Fantasy

Fire

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Fire

Fire

By Kristin Cashore

Dial Books

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3461-6

4 stars

Fire is a companion novel to Cashore’s Graceling. My review of Graceling is here.

Fire is the last remaining human monster. She is stunningly beautiful with hair the color of flame and the ability to read minds and control a person’s actions. She guards her power knowing how easy it would be for her to take control of others having seen her father, a true monster, do just that to too many people. She has no need or want to be cruel and having too many secrets of her own, doesn’t want to know everyone else’s. Her own pain is enough for her to endure.

She lives in a turbulent time, the king is barely holding on to his thrown, war is coming, and Fire is called the help the kingdom by uncovering a plot against the king. Skeptical at first, Fire finally relents and agrees to use her power to save the kingdom of the Dells.

I was expecting something different with this book, something more along the lines of Graceling I guess. I thought there would be more adventure and action and this one doesn’t have that in the same amounts as Graceling. It’s there, but in an entirely different way. In Fire, we’re introduced to a new world but one just as interesting. The monsters, great and small, roam the Dells, and Fire, ever conscience of her own status as one, does her best not to act like one. Her powers are legendary but she’s never willing to overstep which makes it hard to really look at her as a monster. There’s just too much self control on her part. Fire has her secrets and times she despises herself, especially those moments when she’s truly a monster, and you begin to see just how important her self-control is to her and why.

Fire has more of a romantic aspect to it than Graceling and develops at a slow pace, which with everything else going on, makes sense. I liked the fact that Cashore talked about love, sex, and birth control though. Two people become pregnant and Fire, not wanting children, takes a potion to ensure she never has children believing the world should have no more monsters like her but she suffers when she see her friend’s children, even knowing that her decision was the right one for her. The topic is not dumbed down and in a YA book I can appreciate that. The characters are frank and open about their actions and feelings and the consequences are discussed in a manner that shows nothing is insignificant.

I like Cashore’s writing style, and as I’ve said before, she has an amazing imagination. The world she created for Graceling felt fresh and vibrant and the same can be said for Fire. While all the characters are new there is one that makes an appearance from Graceling. I won’t say (it’s not Katsa) but it adds some missing back story you didn’t get in Graceling. There is supposed to be a follow up to Graceling later this year and I think I’ll be reading it to see what Cashore comes up with next.

Friday Finds – Fantasy Series

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I love a series and I’ve been looking for some new fantasy so when I came across these two authors while looking up a book at my library the other day, I knew they had to go on the list.

The Skewed Throne, The Cracked Throne, and The Vacant Throne by Joshua Palmatier. The series takes place in a city called Amenkor and follows a young girl named Varis who has the ability to see innocence and guilt in colors and develops a knack for murder. She eventually becomes the Mistress of Amenkor and tries to lead the city through political turmoil while fighting to keep the city’s citizens from starvation. When an alliance with another city becomes a possibility, Varis must find an ancient stone throne that was lost centuries earlier to seal the alliance. I tried to sum up each book in a sentence so this short description covers all three books.

Green Rider, First Rider’s Call, and The High King’s Tomb by Kristin Britain. This series is a quest tale with a medieval fantasy setting. In the first book, Karigan is expelled from school, and in a forest on the way home, she finds a Green Rider, a magically bound individual who is carrying a message for the King. She takes his magic brooch and takes over his mission becoming a Green Rider herself. The second book sees tainted magic seeping into the world and Karigan, poisoned by the magic, begins seeing visions of the first Green Rider who tells her how she must overcome a great evil. In the final book, Karigan receives a message from a dead magician and she begins to accept that she is destined for extraordinary things, especially after the god of death’s horse shows up for her.

Find anything good this week to share?

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Leave a comment here with a link to your own finds, or share your list at Should Be Reading. Happy Friday.

My Favorite Reads – The Mists of Avalon

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is…

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

From Amazon: Even readers who don’t normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon’s Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes.

From Wikipedia, if you want a bit more plot info: Mists of Avalon is a generations-spanning retelling of the Arthurian legend, but bringing it back to its Brythonic roots. Its protagonist is Morgaine, who witnesses the rise of Uther Pendragon to the throne of Camelot. As a child, she is taken to Avalon by High Priestess Viviane, her maternal aunt, to become a priestess of the Mother Goddess and witnesses the rising tension between the old pagan and the new Christian religions. At one point, she is given in a fertility ritual to a young man she will later learn is Arthur, her half-brother. She conceives a child, Gwydion, or “bright one,” later called Mordred, or “evil counsel” in the Saxon tongue.

After Uther dies, his son Arthur claims the throne. Morgaine and Viviane give him the magic sword Excalibur, and with the combined force of Avalon and Camelot, Arthur drives the invasion of the Saxons away. But when his wife Gwenhwyfar fails to produce a child, she is convinced that it is a punishment of God: firstly for the presence of pagan elements, and secondly, for her forbidden love for Arthur’s finest knight Lancelet (Lancelot). She increasingly becomes a religious fanatic, and relationships between Avalon and Camelot (i.e. Morgaine and herself) become hostile.

When the knights of the Round Table of Camelot leave to search for the Holy Grail, a young man seeks to usurp the throne: Mordred, bastard son of Arthur and Morgaine. In a climactic battle, Arthur’s and Mordred’s armies square off, and in the end Avalon and Arthur are magically removed from the circles of the world. It is Morgaine alone who lives to tell the tale of Camelot.

My thoughts: I read this book many years ago but I remember it so vividly. The character of Morgaine is wonderfully strong and fanatical at the same time but still likable. In many of the stories she’s a cruel shrew bent on revenge, in this book she has her moments, but she’s doesn’t go for the deep end. And I love that this Arthurian story is told from the perspective of the women. Women play a major role in Arthurian legend and sometimes are not given proper credit for the strength they bring to the story.

This book is actually a series — Book One: Mistress of Magic, Book Two: The High Queen, Book Three: The King Stag, and Book Four: The Prisoner in the Oak. The version I own contains all four and is a behemoth of a book at 876 pages. I also own a few other Bradley books in the Avalon series but this is by far my favorite.

This book was made into a TNT movie but I read the book before the TV miniseries but did watch it, and if I remember correctly, it didn’t disappoint. Of course, I’m one of those odd people that doesn’t mind movie and TV adaptions even if they are different from the book so don’t count that for much.

This is a fantasy novel, and yes, there are faeries and magic and Merlin and Lancelot but it’s also contains an interesting take on religion and the pull between keeping old customs and beliefs alive while others makes moves to take over the old with the new. It’s Paganism and Christianity and the fight between old worlds and new views. It’s also a violent story at times but I tend to think of that as normal when a story is based in this time period, about 5 A.D., so don’t let that be a turn off.

While I know that fantasy can be an acquired taste, I think this is one book that can make you a fan.

Benighted

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Benighted

Benighted

By Kit Whitfield

Del Rey

ISBN: 0-345-49163-7

4 stars

Lola May Galley is human. When the moon rises, she does not go lyco. Instead of growing fur and howling at the moon, she sets out with others from the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity (DORLA) to catch stray lycos and criminals who haven’t locked themselves up properly. She is a human in a world run by werewolves. She is looked down upon for being born non-lyco (considered a disability by most in her world), and like all others with her disability, she spends her days and nights working for the lycos in a lyco run world.

During a full moon, a friend loses a hand when a lune goes bad and then he ends up murdered before the attacker is brought to trial. She finds herself wrapped up in a case that runs much deeper than she thought with societal implications that leave her terrified and almost numb.

I know vampire and werewolf stories are starting to run thin, and even I myself, who happens to like stories with these creatures, am getting a bit tired. Yet, after reading In Great Waters, I found I liked Whitfield’s writing and wanted to read more. I found Benighted and became entranced with her world. She takes the normal werewolf story and turns it upside down. It is now the humans living in poor conditions, fighting prejudice at the hands of a world run by werewolves, and living degrading and horrifying lives. Being born a bareback (the negative term given to those children born head first and human) means living a life only to attend to lycos. They are given no other choice and for them it is a sad, scary, dangerous, and mostly short life.

Lola was the only non-lyco born in her family and she lived her entire life wondering what it would be like to turn with the full moon. When she finds herself in a relationship with a lyco, she ends up finding answers to questions that she never thought about. The devastating consequences make for a good, and sad, story. There are some, more like many, disturbing moments in this book. When Lola talks about her childhood I felt like she shared a bit too much and I wished she would take some of it back but it was already on the table at the point. It took me a while to like Lola even though I felt for her from the start. She does things that she hates, and begins to hate herself with good reason. It’s unfortunate that she feels, and in many cases is right, that she has no other choice. For someone in her position, it is only a life of servitude and nothing more even if she is made to feel free. It is the life she was born into and nothing will change her. She becomes more hardened against the outside world and that’s just to keep herself sane.

Whitfield is a good writer and I enjoyed this one much more than In Great Waters. Even if you’re tired of werewolves, I’d say give this one a chance. It’s an interesting, if sad and disturbing, world to get drawn into. There are a lot of themes at play, many of which I haven’t even touched on here, that leave you wondering more about societal ramifications than actual werewolves. It’s a dark world to get drawn into.

The Crystal Cave

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The Crystal Cave

The Crystal Cave

By Mary Stewart

William Morrow and Company, Inc.

ISBN:0060548258

4.5 stars

I have a soft spot for any book that features King Arthur as a character or even, as in the case of The Crystal Cave, as a future character. This story here is all about Merlin, the sorcerer, prophet, and friend of the future High King of Britain.

We meet Merlin as a child. And, while he may be young, he understands enough about the world around him to know that survival skills will be necessary for him. He’s small and fighting doesn’t suite him, but being a bastard child with a family that would be ready to call his life forfeit at any time, he finds ways to garner information, and knowledge, that will keep him safe. His mother, a daughter of a local lord, has steadfastly refused to tell anyone the name of Merlin’s father. It’s caused her constant grief but she has remained true to the story of Merlin’s conception and birth that she has always told — he is the child of the Dark Prince, a spirit neither human nor ghost that roams freely in the world. It is this story that keeps him alive as a child and as an adult.

Growing up, Merlin does his best to take in every ounce of knowledge he can find, devouring books, and learning secrets from a close friend who lives outside of regular society. This friend and teacher shows Merlin things he never thought possible and opens a new world to him that includes magic. When the small village he lives is in attacked, Merlin makes his escape and finds himself in Less Britain at the feet of a man he never thought he would meet — his father. Ambrosuis, the man planning to conquer and rule the British has known of his existence but for his own sake has left Merlin be. With the help of his father, Merlin rises to great heights and becomes known throughout the country as the greatest magician and prophet known to man.

This was a nice change of pace in my Arthurian legend reading. Usually the stories are focused solely on Arthur but to be taken in to the world in Merlin is fantastic. He is a character that changes so easily with each story — in some he is all magic, in others more human. This one tended toward the more human, rational, and knowledge based Merlin. There is some magic, or the talk of magic, but even Merlin finds he has trouble believing what is said about him and his works.

Stewart is a wonderful writer. I was taken in right from the beginning and found moments where I had to pry myself away from the book. I don’t want to say this book isn’t full of action because in many ways it is, but it’s a different action. Following the life of one person instead of everyone in it, makes for a more intriguing story. While the action takes places around Merlin, he stays fixed and for some reason that made his story more compelling for me.

This book was originally published in the 70s and there is an entire series that I now get to work my way through. It’s a complex tale, and even though it’s one I’m familiar with, I’m looking forward to this series. Her first book was so rich in detail and the story telling wonderful that I plan to track down the rest of the series. It may be a while before I get to these books though. I’ve read a lot of Arthurian books this year and I think it might be time for a break so I don’t tire of the story. This one is a good book to end on for a few months.

Graceling

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Graceling

Graceling

By Kristin Cashore

Harcourt

ISBN: 978-0-15-206396-2

4.5 stars

Katsa was born into a world where people with extreme skills, or Graces, such as hers are to be exploited, feared, worshiped, and sometimes reviled. Her Grace is killing and she is used by the King of Middluns, her uncle Randa, to exact revenge, payments, and torture at his will. Katsa hates what her Grace allows her to do but knows of no way to escape.

On a mission, she meets Prince Po of Lienid who is Graced with fighting and combat skills. When he turns up in Randa City, she thinks she may have met her match, and for the first time in her life, finds a true friend unafraid of her Grace or reviled by her or her past deeds. Po has a way of getting to Katsa and in many ways her inability to trust interferes with their friendship. When Katsa makes a decision about her life, Po is the one that leaves Randa City with her and she becomes grateful for his friendship and understanding.

There’s a lot to like about Graceling. The world Cashore has created is wonderfully believable and the idea of Graces adds a fascinating element to the story. The true nature of a person’s Grace becomes almost synonymous with who and what he or she is. For Katsa, everyone with the exception of a few people close to her, fear her and what she is able to do. There is no one like her and with the knowledge that there should never be another, she makes the decision to not marry or have children. When Po appears in her life, her opinions don’t truly change but they do take on new meaning. The love story between Katsa and Po doesn’t feel thrown together even though I did have to stop myself from the eye roll when I saw it coming early on. The nature of the relationship between Katsa and Po changes, but she doesn’t, and they both grow and mature as the dynamics of the relationship become much more complicated.

While reading Graceling, I found myself a few times unable to put the book down knowing that some new challenge would be thrown at Katsa and I couldn’t help myself, I wanted to know how it would end. I read ahead, an odd habit I acquired as a child when I wanted to know how things would play out, and I employed that readily here when I wanted to know if a character would survive. No, I’m not going to tell you. This is one you need to read yourself.

Fire is the stand alone companion novel to Graceling. I’ve got Fire in my TBR and will be anxiously waiting for the third novel.

In Great Waters

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In Great Waters

In Great Waters

By Kit Whitfield

Del Rey

ISBN: 978-0-354-49165-7

3 stars

In an alternative, middle ages world where people are ruled by Deepsmen, mermaid type men and women that can walk on land, the royal family is in danger of breeding itself out of existence. Few choices are left for members of the royal family, and while they hang onto the throne precariously, even they begin to wonder what is left. That is until Henry, a bastard child found abandoned on the shore and kept hidden by those that would like to see him in power, is not only able, but willing, to fight to rule.

I was very excited to read this book. I liked the idea of an alternative world ruled by Deepsmen — the possibilities seemed endless to me and I enjoyed several aspects of the story. The history of how the Deepsmen rose out of the waters to rule was particularly good and the politics of the court were exciting, but there was one thing that held me back, and that was Henry. He’s unlikable and he’s supposed to be. He’s a child a mother didn’t want, he fights all his life to survive in the water only to be thrown onto land, taken in, hidden, and taught about a world he doesn’t care about and doesn’t want to be a part of. He’s bitter, angry, and brutal but you don’t blame him. He should be that way but it made him infinitely unlikable for me. It threw the story into havoc and I had trouble recovering.

Whitfield does give you people to like. Anne for example. She’s the youngest daughter of the current king and queen who does her best to hide herself. She’s clumsy and has odd Deepsmen qualities, but is smart which becomes her only salvation. Unfortunately, when her story collides with Henry’s, I still couldn’t find sympathy for these characters.

I realize that my review has become more about the characters than the story itself. The story in this book is very imaginative and has some great fantasy elements that do make it worth the read. For me, unfortunately, I also need characters to join on the ride and here I had trouble becoming attached which stopped me from getting fully immersed in the story. Whitfield does a great job of bringing the court to life and the way she tells the story of how the first Deepsmen queen rose out of the waters in Venice is, dare I say it, believable. The politics of the world are complicated and add a lot to the story but it wasn’t enough.

Here’s the thing about it though — there was some very strong draw that kept me reading and wanting to know how this was all going to turn out. Would war break out, would Henry be accepted by the people, would Anne find it in herself to step up and rule? If you’re looking for something different, this might be a book for you. I liked the plot, setting, and the writing but had trouble with one character that made my loving this book a little hard. However, I plan to give Whitfield another shot and have her other book, Benighted, on hold at the library. There’s something about her writing that made me want to read more even if this book wasn’t a great fit.

The City & The City

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The City & The City

The City & The City

By China Miéville

Del Rey

ISBN: 0345497511

4 Stars

In the far reaches of Europe, the citizens of two cities strive to unsee each other. The cities, Beszel and Ul Qoma, are crosshatched sister cities divided for and by political reasons which even it’s own citizens cannot always understand.

When a woman turns up dead in Beszel, Inspector Tyador Borlu of the Extreme Crime Squad is called in to investigate. The young woman turns out to be a foreigner studying in Ul Qoma. When he cannot take the case any further without causing an incident that might give him reason to see someone in the other city, he tries to turn the case over to Breach, the agency that deals with crimes that cross city lines. When his request is rejected, he is ordered to cross into Ul Qoma to investigate the murder himself. The investigation causes him to question many of his own beliefs and those of his own government.

A crime/mystery/police procedural is not part of my regular reading diet and this certainly falls into the not my normal reading fare category easily enough. What drew me to The City & The City was the invention of the two cities that are not supposed to see or acknowledge each other but exist in the same time and physical space. There are subtle differences — clothing, language, architecture — but if one were to look past these differences, they could in fact be the same place. The Breach, which is supposed to deal with infractions that involve the seeing of both cities, is interesting in that it only exists to clean up accidents or punish people who cross the border without going through proper channels. When someone is taken by the Breach, they are never heard from again and people are understanding of this because this is how things are in their cities. As they have been trained to do since childhood, they unsee it and move on with their lives. In some ways it’s frustrating because I started to wonder how the citizens of these two cities could live with this going on around them, pretending that the neighbor they can clearly see is not there because they actually live in the other city. At some point I realized that I had to let go of my annoyance with the unseeing thing and go with it.

The story does take place in modern time but these two cities seem to exist in a world all their own and the entire time I kept wondering how these two places are like they are. There is some explanation but I didn’t feel completely satisfied by it but I think Miéville wants you to feel this way about the cities. Confused by the political, societal, and legal boundaries that are Beszel and Ul Qoma. While the murder investigation pushes the plot along, the story is really about these two cities, the strangeness of their existence, and the politics surrounding them. While it took me a few pages to get into the story and understand what was supposed to be seen and unseen, it was worth it. I’m looking forward to reading another book of his that comes out the summer called Kraken. I think The City & The City was a good Miéville primer.