twists, but then decided part way thought to make one of these irrelevant twists the actual point and conclusion of the book.

There was a complete and utter lack of foreshadowing which gave me the impression that Jemisin was actually making it up as she went along. Random events and characters and even major plot developments would simply occur out of nowhere with no kind of pretext. I remember writing this about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms; just because it's fantasy doesn't mean you can make shit up. Some of Jemisin's intrinsic reasoning was so flimsy and flawed that I really questioned how well she had planned the book because it made the story utterly transparent.

While the history of Jemisin's world and its gods is quite interesting and has been thoroughly explored by this book, the logic is still very flawed. The three Gods (Nahadoth, Yeine and to a lesser extent Itempas) are admittedly omnipotent and during their designated time of day, omniscient. This begs the question then, how does anything escape or oppose them? In some cases Jemisin presents a half-hearted excuse, but in others the fact is blatantly ignored. In one chapter it is clear that Nahadoth hears whatever Sieh says at loud, and potentially whatever he thinks, and then not very much later, Sieh brings up something which he is somehow keeping a secret from Nahadoth. Me no comprehende. In fact, none of the events which lead to the end of the book should have been able to happen.

There were several antagonists in this book, one in particular who brings about events which (I think) becomes the main point and climax of the story, but all of whom we know absolutely nothing about. It got a bit ridiculous. Jemisin invents characters, literally out of nowhere, and then fails to give them any kind of character development or role other than to appear when needed and give the story a little (or gigantic) push. Kahl and Usein were the biggest offenders.

While Jemisin's writing is easy to read (most of the time) and her stories are a breath of fresh air, I was incredibly disappointed and let down with this book. As per my review of The Broken Kingdoms, I felt that she had remedied the flaws from The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but it seems they have just come back ten fold in this last book. I don't see how she could go from book two which had a definite, clear objective and a cast of impressive characters to this. The fact that it was the final book in the trilogy was also a disappointment; nothing was revealed or resolved at all - in fact only new and irrelevant things were added. The one resolution that has been building across the three books was instead left completely by the wayside - an absolute crime!

In my opinion readers should not even bother with it and just pretend the series ends with book two.

On a side note, there was one line which I thought was quite entertaining and made me laugh out loud; 

"I suspect that if Wrath got through this day with his position intact, he would soon put his soldiers through a heavy training course on Gods, the Quick Recognition and Not Attacking Of."

UPDATE: www.fixedonfantasy.com

This morning I thought I would invest in a .com for the blog! Blogger made it so easy too, I just clicked a button and it did the buying and the redirecting all for me and all for the low, low price of $10 per year.

Almost halfway through The Kingdom of Gods and so far I'm not overly impressed and it definitely isn't as good as The Broken Kingdoms. There better be some cataclysmic, awe-inspiring ending or I'ma be grumpy!

Think I am going to rejig my little side boxes and include links to other blogs ... and what better time that to do it while at work today!

Went by Dirt Cheap Books this morning and picked up The Twilight Herald by Tom Lloyd and Tanequil and Straken from Terry Brooks' High Druid of Shannara trilogy. I haven't read any of the Shannara series, but I got these because they were really cheap and I think I will read it one day. I now have to get book one, Jarka Ruus, to complete the trilogy.

REVIEW: The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel

 

The Land of Painted Caves is the long-awaited and final installment in the Earth's Children series, following the life of a young woman named Ayla during the last Ice-Age. After spending the better half of last year reading this series, I became quite attached to the story and characters, but have to admit that it started to become extremely repetitive and more than a bit laborious. Reviews for the final novel were also incredibly harsh, claiming the book left Auel fans bitterly disappointed - and so I began reading quite cautiously and to be frank, expecting the worst.

I wouldn't call this book a travesty, but especially compared to The Clan of the Cave Bear, which was utterly brilliant, The Land of Painted Caves has not only lost all sense of spark, but is riddled with the kind of storytelling that one never expects to even see the light of day.

To begin with, I am convinced that this book should never have happened. At the end of book five, The Shelters of Stone, Ayla is finally accepted by Jonadalar's family and people, the Zelandonii, which has been foreshadowed since book two, or even book one and has in fact been the driving theme throughout. This, along with numerous other resolutions, make The Shelters of Stone a perfect ending to the series in my opinion - I really didn't feel the need to read any more. While this book was always planned by the author, I feel it had nothing more to add other than repeating material from previous books (and at 774 pages, it's a lot of repetition).

The biggest flaw of this book in fact, was the repetition. The Land of Painted Caves deals mainly with Ayla's journey to become a Zelandoni, one of the spiritual leaders of the people. All this involves however is her journeying to and visiting far too many sacred sites/caves. And each cave is literally identical to the one before it, with the same drawings and Ayla asking, word for word, the same questions. When I finally got to the last and more important cave, I actually skipped forward about 10 pages until it was over. This got even more ridiculous, when Auel would, through either direct speech or blatant exposition, re-describe something to the fullest extent, which we had read about earlier on in this very book. I couldn't believe it ... is she on drugs? I swear, if one more person had the same lengthy, unnecessary observation about Ayla's accent, I was going to stop reading. Here is one example:

"Laramar was there, the man who was known for making the potent alcoholic brew from almost anything that would ferment ... His only other claim to fame had been a handful of unkempt children, and a slovenly mate who indulged heavily in his product."

This occurs on page 646. I'm pretty sure Laramar and his family have been a key part of not only this book, but the previous one. I honestly think that Auel believes her readers to be so stupid, they cannot remember a character from one page to the next. Then there is this little gem:

"They were the ones who did it" a woman cried when she was the men. "They're the ones who forced me and killed my mate when he tried to stop them. They took our food and sleeping rolls, and left me there. I walked home, but I was pregnant and lost the baby."

Wow. If this had happened to you, and someone turned up in the village dragging in the culprit, would you really stand there and yell it out like it was a shopping list? This book is filled with such incredibly distasteful moments that are about as subtle as Santa and his sleigh crashing through Japanese water-garden. On Easter.

Character development was also at an all-time low for the series. Jonayla was a constant throughout, but there was barely any kind of interaction or description of her or her personality, as with numerous others. Ayla in fact pretty much became a Mary Sue, with Auel inventing things about her left, right and centre that were definitely not in previous books.

I have never, ever, skimmed a book before, but I felt no guilt with The Land of Painted Caves. But the end, if no one was speaking, it was safe to assume that Auel was once again either describing foliage or retelling another useless fact from Ayla's past and I just skimmed until I saw another quotation mark.

The only time it actually then became interesting was the ending, which was a little more climactic. This was totally marred by the fact that it was the exact same situation and resolution as a climactic point in The Mammoth Hunters. And when I say exactly the same, I mean, it could have been copy and pasted.

It's incredibly sad to see such an amazing, inspiring and incredibly well researched life work degenerate from such grand beginnings to this. The ending of the book resolved very well, but I don't know if this was from and kind of good writing, or because I was so thankful that it was over!

I did read this one review which had me in stitches, so if you don't mind spoilers, check it out!

Not sure now if I should begin with The Kingdom of Gods, which is actually almost twice the size of its predecessor, or if I should try and knock off some smaller, less urgent books first.

UPDATE: Goodreads Profile

So I was trying to decide whether or not to get a Goodreads profile ... it seems to be where its all happening, but then again I already spend a lot of time online with this blog and a variety of other things, and this would just take up more time. Plus, I am pretty comfortable with staying in the loop in regards to fantasy news and releases and lets be honest, I have no shortage of books to read.

But I signed up anyway to give it a go. I might start adding books I have read later on - perhaps tonight when I am bored at work. You can use the link below to add me as a friend - I haven't figured out how to add people yet!

http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?i=LTM1OTk3ODkxNzk6MzY2

UPDATE: New Looks & New Books

I spent a little time this afternoon rejigging the look of the blog and making it a little more personalised!

I've also discovered a really awesome site/blog/forum called The Ranting Dragon. Great reviews and articles, great layout/setup and I found the creator and I share the same taste in fantasy books.

I rationalised with myself this morning that I should be able to buy a few books with each pay I get ... and so I headed on over to Book Depository to order some more of my wishlist even though I only got some last week. Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire was definitely on the top of the list followed by Passion by Lauren Kate (I haven't even started the series, but it needs to be complete anyway). I then got City of Dreams and Nightmare by Ian Whates after reading a review on The Ranting Dragon (TRD) for a later book in the series, and they're all $8.50, so why not? Finally, Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton because the TRD Forum runs a monthly book club and this is the book for Jan ... think I might join in!

In other boring administrative news ... I'm not sure whether to list my new purchases in the box to the right when I order them or when they arrive, but at the moment it's the latter.

2011 in Retrospect

Until tonight I didn't realise that I only created this blog one year ago ... it's strange that it feels both longer and shorter than that in some ways. I started this blog originally just to talk about my reads in my own way, rather than reviewing them in a way that was helpful to others, but I think I have started to move toward something that is geared towards being read (while still not totally a review per se). I think this is because I really enjoy sharing my reading with others and commenting and receiving comments (from my two followers - hey guys!) and while I would really love more followers, I don't want to achieve that by compromising the aim of my blog.

So in 2011 I read eighteen books, most of which strangely start with 'The'. It feels like such a small amount compared to how much I feel I read ... but then again I have a pretty full life with uni, work, and my own choreographic projects and related administration. I feel pretty overwhelmed knowing I will probably only read the same amount in 2012 and I HAVE SO MANY BOOKS TO READ! Here's the list ...

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel

The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman

The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel

The Order of the Scales by Stephen Deas

The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Across the Wall by Garth Nix

The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

The Sending by Isobelle Carmody

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson