fantasy

Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman

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The review where I find out if I liked the book or not. It felt slow and in the middle I even skimmed pages. I finished it and felt relieved, but when I think back it’s still with a certain fondness. I didn’t really enjoy the read, so what kind of witchcraft is this?

Synopsis

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world’s only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of Good and Evil are gathering, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist, oops

My thoughts

tre

– the unique plot – 

The gods was interesting, the end of the world is always something to read about, especially when you throw in an Antichrist, witches are a plus, but demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale is definitely the best thing about this book. They are an awesome, iconic couple and I wish we’d gotten more of them. Looking back I realize the moment they split up, and other parts of the plot unfolded, might’ve been when I lost interest.

– fantastic writing – 

I haven’t read anything by Terry Prachett, but they’re obviously both brilliant writers. The humor worked sometimes, but other times it fell through. Some elaborations to the writing made the pace even slower. Everything was leading towards the end of the world and I just wanted to get there without too many derailings. Also, it might be confusing to follow so many POV’s and some was more interesting to me than others. Ms. Zuigiber, a certain god and war journalist, is my favourite, both terrifying and impressive. Ah, I’m glad I’ve read this book, when I think of it.

– overall – 

I liked the concept, but the book itself didn’t fit me. It seems like Good Omens will become a bbc tv series and if so, I’m so excited for it. Supernatural was awesome, but dragged out and didn’t really have a point. Here you got even more potential and please make it great.  Would recommend it if you liked American Gods, have read other books by the authors before or like things like Supernatural and plots with the end of the world.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

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Pages: 500

Genre: urban fantasy

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tre

Synopsis

The Chequy is a secret organization, part of the british government and consists of people with powers. Powers like taking over other’s bodies when they touch you, like Myfawny is able to. She’s a Rook, which is a high ranking, fancy title, but mostly means she’s doing paper work and organizing. She’s considered a nervous wreck, seeing people tortured makes her throw up, but she’s really good at her desk job. She’s the “resident nerd” and a great planner, which becomes vital as she learns she will lose all memory of who she is.

My thoughts

It’s a fantastic book, and I loved all her weird colleagues like Gestalt who has multiple bodies he controls. Give me that ability please. The “secret organization” part was better than expected, since the different powers are original and interesting and so is the characters they belong to.

“You have a scary face?” Ingrid sounded skeptical. “Yes,” said Myfanwy indignantly. “I have a very scary face.” Ingrid surveyed her for a moment. “You may wish to take off the cardigan then, Rook Thomas,” she advised tactfully. “The flowers on the pockets detract somewhat from your menace.” 

When Myfawny learns she’ll wake up with no memories of who she is, she starts to write letters with information and encouragement to her new self and I loved those parts. Through that, and the words of other colleagues, you get a feeling for who she was before, and the complete personality change. The original Myfawny had been taken from her family as a child and the schooling she went through enchaced her abilities, but left her traumatized in not so obvious ways. The new version doesn’t have those memories or limits. She’s both a better and worse version because of it.

 – in short – 

Intricate and interesting mystery, witty writing that made me laugh several times. Some background info I didn’t care about, but it didn’t matter anywyay. Cool position titles. Would absoloutly read again, and recommend it for a witty and clever read.

 

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J Maas 

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Pages: 700

Genre: young adult fantasy

5

 

tre

Spoiler-free part

positives

cute, well-rounded characters, good twists & plot, nice scenes, manon is my queen, elide is just lovely, aelin is kickass as usual and deserves none of the (mostly friendly) hate she gets from her friends/fellow characters or readers, derserves all the hate from enemies bc they better be terrified

negatives

very similar to “a court of thorns and roses” and “acomaf” in places, sometimes it has very long action sequences that drag on, parts of the plot seems to be just planning or filler for the big reveals and scenes, which i found annoying. how the whole chaol situation was handled

I would have loved for certain explicit scenes to have been put in an additional novella or online or something, because as they had nothing to do with the plot, I found myself just annoyed at them? I wasn’t in the mood I guess, but had to go back and forth to see if I could skip the pages without someone interrupting them with a sword out or something *hah that wasn’t meant as an innuendo*. Like in A Court of Mist and Fire these scenes contribute to the plot as well as show different sides of characters. In this book the sex scenes seems more like side-projects or well-written fanfic thrown into the rest, but still not connected with it. Does that makes sense? Let’s be real; it’s just smut for smut’s sake. And nothing wrong about that, but:

1) It diffuses the line between ya and na to the point where I know it will make certain younger readers uncomfortable, or at least uncomfortable to admit they’ve read it (been there) and if it isn’t necessary, why? and 2) It was at the points in the book where i personally was just like; “can you get that crazy away from me so I can deal with the crazy that is Aelin’s war? WHat is this girl thinking – that’s what’s interesting?” You might argue it was used to distract the reader, but still.

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Side-note: It’s been over a year since I wrote this review and I never picked up the next book in this series, I’ve found the plot forgetable honestly, and the negative sides overpowered the good. I don’t want to find myself annoyed and let down after reading a book of this size and popularity. The series seem to get more unorginal with every book and I don’t need to see where this is going, at least not anytime soon. But I have a lot of thoughts so if you’ve read the book please read on –

Major Spoilers Below

 

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Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

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Genre: young adult, fantasy

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I have mixed feelings about this book. It held on to my attention, had some beautiful writing (Clare’s gotten so far since her first book, it made me smile when I realized) and it had parts that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. But there’s also things I get caught up on and the ending left me with a bad feeling.

the shadowhunter universe

I like how Clare has extended the universe and continued to explore it, “The Infernal Devices” was a great series that I wouldn’t want to be without. “Lady of Midnight” had some cringy moments (parabati curse and forbidden love among them) that was drawn out, reminding me too much of Jace and Clary’s brother-sister scare. This book had some of the same problems, but more the fact that it floated on “guest-appearances” from earlier characters which hindered getting to know these new characters better. Still, it’s amazing how many point of views this story is told from and I liked their individual voices.

I love Julian’s personality and his protectiveness, it’s a different toughness than the previous shadowhunters we’ve gotten to know. That’s one of the things of shadowhunter’s ideology I wish was explored more. There’s a whole culture which the kids off-handedly struggles with and dislikes, but it’s not really explained. I mean – what would the next series be about then, ahhh. For example, it’s mentioned how all the kids likes things that are somewhat forbidden (computers, mudane culture, etc) and Diane’s history, but somehow we ended up with Institue-drama and talk about how corrupt the Clave’s council is or something. The focus feels off. Diving into the shadowhunter warrior culture that promotes certain thinking and brute solutions, and maybe a possible shift, is more interesting than circling back to these Clave-so-corrupt plots we’ve followed before.

*ALL THE SPOILERS BELOW*

the ending, a rant & a question

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In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

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This is a dream of a fantasy book, the ultimate fairy-filled tale I wanted as a kid, with a main character who’s a brat, but a smart one, and both supportive and tired of his friends.

Synopsis

Elliot, the main character, is a boy who’s recruited to this magic school in a strange land over the wall. He’s read about this kind of thing, and it rarely goes well, but his home isn’t especially welcoming or safe, so he takes the chance. He’s told he’s allowed to leave anytime, and after being challenged by the too-perfect Luke, he’s tempted to stick around just to annoy him.

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My thoughts

fire

The magic school is a familiar trope, but not in this form. Which is said a lot, but Elliot’s magic school is more like military academy, and he’s aware of it. He’s one of the fewer students in training for Council positions, which is the ones who draws up maps and treaties, while the rest of them train to be soldiers and generals. But while he might be book-smart, he’s not able to keep his mouth shut, and it lands him in quite a few situations. Turns out the adults don’t want a kid to tell them how to do their jobs. If you’re Elliot, that’s only a challenge. It’s refreshing seeing how he’s clever, but also fucks up more than once, putting people at risk. He’s unstoppable, with very capable, well-written friends. His insecurities are something that comes out throughout this book as we follow him for a few years. His criticism of the society turns to “fuck it, I’m coming with” to real plans that doesn’t always go the way he thinks, and it’s fantastic to read about.

There was a lot of mention of sexism, like how the Serene and the rest of the elves society see the men as a patriarchal society see women. The men are supposed to raise the children and be sensitive, while the women are warriors. So this comes up continually throughout the book. You think it’s said enough and nope, there it pops up again. I usually like books, especially fantasy, dealing with these issues, but it felt forced and preachy at times. But then it also was funny and a lot more sad imagining Brennan writing this book and putting in another paragraph of anti-sexism every time she’s reminded of the Trumps of this world. So while I found it annoying, can I really blame Brennan for trying to include it?

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 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

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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.”