Cold Magic by Kate Elliott

Long time no see, blog friends! A lot has been happening, so I haven't had much time to read. Cold Magic was a quick read, though...I had trouble putting it down. From the back cover:

The history of the world begins in ice, and it will end in ice.

It is the dawn of a new age... The Industrial Revolution has begun, factories are springing up across the country, and new technologies are transforming in the cities. But the old ways do not die easy.

Cat and Bee are part of this revolution. Young women at college, learning of the science that will shape their future and ignorant of the magics that rule their families. But all of that will change when the Cold Mages come for Cat. New dangers lurk around every corner and hidden threats menace her every move. If blood can't be trusted, who can you trust?

I've been waiting for Cold Magic for quite some time now, and for an epic fantasy, it's a very fast-paced read. 502 pages may sound daunting, but the action moves fairly quickly. I was pretty happy about that because I've been dragging through King's Dragon by the same author for a good long while now, and I just can't quite get into it. I had no such trouble with this book.

The characterization is great as well. I was surprised as the characters' true personalities and nuances were revealed. While I can't say I liked all of them, I believed them. Their motivations and attitudes generally made sense, given their upbringings and current situation. As much as this is a fantasy story, the human element takes center stage. Cat and Bee's relationship, although they are cousins, is as close as sisters. There is a lot of betrayal and selfishness in this book, and you really see the dark side of humanity. Everyone, it seems, is looking out for number one. The bright spot is definitely the girls' love for each other. Things are what they appear to be with the two of them: they would sacrifice everything for the other. I think their relationship might be one of my favorite parts of the book.

Based on the cover and the synopsis, I can't say this story ever went as I expected. When I first started writing this review, I was going to open by saying that the back cover of this book was not very descriptive. However, reflecting on the book now, I can't say I fully grasp what's going on in this world entirely. The book cover describes how the book opens, but certainly not how it progresses.

Generally, in an epic fantasy, events tie together to one great event or danger. However, I felt like there was a lot happening in this book but there wasn't one coherent idea of what was going on in this world. Is it a political revolution? Is there something happening in the spirit world? Where's the magic/science clash that is described on the cover? Most of the book is taken up by Catherine's journey, and I think that may be one of the weaknesses of a first person narrative. Our perspective is as narrow as hers is, and I'm not entirely sure that's appropriate for a trilogy that touts itself as "epic" and has such a broad scope as this one appears to have. Elliott slowly reveals information, so I am hoping this will be something that will become more cohesive in the second book.

The world Elliot creates intrigues me. Her alternate history seems to be well-researched (to my untrained eye) and at the very least well thought out. The characters are interesting and several, including the heroine, are likable. Although the storyline of this initial book seems small-scale and somewhat disorganized, I look forward to the second book and the rest of the series.
 

Bottom Line

 To sum it up: A fast paced, epic-ish, steampunk-ish fantasy with loads of promise.

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

Buy or Try? Buy

More? 1 / 3 projected. Cold Steel and Cold Fire will be the 2nd and 3rd books

Content

Plot: 3 / 5

Setting: 4 / 5

Characters: 4 / 5

Style
Pace: Fast
Descriptiveness: Prose, bordering into Poetry sometimes

Fantasy factor: Low Fantasy

Amazon.com link

Challenges: 2011 Fantasy Reading Challenge

The Child Thief by Brom

This may be stereotypical of me, but I love fairy tales, and I especially love new twists on fairy tales. This particular novel is a much darker version of Peter Pan than the one you see in Disney movies, although the original tale hints at some darkness as well.

Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland.

Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose? 

There is always more to lose. 

Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children. 

There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.

I don't think I've ever read a book written by an illustrator before, and The Child Thief has several of Brom's illustrations throughout the book, including the cover art. They're beautiful, and really help the reader picture the characters.

That said, the prose does not suffer at all. When I first heard that Brom was an artist first, I was somewhat skeptical about his writing ability. Oh how wrong I was. This book was a page-turner without having a simplistic writing style, and moved along without skimping on description. Without the illustrations, I still had a good idea what characters and places looked like and I was never bored.

The characters and the plot were where Brom shone, I think. The plot twisted and turned until I wasn't sure who to cheer for. By the end, it's unclear who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy." Everyone (for the most part) thinks they're doing the right thing...but who really is? I love authors that are unafraid to deal with the sometimes ambiguous nature of morality. 

The world Brom opens up to the reader is dark, there's no question about that. From the beginning, the dregs of society are the center of our outside world. Peter brings children into Avalon from horrible situations, but that's not even the worst, most graphic part of the book. People are flayed alive, intestines are eaten out of live people, there are horrible descriptions of rape, torture, and one character is crucified. This book is not for the faint of heart, and this is not an uplifting book for the most part. Be prepared for main characters to be killed.

The book ends on a relatively good note though, though it may not be a happily ever after ending. I didn't walk away feeling depressed though...that's a pet peeve of mine with novels.

While the book was dark and gruesome, to the point where I thought about throwing in the towel a few times, it is definitely worth the read. I am so glad I kept reading. Brom's exploration of a tale that was already sort of creepy was amazing. I enjoyed the fact that I had to think about the subjective nature of right and wrong.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

Buy or Try? Try, merely because of the violence
More? Standalone

Content

Plot: 5 / 5

Setting: 4 / 5

Characters: 4 / 5

Style 
Pace: Fast 
Descriptiveness: Middlin'
Fantasy factor: Magical Realism to Low Fantasy

Amazon.com link

Blameless by Gail Carriger: RIP V Review III

WARNING: I try to avoid spoilers, but they are possible (even probable), since this is the third book of the Parasol Protectorate. Soulless is the first. I recommend reading them in order.

I had to run out and get Blameless as soon as I finished Changeless. Gawd, I'm going to get all of these -less's mixed up. I can always tell when I'm enjoying a series...this will be my second review in two days, but since they all sound the same I keep nearly mixing up the titles. From the back cover:

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

Blameless was just as fun as Changeless was. I think part of what is totally special about these books is they don't take themselves too seriously. I love Alexia and all her friends. I got a bit irritated with Lord Maccon in this book though. He seemed to prolong his fit (for lack of a better term) over Alexia's alleged infidelity longer than was entirely necessary. Even after he was aware of being mistaken, he still continued to get drunk off formaldehyde. Some complaints have been made about the apology scene, but it made me laugh and was totally in character for both Alexia and Conall, I think.

Like Changeless, Blameless reveals more about the preternatural state. There is a bit of ancient history as well, and I love how Carriger incorporates supernaturals and preternaturals in with history. For example, in a previous book it was mentioned that staying out of the sun and having pale skin became en vogue because the vampires made it so. The Templars make an appearance in this book (their interpretation of preternaturals and supernaturals was spot on and realistic, I think) as well as an investigation into Etruscan society. I'm hoping in future novels, perhaps Alexia and crew may travel to Egypt or another exotic locale and investigate more ancient artifacts and the history and nature of preternaturals/supernaturals.

There are a lot of surprises in this book so be prepared. Luckily there's less of a cliffhanger for the next one, since we have awhile to wait. Nonetheless, there are still unanswered questions and plenty of carry-over plots to work with in the next novel, Heartless, which will be released July 2011.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

Buy or Try? Buy
More? 3 of 3 (so far) in The Parasol Protectorate

Content

Plot: 4 / 5 (not as strong as Blameless, but still very solid)

Setting: 4 / 5 

Characters: 4 / 5

Style 
Pace: Fast
Descriptiveness: Prose
Fantasy factor: Low fantasy

Amazon.com Link

Changeless by Gail Carriger: RIP V Review II

WARNING: I try to avoid spoilers, but they are possible (even probable), since this is the second book of the Parasol Protectorate. Soulless is the first. I recommend reading them in order.

This book has been moldering away on my shelf since April. I read Soulless last year. I added this to my RIP Challenge V, and I'm so glad I did. I kind of wish I'd read Soulless again before I started, but it was easy to get back into the series with this book. Here's the cover description:

Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

While it's been a long time since Soulless, I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the series. I don't remember laughing out loud nearly as much at Alexia's commentary and inner dialogue. The author seemed to really hit her stride. Alexia was as biting and clever as ever, and the new characters introduced were just as entertaining. We also learn a lot more about existing characters, which I think is great.

This book is a lot more steampunk than the first was. I never read steampunk (that's not to say I won't ever, but I have never :P) I got a little confused with the descriptions of all the machines and how they work. Lots of made up words, I think. Nonetheless, I liked the steampunk additions overall. It was just a little technical for me.

I wasn't crazy about how it ended. I felt like the story arc in this book could have carried over more into the next, but Carriger wraps it up quite nicely (almost too nicely?), with one um...interpersonal exception. Either way, if you pick up this book, I highly highly recommend you have Blameless in hand before you finish. Quite the cliffhanger.

I really don't have any bones to pick with this book...it was enjoyable from start to finish.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

Buy or Try? Buy
More? 2 of 3 (so far) in The Parasol Protectorate

Content

Plot: 4.5 / 5 

Setting: 4 / 5 

Characters: 4 / 5

Style 
Pace: Fast
Descriptiveness: Prose
Fantasy factor: Low fantasy

Amazon.com Link

Black Ships by Jo Graham

I've been a busy girl. I brought a stack of books with me to read while my boyfriend's at work. I finished this one in less than 48 hours.

Black Ships is barely fantasy, but there are magical and supernatural elements about it. From the back cover:

In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, she is destined to counsel kings.

When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she was born for and a most perilous adventure - to join the remnant of her mother's people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gate of the Underworld to lead him to his destiny.

In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.

I must admit, from the description on the back, I was hesitant to read this right now. I was in the mood for something fast-paced and exciting, and this seemed like it would be somewhat meandering and introspective. Plus, historical fiction has never really been my thing. However, it was due back to the library first of all of my books, so I felt obligated to at least give it a try.

I was very pleasantly surprised. This book has a very similar feel to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon novels, as is noted on the back cover. It is definitely a female-centered book, as it is narrated by Gull throughout.

Also, if you pick this book up, I highly recommend reading the "extras" in the back. As someone who doesn't know much about the ancient world, this pulled a lot of the information together for me.

Overall though, I am heartily looking forward to picking up Jo Graham's second book The Hand of Isis.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 4 / 5 

Buy or Try? Buy
More? Stand-alone

Content

Plot: 3.5 / 5
Setting: 4.5 / 5
Characters: 4 / 5

Style
Pace: Middlin'
Descriptiveness: Fair
Fantasy factor: Low

Amazon.com link

A Man Rides Through: Book II Mordant's Need

*some spoilers possible, since this is a second novel after all*

My first thought when I picked this up after Mirror of Her Dreams, and a continuing one as I slogged through this book was "Dear god, this is a long book."

I kept thinking that it had just been a long time since I'd read a series of novels (it has) or that I'm just not used to long books anymore (possible), but man. I became a slow, and rather reluctant, reader with this one.

I don't see any reason to post a description, since hopefully if you choose to read this series, you'll read the first before this book.

I found myself doing a lot of skimming with A Man Rides Through. My copy is some 600 pages long (it's a hardcover) and I was inching through it for a few weeks.

There were some moments where I was reminded why I was reading. I like the characters all right and I wanted to see what happened. The "battle royale" at the end was entertaining. I can't say it had me on pins and needles, but I read a bit faster and more thoroughly then. It seemed to take forever to get to that point though. There were some surprises, but the ending was fairly predictable and tied up neatly (not necessarily a bad thing at all). I also really liked the heroine's final confrontation, which I will spill no more beans about here.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 3.0 / 5 

Buy or Try? Try
More? This is book 2 of 2

Content

Plot: 2.5 / 5
Setting: 3.5 / 5
Characters: 3 / 5 (lots of redemption of characters in this book)

Style
Pace: Slow (sluggish in some places)
Descriptiveness: Fair 
Fantasy factor: Low

Amazon.com link

The Mirror of Her Dreams: Book I Mordant's Need

Someone asked me recently what I was reading. Being the brilliant wordsmith that I am, I said "Oh it's called The Mirror of Her Dreams. I know it sounds like a bad romance novel but it's really good. It's about um...um...this girl goes doubts she exists, right. And one day this guy comes through the mirror and takes her with him and....yeah. Some stuff happens. It's really good, I swear."

What I should have done is just read her the back cover and THEN told her what I thought about it.

The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life—until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land. Terisa is no champion. She wields neither magic nor power. And yet, much to her own surprise, when Geraden begs her to come back with him, she agrees.

Now, in a culture where women are little more than the playthings of powerful men, in a castle honeycombed with secret passages and clever traps, in a kingdom threatened from without and within by enemies able to appear and vanish out of thin air, Terisa must become more than the pale reflection of a person. For the way back to Earth is closed to her. And the enemies of Mordant will stop at nothing to see her dead.

That certainly sounds better than my stammering description, doesn't it? Nonetheless, this book is still hard to describe, and the back cover does not do it justice. Not to mention the cover makes it look like a cheesy romance novel.

I found this book to be very enjoyable overall. Donaldson writes very well, and his world is believable. The reader only sees a snapshot though, because for the most part the book is from Terisa's perspective, and there are things she wouldn't know. The picture seems sort of fuzzy around the edges.

A lot of the book is slow-paced, but the end had my nose glued to this book. I did some skimming, but I freely admit I easily lose patience with slower paced books books. Stick with it, the last half is worth the wait.

The system of magic is innovative, but I do feel as if I've seen it before. There is never an explanation of the mechanics of it, which leaves a little bit of mystery. The reader is in the dark as much as the Congery is.

My biggest complaint is that Terisa is so incredibly dense, mostly with regard to one Master she is totally inexplicably attracted to. However, while this irritated me, I could find reasons why a character would behave that way. Terisa was abused by her family, and is very naive and has absolutely no self-confidence. I find it plausible that the first man who pays attention to her might be irresistible and have power over her, given her background.

Bottom Line

Overall Rating: 3.5 / 5 

Buy or Try? Try
More? This is book 1 of 2

Content

Plot: 3 / 5
Setting: 4 / 5
Characters: 2 / 5

Style
Pace: Slow 
Descriptiveness: Fair 
Fantasy factor: Low

Amazon.com link