Yeah, I'm never doing this again. Although this was a pretty good story, never again will I read a fantasy trilogy back to back to back. This I'm free!
Yeah, I'm never doing this again. Although this was a pretty good story, never again will I read a fantasy trilogy back to back to back. This trilogy is a 2000 page story and I started this journey on November 11, adamant that I would lose myself in a fantasy world for a good long while. Well, it was over six weeks in the same story. I am a mood reader, ladies and gentlemen. So, what seems like a good idea at the time ends up an ordeal whereby shiny new things (and not so new things) accumulate on my to-read list and I'm longing to get through this story so I can indulge in new literary adventures. Not to say I regretted the journey, although looking back on the story as a whole, this could have easily been told in half the pages, I think. While J.V. Jone's writing chops improved considerably after book one, there is a lot of circling back where the narrative is concerned, rehashing what we already know, over and over again.
I knew going in that this was regarded as a pretty good series, and if it was exceptional I would not have minded spending the past month and a half in it. But it was just "pretty good", as far as I'm concerned, so I do wish it hadn't taken so much of my time. True, I could have cut my losses anytime, but I'm intrigued with J.V. Jone's personal story and I'm rooting for her. I am well aware that the series that she has been presently working on is far superior to this one, but I wanted to start my experience with her from her beginning. No regrets overall, but as I am a mood reader I kind of did a disservice to myself for not taking breaks between the books. Live and learn.
As a side note I'm feeling at this point that high fantasy is not for me anymore. I hate battles and fight scenes (although Ms. Jones is not at fault here. They are nicely brief.), and the trope of coming of age scullion boy and inevitable wars leave me cold. The reason I venture into fantasy is because of the imaginative possibilities. I don't want stories about war, I want stories that have interesting themes and if they are deliciously dark, the better. Take the poor seers on the island of Larn in this series. I couldn't get this thing out of my head the entire time and I love that.
Overall no regrets. For everything that I mentioned, she wrapped up the story nicely and there are certainly some parts that will stick with me a while. Like the poor seers.
This stayed at the "pretty good" level for me, so another 4 stars for the final book and the series overall.
The second book does what most second books of trilogies fail to accomplish (according to all the pundits out there), and that is that it escapes secoThe second book does what most second books of trilogies fail to accomplish (according to all the pundits out there), and that is that it escapes second book syndrome. Typically, your first book is your world building, your third book climaxes the story with resolutions, and our poor second book may drag by virtue of wandering, questing, etc.
A Man Betrayed follows up the story and just keeps the plot going. In fact, these two novels flow so immediately that it all feels like one huge book. Indeed, my Kindle edition (that I got for only a buck!), is the entire series, so I'm actually reading a 2000 page book here. There is zero lag in the story here, and, as promised by many reviewers, J.V. Jones' writing here is markedly better than the first book. This is pretty exciting because I am also assured by reviewers that her writing quality continues to improve with each successive novel.
I will say that I have hit a point where, given that I have read over 1200 pages of this story, with another 700 to go, my eyes are beginning to longingly gaze at my to-read list, which has done nothing but grow for the past month I've been in this series.
My M.O. in the past has been to break up series but I'm afraid that if I stray now I may be disinclined to come back, even though the story is still pretty good. So I'm staying in! As a whole I am still levelled off at the four stars rating, and I am hoping that she wows me in the third installment. No matter what happens, though, I will continue to read her continuously improving books. She is doing great so far!...more
After following US politics so closely for the past several years, I was expecting justice and accountability to be in full swing by this month. The sAfter following US politics so closely for the past several years, I was expecting justice and accountability to be in full swing by this month. The shock and disappointment (to put it mildly) of the results of the election hit me very hard. And I'm Canadian. I can't even begin to imagine how I'd be feeling if I was living in the US. This disillusionment led me to finally turn my back on all of it. In times like these, one of my mental escapes is, of course, reading. Not any genre, but one that will take me away to another world; another universe. It's time like these that I feel I can totally give myself over to epic reads, and so here we are in a fantasy world.
Fantasy is always on my radar because it is one of those genres that can certainly take you away. When I heard of J.V. Jones in the Reddit and Facebook Fantasy groups I follow, I was intrigued. It sounded like her stories were right up my alley: kingdoms, some magic, and of course some very dark elements.
The Baker's Boy delivered just fine. This is her first work, and the beginning of her Book of Words trilogy, and after 630 pages I am diving right into the next one. This is a pretty high endorsement from yours truly. There are two reasons for this. One, it's a really good story. And two, by all accounts I've read, J.V. Jone's writing gets much better with each book. Indeed, the series in which she is presently writing book 5 has gotten massively good reviews.
The Baker's Boy does have the typical trope of a coming of age story, where a lowly boy discovers he is more than meets the eye, but there are definitely some original spins. One that I can't get out of my head. (Larn. Brrrrrr)
So with the promise of greater writing to come, and this story to really take off, I am immediately beginning A Man Betrayed.
I recently discovered this series from a posting in a Fantasy group on Facebook, and I knew going in that this first novel was by far the weakest in tI recently discovered this series from a posting in a Fantasy group on Facebook, and I knew going in that this first novel was by far the weakest in the series. It's a good thing it was short, because I wouldn't have been able to take many more pages.
The writing was quite good, thankfully, and this gives promise of good things to come. But man, I was lost throughout most of this story. It seemed a new character was introduced every 10 pages and eventually I had lost track of who was what from where for most of them. This made it really hard to give a crap about the story. And two separate "Jennifer" characters?? Come on. It got to the point were I was skimming the last 50 or so pages just to get through it, to have it over and done with and this world introduced into my head for book 2. Because I will continue based on the reviews I have read. This is definitely a brilliantly realized world with cool concepts. Irritatingly enough, it wasn't until finishing the novel that I checked out the bonus material at the end and there was all the glossary I needed to keep characters and their assignments straight. Gaaah! If I had known this, I could have gone to it during my frustrating times reading the novel. Oh well. I know it's there now, and it will help hugely going forward.
Having said that, I am still a bit hesitant to continue because I hate reading fight scenes, and it seems this is going to be a thing going forward. I just hope they aren't too drawn out or I'm out....more
This is the first time I have read Brom, and it was great.
I remember seeing The Child Thief doing the rounds when it was released, but for some reasonThis is the first time I have read Brom, and it was great.
I remember seeing The Child Thief doing the rounds when it was released, but for some reason it just didn't seem for me. But now that I've read Slewfoot, I think he's for me after all.
Slewfoot, for a lot of it, was fantastic. This was an excellent dark fantasy with a fairy tale vibe. It is told from a feminine viewpoint that really drives home the difficulties and indeed, horror, of life as a woman in 1666 Connetticut. Women are locked into stocks for the audacity of speaking their minds, and for suspicion of being a witch? Well, we all know that history, don't we? Abitha is a very well developed character, a headstrong woman who is nobody's fool, but in the precarious position of losing her farm to her husband's brother. She is also a "cunning" woman, adept with home remedies, which means precariously walking the line of perception of healer and wielder of magic (WITCH!). And there are forest spirits for more fun.
This was exactly the sort of thing I was in the mood for and it delivered. I was set on giving this five stars for most of it, but the last 20% or so was a lot of chasing down and fighting which I'm not a big fan of in my reading. My eyes tend to glaze over with that type of narrative. Just a personal taste. If you like that, then the abundance of five star ratings are well deserved.
It's more of a 4.25 feel for me overall. But, overall, I really like what Brom did for a story here and I'm keen to read more of him. Also, I loved his artwork....more
I started reading this novel in the midst of a really bad cold. I had previously attempted about six other books from my to-read list but in my miseraI started reading this novel in the midst of a really bad cold. I had previously attempted about six other books from my to-read list but in my miserable state nothing was grabbing me. So it's really saying something that this book, which wasn't even on my list, grabbed me immediately.
I had heard about it of course, but nothing out there was really driving me to read it until a recent posting to the r/horrorlit subreddit sparked my interest. Well, for about 40% of this one I was blown away. This is an insanely original plot that I was enjoying so much because I had heeded many comments about it recommending that the reader go in absolutely blind. These are the type of books that make reading such a joy, that sense of wondering what the heck could possibly happen next. And you really are thrown in blind. You are thrown smack dab in the middle of things which may throw off some readers. But the reveals happen soon enough and it's pretty gratifying early on.
There were a lot of moments in this one that stopped me in my tracks. One that comes to mind is the mention of Rachel and her ghosts and how that came to be. Unfortunately, this amounted to no more than one sentence, and I was really wishing there would have been backstory there.
One thing that was unexpected was the humour throughout. I have to say though that given the story and the stakes, it didn't really work for me, and neither did a lot of the lighthearted dialogue. This was a really dark story and I wish it would have kept the pedal down. Oh well, a minor quibble. A not so minor quibble is that there were parts in the middle of this novel that really dragged on and I was almost at the point of skimming to get to the main storyline, but you know, with a story like this, you're afraid to blink and miss anything.
I really wish this was a five star read for me. I really seemed like that for almost half, but the things I just mentioned took away a lot of the impact. I loved the concept, though.
Four stars, which means I still liked it a lot....more
It pains me to say that Stephen King just isn't doing it for me anymore. Later was the last book of his I gave five stars to, and I was beinDNF at 65%
It pains me to say that Stephen King just isn't doing it for me anymore. Later was the last book of his I gave five stars to, and I was being generous with that one, but since Revival I haven't really gotten that satisfied feeling I would for the most part get from him.
But I will still try (as long as there is no threat of Holly Gibney, who he seems incessant on keeping alive, and she's coming next) because this is not the first time that I have felt like this and each time he has pleasantly surprised me again.
I really thought I was going to like this one, and I did for about 200 pages. But once Charlie's adventure got another 200 pages old, I began to feel ambivalence. Unlike most of his novels, I really didn't feel that invested in his characters. I can't quite put my finger on it but perhaps it was because this had such a cutesy YA feel to it at times. I had another 200 pages ahead of me and so many other books that I want to read I simply didn't want to spend another few days getting through this.
I checked the wiki page for the rest of the plot summary and I am very content to stop and move on. I think I gave it a very good chance at 400 pages. ...more
After 137 pages, I'm getting the feel of reading the progress of a D & D game, and after googling some reviews, lo andI'm going to set this one aside.
After 137 pages, I'm getting the feel of reading the progress of a D & D game, and after googling some reviews, lo and behold, this book is in fact based on the turns of an actual game. I'm very impressed with myself. While the plot scampers along enjoyably, there is certainly a depth lacking that I need to get excited about picking it up again. But I can see how people love this story, especially those who had read it when it was published in the 80s before all the tropes were so widespread.
No regrets at all at dipping my toe into this story, but I've had my fill and I will be moving on to something much more character driven....more
I can remember being so excited about his work after enjoying his first three novels, Heart Shaped Box, HoIt's been a while since I've read Joe Hill.
I can remember being so excited about his work after enjoying his first three novels, Heart Shaped Box, Horns and NOS4A2. This was not a guy riding his dad's coattails. This was a fine writer in his own right. And then The Fireman let me down in such a huge way. A terrific concept that devolved into a cliched and predictable apocalyptic tale that I had to skim to finish.
And so, with the unfortunate spirit of What Have You Done For Me Lately, anything further from Mr. Hill was met with ambivalence. Strange Weather, by virtue of not being a doorstopper but four novellas, and arguably the premium format for this type of literature (certainly proven by his dad), did make it to my to-read list. Although it did wait a while.
With Covid fatigue setting in, and Canada shamefully at 3% people fully vaccinated while the rest of the world (81 countries ahead of us and counting), my ability to concentrate through a long novel has met its greatest challenge. Strange Weather seemed an easy commitment and I loaded it onto my Kindle (pun unintentional, really!).
I enjoyed most of it quite a bit:
Snapshot: This was the type of creepy escapism I was after. A clever concept and resolved very nicely. 5/5
Loaded: I'd call this Loaded not only for the reference to guns but it was loaded with just about every social issue known to modern times, with all the subtly of a punch in the face. Not that I don't agree, but it almost got funny once he'd hit on yet another. Good story otherwise. 4/5
Aloft: My favourite for the concept alone. I have no idea how he comes up with this stuff but it sure made me excited about his writing again. 5/5
Rain: Once I saw this one was headed down the same road as The Fireman, apocalyptic complete with cult tropes, I was done about a third in. Been there, done that, and I'll go look for spoilers now.
Overall, a four star read that got me interested in Joe Hill again....more
I'm afraid I have to throw in the towel on this one.
This review was supposed to begin with a fun story about how I had run into a geeky night school cI'm afraid I have to throw in the towel on this one.
This review was supposed to begin with a fun story about how I had run into a geeky night school classmate in the grocery store over 30 years ago and, noticing I had a bag of books I had just bought, went on and on and on about the Shannara series. And how, over 30 years later, I decided to finally try Sword of Shannara.
I had read all the knocks about Brooks' novel being similar in some ways to Lord of the Rings, but that didn't sway me. Heck, you could blame any fantasy writer for borrowing on some of those themes. It's like blaming every mystery writer for ripping off Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. What did encourage me to read Brooks was that although Sword of Shannara had some faults, the rest of his trilogy is reportedly far superior. So I thought I'd barge through this one since I really needed a change and wanted to get some fun escapism into a rich fantasy world.
For the first couple of hundred pages or so, I was really liking this and I was finding the slams on Brooks to be unfair. There was enough of his own ideas and to be honest, my reading experience was easier compared to LOTR all those years ago.
It was into the 400s that my momentum stalled. It was getting terribly monotonous with the travelling (something I had also had to force myself through in LOTR), and I found the writing was becoming dull. There were brief exchanges of dialogue which were reliefs but dull narrative would take over again.
Finally, looking at page 468 with the prospect of almost 300 pages yet to go, I have decided that I have had enough. My excitement and interest has worn out and I'm just tired.
I will look for a synopsis online of what happened.
I did have low expectations, so no major disappointment. When I get the old school fantasy urge again I may pick up the next book. ...more
A couple of weeks ago I listened to a Publishers Weekly podcast (whose starred reviews are almost always bang on), and one of the reviewers was positiA couple of weeks ago I listened to a Publishers Weekly podcast (whose starred reviews are almost always bang on), and one of the reviewers was positively gushing over this series. I had considered it in the past but one or two lukewarm reviews set me off. This podcast was enough to change my mind, though. The first two novels of this series each won the Hugo award, and she was predicting the third to do so this year as well.
I have to say the world building and magic here was brilliant. This seems to be a far-future earth, where secrets to what is going on and how the earth got here is what enticed me to keep interested with gusto. After finishing the novel, I'm left wanting, being teased into continuing to find out more. This is the main driving force of the story for me. I found the actual plotlines and characters took a back seat to more discoveries. Not that the characters were overly flat, they were just ok, but it goes to show just how amazing this world building was.
Unfortunately, towards the end I was getting really antsy for answers. Personally speaking, the plot and characters aren't enough to keep me going, so I think I will take the lazy way out and wait for the tv series which apparently is to come. There are many more books on my to-read list that I am way more interested in now than Book 2.
Four stars though, for the world building alone....more
After 100 pages I started scouring reviews looking for reasons to continue. I ended up finding more reasons to stop.
The light-heartedness DNF'd at 33%
After 100 pages I started scouring reviews looking for reasons to continue. I ended up finding more reasons to stop.
The light-heartedness doesn't end. The jokes continue to be cracked, and while I do have a great sense of humour, fantasy and humour just don't mesh with me. I loved the dark tone of the Broken Empire series, so the change in direction here wasn't something I was after. Also, from the reviews I read, the travelling goes on forever, there is little plot movement and the story seemed more geared towards building a bromance between Jalan and Snorri.
I gave it a generous amount of my time but this isn't for me. Too bad....more
I really enjoyed most of this novel. I knew from the onset that the story was going to venture off into some dark fairy-tale aDark urban fantasy here.
I really enjoyed most of this novel. I knew from the onset that the story was going to venture off into some dark fairy-tale aspects, and surprisingly, my favorite part of this book was the leadup to this. The story was patiently set up, and knowing that things would venture off, and not having any idea how or when this was going to happen, gave the normalcy of the story a unique sense of tension.
Very well done.
I thought for sure this was going to be one of my top reads of the year. It wasn't, but that first half or so sure was.
Unfortunately for me, the rest of the novel was a dog's breakfast. I guess I can't blame the story for being what it is, urban fantasy, where anything can go, really. But the problem I had was the lack of explanation for a lot of things.
The witches, for example. I admit that I really don't get how this part of the story fit in. The island, women and children...what exactly happened there and why? WTF was with the sheep's head? Emma? Emma is still an empty black hole to me.
A lot of these things were obviously integral to the story and I'm quite annoyed that they weren't adequately explained. I'd one-star this book just for that, but damn, there were just so many terrific ideas a lot of the time and I can't ignore that. I'm grudgingly giving this 3-stars and wouldn't not recommended it. ...more
City of Stairs was shaping up to be a solid 5-star read for me. It had some brilliant ideas: fantastiWarning: This review might get a bit wishy-washy.
City of Stairs was shaping up to be a solid 5-star read for me. It had some brilliant ideas: fantastic world building and well, one beast that was so disgustingly and delightfully terrifying that I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. At least this was going to be hitting 4-stars for that alone no matter how things panned out.
Well...I ended up giving it 3.
This is probably just because towards the end of the novel I had already decided that I would not continue with the trilogy, and the star ranking got progressively lower as I was forcing myself to get to the end as quickly as possible. Not because it sucked, but it was over between us, and like a bad relationship it was best to end things sooner than later. The longer things went the more the little things bugged me.
First of all, there is an obviously strong allegory to the religions we all know (OK, maybe just one or two...), and that's OK, but I couldn't shake the cloying feeling of this being forced on the reader. True, this novel is about gods, so maybe this is unfair for me to criticize, but still: In an odd way I felt distracted from the story with the awareness of what the author was trying to say. Also, the mood of the story: for the somber situation of the story, the dialogue just seemed inappropriately breezy and light. And, my final knock: it was getting way too political for my liking and it seemed that this would be the direction of the trilogy going forward, and this gets zero interest from me.
Of course, your mileage will vary. This story really did have some amazing parts and concepts and I dug them a lot. I can't not recommend City of Stairs for that alone, and hopefully the whole package will appeal to you a lot more than it did me.
Uninteresting characters, and a plodding storyline do not a good read make. The one thing this novel has going forWell, I gave it 40% before giving up.
Uninteresting characters, and a plodding storyline do not a good read make. The one thing this novel has going for it is atmosphere, and it as it in spades. Unfortunately, the build up that I was so excited about early on really hasn't led to something I care about. It's probably accurate to say that the most interesting character in this novel is the circus itself, and that just isn't enough for me. ...more
As advertised, The Magician's Land is a satisfying conclusion to the series.
Of course, I'm not going to divulge any details of plot that will spoil evAs advertised, The Magician's Land is a satisfying conclusion to the series.
Of course, I'm not going to divulge any details of plot that will spoil even the first novel, so I'm going to treat this as a general review of the series as a whole. I gave the first two novels five stars each. This was indicative of my excitement of hammering down an entire series with the promise of a good ending. And it was indeed a good ending. Also, Grossman lets his imagination run freely with the story: there are a lot of cool concepts and most of the fun was in wondering what else was around the corner. Grossman also possesses a dry wit which is spaced out very nicely, resulting in some really funny dialogue at times.
So. As a whole, I was thinking about this trilogy. There is one thing that I found lacking and that is that most of the characters sort of greyed into each other. Apart from Quentin, Eliot and Josh, there wasn't really much to distinguish between them. It really didn't help matters to name three characters Jane, Julia, and Janet.
All that aside I was glad I forged through the series and am done with it. I should do that more often, but most times I need breaks because I am tiring of the story. The fact that I didn't take any breaks should tell you that this is a fun and worthwhile read. Should make a terrific TV series.
There's not a whole lot I can say about The Magician King without spoiling some plot developments from the first book. It seems that the main issue peThere's not a whole lot I can say about The Magician King without spoiling some plot developments from the first book. It seems that the main issue people had with Book one was Quentin's attitude. I really didn't mind it at all, he's a young man with some angst. Big whup. It happens. Anyways, for those of you who didn't care for that can rest assured that this aspect of Quentin has let up somewhat.
When I was about halfway through this book, I had decided that I would need a break from the series before moving on. There was a back story arc that really wasn't interesting me at all, and it was becoming a bit of a slog. Then, for about the last third, I couldn't tear myself away. Upon finishing this, I knew there was no way I wasn't forging ahead with Book three and wrapping up the series.
The reason why I started this series in the first place is because of the Bookrageous podcast. They were unanimous about the third book closing the series in a very satisfying way (they were positively giddy about it), and so my lackluster enthusiasm about giving Book one a shot changed to genuine enthusiasm. I'm sure glad I did. I enjoyed Book one a lot. I enjoyed Book two even more. And as of now I am a very pleased reader at 22% into Book three!
With over a million ratings there's not much point in putting a whole lot of effort into this review. I'm not going to go into the merits of the book,With over a million ratings there's not much point in putting a whole lot of effort into this review. I'm not going to go into the merits of the book, but I will tell you this: I read the first two Harry Potter books about 13 years ago, just to see for myself if they lived up to the hype. I found them to be entertaining enough, and I was glad I read them. I was about 40, and impressed that something geared for kids had such wide appeal. This was before YA was a catch-phase. Anyways, I enjoyed them somewhat, and told myself that someday I would get back into the series.
Now, I'm 53 years old (it still makes me stop for a minute to realize how old I am). Recently more Potter reviews have crossed my radar, and these are driving home the fact that the series gets darker and more mature as it goes. So I veered off my official to-read list to read book 3.
The Prisoner of Azkaban, for pretty much the first half of the novel, still reads very much like a kid's novel. But, sure enough, the story did take on a rather darker feel towards the second half. I stayed home yesterday to fight a cold, and tore through the second half the book. This is a good story, and definitely better than the previous two books. It was good enough to keep me very interested in where the story goes from here, and how JK Rowling's writing progresses. ...more
Theft of Swords was a lot of fun. It's your typical fantasy fare, with interesting magic and two heroes you can't help but root for. Hadrian and Royce Theft of Swords was a lot of fun. It's your typical fantasy fare, with interesting magic and two heroes you can't help but root for. Hadrian and Royce are two thieves for hire. Of course, the jobs they are hired into unwittingly throw them into world shattering political upheavals and they have to rely on their cunning and wit to slide out of them unscathed. I very much enjoyed the characters and the scope of the stories. I will say though, that it lacked some of the depth I look for in fiction. I won't hold this against the author, especially after reading the interview with him at the end of the novel. Sullivan fully admits that, even though he is capable, and does this in other works, he deliberately glossed over the prosy descriptions and character complexities. What he did here was create a story that his daughter can read and enjoy. He did this in spades. The story is simply told, easy to follow, and a lot of dialogue to move things along. When I had the opportunity, I was able to burn through it and have a lot of plot go into my head in just a couple of hours.
If you're a story-first kind of reader and love adventure, this is for you. It's for me sometimes as well, and yeah: I enjoyed it a lot. I'm sure I'll come back to the series....more
I cannot get over the low average rating for this book.
It seems that the major grievance readers had for this is their hatred for our main protagonistI cannot get over the low average rating for this book.
It seems that the major grievance readers had for this is their hatred for our main protagonist, Quentin. Yes, Quentin is a confused and depressed young man. You know what? These people exist. Despite anything good that is thrown at the guy, he can somehow manage to find something negative about it or sabotage his own good fortune. Know anyone like that? I'll bet you do. Are you this person sometimes? This may be more true than you would care to admit.
My point here is that I have absolutely no issue with character development as long as I can realistically buy into their thoughts and actions, no matter how objectionable they may be. Because depression is highly prevalent, brothers and sisters. Kudos to Lev Grossman for taking a Harry Potter-esque fantasy and populating it with realistic humanity.
And speaking of Potter, I keep seeing reviewers referring The Magicians as a Harry Potter for Adults. While I can certainly get that, this novel has so much more to offer. For one thing, the details in the magic, especially early on in the novel, is very well thought out. And for another thing, even though the novel has a rather slow buildup, this went to Weird City in a big and glorious way. Much weirder than I've seen Ms. Rowling come up with (only 3 books in, mind you). The slow buildup, incidentally, was excellent. I totally dug the whole thing.
The great news for me is that from all accounts, the series gets better and better. Wow. I am sticking with my usually-abided rule to break up series for fear of tiring of the story, but man this was one tough decision. I have moved on to another novel but will be right back to this series as soon as I am finished it. Five easy stars. ...more
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