Month: February 2018

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (Lumatere chronicles #1)

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Pages: 416
Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis

The kingdom of Lumatere has been cursed and closed off to the rest of the world for ten years. After the royal family was assassinated, the people was driven by fear and prosecuted the wrong group of people, burning them at stakes. One of them, a magician, cursed the land with her dying breath and no one knows if those trapped inside the walls are dead or living in peace unlike the refugees the lost Lumateres has become. Finnikin was the childhood friend of Prince Balthazar and when a young woman called Evanjalin claims he’s still alive, that those inside is still alive, he clings to the hope of someday seeing his home again. They just need to break the curse, and for that they need a prince. Also there’s the small matter of whether Finnikin was to blame for it all, as the magician claimed before she died.

My thoughts

tre

This is good adventurous story, but not the best fantasy. The only parts that stuck with me is the suspense of what happened with the Lumateres/Lumatarian (that sounds like a band) who got trapped inside the city when the curse happened and the refugees that found themselves suddenly locked out of their homes. You can’t help but make the connection to refugees in the real world, especially because of wars with cities like Aleppo* that’s closed of, no one going in or out as I write this. But that is more an example of reading the right book at the right time than this book containing something special. It was a hard contrast, the fever camps and starvation, and it drove the characters, but it never got deeper. The target was always to break the curse and head home, which is far easier in the book than it will ever be in real life, and ruined a lot of the point. Sure, it starts all epic with having been locked out for a decade, but it gets pretty unrealistic from there, even for a fantasy book. Magic can’t solve everything, then you wouldn’t have a problem to begin with, at least not for so many years. If only they hadn’t killed all their healers…

It is, despite all that, a very good-hearted story about bravery and determination, trust and guilt. The characters are good enough written and… that’s it. Not very much of a plot, they travel around, issues come up and they get to prove themselves a couple of times, but the whole aim is getting home. The reason this book wasn’t worth it for me was that I could see the “big reveal” coming for a long time, and even the goodreads synopsis could spoil you, so be careful if you want to give this book a go. Also the world-building … not even going to get into that. It felt like magic was just involved for the sake of keeping the story light and the solutions simple, you could easily have written the same story with war as the cause of not being able to return. But then it wouldn’t have been so easy for a seventeen year old boy to take the lead, now would it?

I don’t think I’ll read the next book, there’s just so many other, better fantasy (and ya) books out there.

*Also I wrote this a while ago, so don’t yell at me that the situation in Aleppo has changed, etc.

Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop

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wow that’s a great author name

Pages: 487
Genre: Fantasy – urban

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Synopsis

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

My thoughts

fire

This is a great fantasy story about finding a home, more than anything else. It’s one of those books about “Others” coming together, both in the sense of being outsiders and different magical creatures (werewolves, vampires, fairies and more).

Meg’s like a child in many ways, especially when she just escapes from the institution she’s been held captive in, considered someone else’s property. She has a lot of trauma to work through and self-discovery to do, but she’s also both fascinated by everything and doesn’t have the same prejudices and fear of the Others as regular humans have learned. Her curiousity and out-going personality makes her the perfect fit for her job as human liason and she gets a sanctuary that’s willing to protect her against those after her. Funny enough, while being surrounded by beings that eat human flesh (a practice that fades fast as Meg arrives), humans seem to be what’s she’s in most danger of.

“Vlad hated doing the paperwork as much as he did when a human employee quit, which was why they’d both made a promise not to eat quitters just to avoid the paperwork. As Tess had pointed out, eating the staff was bad for marale and made it so much harder to find new employees.” 

This book doesn’t contain a straight-forward plot as much as it’s carried by character’s interactions, their daily life and the many ways it’s regularly disrupted. Much of the plot is based on the idea that one kind soul can change a community, magical deadly creatures or not. And it’s a lot to believe in, but Meg really tries to bridge the relationships between the humans and Others, as well as the way the groups within the Courtyard operates. The vampires aren’t exactly social or friendly, but they are the outliers. While trying to be an example of the relationship between humans and Others, Meg gets herself into some trouble, but that’s what you’ve got monster-sized wolves for.

There’s a lot of interesting characters, the terrifying Tess and Simon is my favourites. Simon is one temperamental, but protective shape-shifting leader. He was what glued the community together, barely, before Meg arrived. Overall, the only thing I cringed a bit over while reading this book is the bad names (come on the Others, really?). It’s truly a story that has been stuck in my head and it feels like a different way to do fantasy than most of what I’ve read before. I’ve just read the second book as well and it’s just as fantastic.

*TW for self-harm* I know nothing of self-harming, but cuts are described in quite detail in this book, as stated in the synopsis and it’s a issue Meg struggles with throughout the story.

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

aquapages // eline7 Comments

12

A collection of short stories by a brilliant, bestselling chinese author. It’s a great mix of fantasy, magical realism, fiction and science fiction here, along with chinese elements and culture being central in many stories.

fem

“Time’s arrow if the loss of fidelity in compression. A sketch, not a photograph. A memory is a re-creation, precious because it is both more and less than the original.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Each story is like its own universe and it takes some time to get into it, but it’s very worth it when you’re rereading each story three times in a row and marvel at the nuances, writing and genuine brilliance.

I wondered whether to make small reviews of each story, but I feel like it would give too much away. The best way to get into this book is by knowing it’s incredible and go pick it up right away with little extra info. Still, if you’re not convinced, here’s what you can expect from this collection; stories about “The bookmaking habit of select species”, an AI utopia that you might actually want to live in, hujing; beings who are both fox and human, chinese calligraphy and deadly fear of communism / plain racism, being chinese in america, simulacrums; illusions of people stuck in time, aliens, Guan Yu the chinese god of war visiting America (American Gods vibes from that one, it was awesome), immense sacrifices and a few that will make you teary eyed including about unit 731 and the biological warfare and experimentation in China during WW2.

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Some of the stories are incredibly important and heartfelt, like the one about unit 371, based on horrible historical events I’d never heard before. Others are a good mix of that social commentary and entertainment, while some are simply, but not simple, fun fantasies. Everything has layers, so much creativity and originality, I love this book and it’s one of my favourite reads, at least this year. I have to go read more Ken Liu books now.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

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Synopsis

 

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Some riders live.
Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

My thoughts

tre

also the rating is x out of 5 stars

this format is going to change ten times before i’m satisfied, isn’t it?

When I started reading this book, I was in the mood for a story with friends supporting each other. Creating special characters and wonderful interactions between them is something Maggie Stiefvater does incredibly well, almost to perfection. While “The Scorpio Races” didn’t have the same feeling as “The Raven Cycle” in any other way, it did have those people who you can’t help but care for.

It is really a beautiful book, if a bit slow and boring at times. The most wonderful element was the island the whole story were carried out on. What a magical place it is, both in how the nature is described, but also Puck and Sean’s connection to it. Living in a small, countryside place, I really feel the same love they do every time I look around me. But it also gives you a feeling of being one very small person, since the nature isn’t controlled by anyone and never will be. Here’s where the water horses – the capall uisce (yes, I had to look that up) – come into the picture. How do you control something so natural, yet wild and deadly? Short answer: you don’t. Sean Kendrick knows that, which is why I begrudgingly like him and why he’s the best rider on the island.

The book didn’t catch my full attention until the last half. There were a couple of moments I just wanted to put it down and leave it. I’m glad I didn’t, because much later the story still lives with me in some way. “The Scorpio Races” doesn’t contain one of the best plots I’ve read (rather the contrary), but it is different, based on a part of mythology we don’t usually get in young adult. I didn’t really enjoy the ending either. The whole plot was just very predictable, but too well-written to call it “bad”. On the bright side I got a lot done in the two days I procrastinated reading the rest of the book, but as a story, this one still misses something.

I think it will be very person-based whether people like this book or not. I’m still in conflict with myself, because I can’t say I liked it. “The Scorpio Races” is interesting, it is deeper than it first seems, but I’m still not completely sold. It could be that this story is familiar to me, it gives me a sense of having read too much of the genre. On the bright side, it got the relationship with extreme nature right. You can’t stop loving it, because then you may realize it’s holding you hostage and could kill you. At least there’s nice landscape to look at/read about.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

aquapages // eline2 Comments

3

Synopsis

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, ambitious wizard, known only as the Dragon, to keep the wood’s powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman must be handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as being lost to the wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows – everyone knows – that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia – all the things Agnieszka isn’t – and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But no one can predict how or why the Dragon chooses a girl. And when he comes, it is not Kasia he will take with him.

My thoughts

fem

what a believable fairytale

This book is a dream of a fairytale from start to finish, except for the slow beginning. I had to frequently remind myself that this was not a fairytale handed down through generations from one mouth to another until someone came around and collected it – that’s how well-written it is. It’s a new book, but have that authentic fairytale feeling; with despair, loss and surely a message somewhere. The friendships of this book is fantastic and believable, you can relate with it and the language is near perfection, except for that slowness I mentioned. I’ve read so many bad cases of mixing fairytales and novel, somehow the formats usually doesn’t fit well together. You can read ten pages of things happening three times over, but not hundreds on hundreds. Also there’s trying to achieve the same things as Grimm’s fairytales which has been worked on for decades, everything uneccessary cut down or more added until we have the versions we know today. Still, I won’t say no to an extended version of that same magic, as this book is.

well-written relationships & persons

The characters, both the main girl Agnieszka (sorry I call you Agnes in my head), her best friend and the Dragon magician-of-the-tower is also incredibly believable. More so is the people of the village she comes from and their reaction to her, to how she acts and the development she has through the book. I can’t say I love Agniesza – she’s the type where you go NO, DON’T YOU DARE… shit TOO LATE. She has clear faults as a person and aren’t a very considering type, especially when it comes to consequences, but she’s herself. And I respect that. I wish you could see me reading this book, sitting in the corner like Dragon cursing this girl out, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with him either. His mood through it all is “wtf did I get myself into”, it’s hilarious.

the lovely & strange world

What I’ve seen people love the most about this book is the world, it’s very cozy and well-developed, while staying within what I would call normal fantasy. it has elements of those fantasy-villages and the mentality that comes with it, as well as more fairytale-ish areas (the wood is so interesting) and just fierceness. In many ways Agnieszka reminds me of Kvothe from the Kingkiller chronicles, just where she comes from, her values and reactions, not that they are the same or the stories are similiar.

don’t worry…

While I say it is a fairytale kind of book, I don’t believe it’s a version or an adaption of one well-known. I hate those books, where everything is predictable because you’ve grown up with the stories, what’s the fun in reading a book you have heard before? No, Uprooted has some elements (the tower, the beauty and the beast scenario, the village), but mainly it just got the origins and feeling right. In the acknowledgments, Naomi Novik says “ag-NYESH-kah (pronounciation) comes from a fairytale called Agnieszka Skrawek Neiba”, which I found as interesting additional information, and I might check it out sometime. But right now I’m over myself in joy of having read such a beautiful book as Uprooted. We need more of them – and Naomi Novik’s writing – in the world. Her Temeraire series is definitely different from this one, filled with dragons, but nonetheless as amazing.

Go check out this book if you haven’t already, it’s definitely something else. I will say it’s not your typical ya fantasy read, even if it has that strong female, but I didn’t expect it to be either as Novik has written the amazing “Temperaire” series as well. Extra points for the villains, I liked how that played out.

 

favourite quotes (minor spoilers)

“And I wasn’t old enough to be wise, so I loved her more, not less, because I knew she would be taken from me soon.”

“If you don’t want a man dead, don’t bludgeon him over the head repeatedly.” aka best life advice ever

“truth didn’t mean anything without someone to share it with; you could shout truth into the air forever, and spend your life doing it, if someone didn’t come and listen.”

A small introduction

aquapages // elineLeave a comment

I’ve written book reviews for a while, and found out I needed a blog to have a place to publish them.

I’m a 19 year old girl, currently in school studying science and I love to read in my free time. I mostly read fantasy and young adult, but the last year I’ve started reading more genres. Biographies, non-fiction, poetry, classics. English is my second language, but it’s the language I usually read books in.

I’m also at aquapages.tumblr.com

Let’s start with a poem I really like, “I go down to the shore”

 

I go down to the shore in the morning

and depending on the hours, the waves

are pouring in or moving out

and I say, oh, I am miserable,

what shall –

what should I do? And the sea says

in its lovely voice:

Excuse me, I have work to do.

– Mary Oliver