A crafty misfit who gets by on her wits and never quite feels that she belongs accidentally summons a djinn and soon realizes that she is oh so very sA crafty misfit who gets by on her wits and never quite feels that she belongs accidentally summons a djinn and soon realizes that she is oh so very special herself. Now, though, the secret is out, and to protect herself and lay claim to her family's legacy, she must travel - with her alluringly surly Daeva companion – to the City of Brass.
I ultimately didn't care much for this book, but there's some good to be noted. By far the greatest strength is the (for me) exotically lush atmosphere. The setting descriptions were intricate and evocative, lending a vivid sense of space throughout. I also credit the author for the exuberance of detail, both practically and plot-wise.
The base elements of the story are solid and intriguing, but it just didn't work out for me. I had big issues with the pacing, the flip-floppy politics, the confusing representation of religion, the romance, and the overall motivations of pretty much everyone. I'm a fan of dynamic characters but these ones seemed so conflicted that none of them even knew what they wanted with any consistency. And the melodrama, my gawwd. There are so many exclamations that someone “would never!” (even when we clearly knew they would) or “would not dare!” that it seems that all of Djinn-City Daevabad spends all day yelling randomly heated denials at each other at dramatic intervals.
I could break this down into details; as a buddy-read, my notes are extensive. A lot of people seem to like this, though – and heck, there were elements that I appreciated too. I don't really want to tear down what I think was an earnest effort or discourage anyone else from giving it a go. I like to imagine that the issues self-correct as the series progresses, but I doubt I'll ever find out....more
On the surface, the six books of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel are fun, fast-paced and makeA quick review reflecting the whole series...
On the surface, the six books of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel are fun, fast-paced and make for a perfectly fine YA adventure story. Scott's love (and knowledge) of mythology is clear and engaging, and the incredibly large cast of characters both historical and legendary are sure to encourage a deeper curiosity.
This is a “Chosen One(s)” story line; although the title of the series suggests a focus on Flamel, the story revolves around the teen-aged 'twins of legend,' Josh and Sophie and their role in saving...well, everything. All the things. If you are looking for a magical high stakes story with fairly simplistic ideals, this will wrap you up for a while.
On the flip side, and maybe look out for minor spoilers here:
The main characters aren't particularly likable, and as the cast of characters grows the twins get less and less spotlight. This isn't a bad thing, but it serves to highlight their weaknesses as opposed to celebrating their growth. The magic system starts off interesting, but remains disappointingly undeveloped. Each bit of training and learning the twins do feels anticlimactic. Every single character is just a little too reticent about revealing important information, which gets old early on. Also, just about everyone is maybe a little too redeemable.
I suppose a good way to sum up my experience of the series is like this: I finished it, and fairly quickly, too. But I can't be bothered to break down my thoughts about each individual book, or even try to highlight my likes and dislikes beyond what I've just done. By no means a bad tale, I enjoyed the story, but won't likely revisit it....more
There's a handful of popular YA adventure series that I somehow completely avoided during their heyday, and this well-loved offering from Rick RiordanThere's a handful of popular YA adventure series that I somehow completely avoided during their heyday, and this well-loved offering from Rick Riordan is one of them. Since the straight forward, undemanding fun of the genre seemed like the perfect balm for my distracted brain, I decided now was the time to dive in.
This first book in the series introduces the hero Percy Jackson, a 12 year old boy with 'behavioral problems' who learns that he is a demi-god – a half human with a Greek god for a father. This knowledge, of course, brings danger and requires him to seek out the protection of Camp Half-Blood, a training school for kids like him.
I had a great time with this series, which is fun and affirming without being too heavy handed with the life lessons. It leans directly on mythology in an interesting way while staying firmly rooted in the recognizable modern world. I quite liked that it allowed its main characters to be heroes without weighing them down with an over-abundance of angsty flaws.
In this first book I found myself initially frustrated by the weakness of the human adults in Percy's life – most notably his mom – but as I write this I've read all but the last book in the series and I know that this complaint is nullified later on.
I will always grump about the “let's purposefully not tell the main character important truths to create false tension” plot device. I hate it, and it is used quite heavily in this series. It feels patronizing, cheap, and it just frustrates me mightily. Especially when it ALWAYS has dire consequences. That is easily my biggest frustration throughout the story.
Overall, though, I had a really easy time with this book and its big adventure and fun characters. I've been quite happy to escape in it. I am sadly missing the final book, and suspect it will be the only other one I review when I finally find and read it. The specifics of each of the in-between books have jumbled together during my binge read. ...more
A prettily written story of devotion and the bonds of non traditional love. A quick perusal of other reviews tells me I drew many more spiritual referA prettily written story of devotion and the bonds of non traditional love. A quick perusal of other reviews tells me I drew many more spiritual references from this short than the first-page reviewers did. I find this interesting, even given the title alone. I actually wish that I hadn’t read into it. As a non-religious person, I like the reading that everyone else got better. When I look at it from a friendship/romance/dedication perspective, I think it’s a beautiful little tale.
In a story this short, a summary becomes nearly a retelling, and Mondal did a lovely job on their own. It is worth the read, but the allegory I took it for keeps it from being too shiny, on a personal level. ...more
Well, the cover on my hardcover copy of this book is yummy. As an introduction to OSC, I suspect I could have chosen better, but this wasn't entirely Well, the cover on my hardcover copy of this book is yummy. As an introduction to OSC, I suspect I could have chosen better, but this wasn't entirely unpleasing.
It starts with one of the standard fantasy premises – if you're a genre reader, you've heard this one before: an apparently untalented (but otherwise quite sharp) youngling in a community of spellcasters, who cannot manage the simplest of magics himself and is shunned for it. By accident more than anything else, young Danny discovers that he, in fact, has the power to preform the most powerful, forbidden magic of all – the ability to create Gates.
If star ratings really mean much of anything, this started off and stayed at around 2 stars for two-thirds of the book. The plot was perfectly passable, and even promising, but the characters were so very flat. The few bits of texture they had (especially the two main characters, Danny and Wad) only made them annoyingly unlikable, and really hard to care about. When you add in Card's (much noticed) awkward handling of female characters, sex, slut-calling and far too many threats of false pedophilia accusations, the whole thing felt tedious for quite some time.
In the final third of the book, though, most of the characters started to inflate and take shape. The pace of the action quickened and, interestingly, the women stopped being one-dimensional and author-shamed. It morphed the whole experience, and what started as 2 star offering ended on a solid 4. Knowing that Card is a popular sci-fi/fantasy writer, I wondered if perhaps he started with terribly bland, unlikable characters to enhance the growth they experience? I dunno. Danny certainly became much more sympathetic when he stopped being an adolescent asshat:
“I have this rare and frightening power, he thought, and all I could think to do with it was bare my butt and say nanner-nanner, because I knew they couldn't punish me.”
This is the first installment in a series, and readers certainly won't feel satisfied with the ending of this volume. I feel as though this was all mostly set-up, with the actual storyline proper beginning in the next book. I can't say I'm going to go out of my way to read the rest of them, but I am curious as to where this is all going, and will take the chance if it comes my way....more
As a non-believer, I may have enjoyed a bit more irreverence in this story. And absolutely, there is violence and gloom A bit of fun seasonal reading.
As a non-believer, I may have enjoyed a bit more irreverence in this story. And absolutely, there is violence and gloom and sex throughout the novel, but I ultimately think that the overall message wouldn't offend too many moderate Catholics.
This is a what-if exercise about the Jesus birth. The author has clearly taken a decent look at the actual (or at least purportedly actual) history and political climate in Isreal and Palestine at the time of the nativity, and uses it to posit potential events that drove Mary and Joseph to Egypt after the birth of their son.
The main player is actually Balthazar. He is an infamous thief who makes an escape (with two accomplices) from prison, in the disguise of some holy, or wise, men. The three convicts stumble across J,M &J while searching for a quiet place to hide from the soldiers pursuing them. Right about this time the supposed “slaughter of innocents” is beginning, and Balthazar feels compelled to save this baby from being slaughtered, despite feeling pretty certain that Joseph is a bit of a dumb bunny for believing the “Nah, honey, it was TOTES a god who knocked me up, no foolin'!” story from Mary.
It remains his story throughout. This narrative is far more about Balthazar's journey than it is about Jesus'. That was a neat perspective.
Overall, I found that I enjoyed this while I was reading, but struggled to pick it back up after each break. I'm not sure why... the writing was good, there was some decent humour and fun fighting. Nothing really grabbed me hard, though, and I'm having a tough time investing too much into this review despite it being fresh in my mind. A-Ok. But unremarkable.
On a side note, this looks like it's been marketed and often shelved as a horror novel, but the designation doesn't fit, in my opinion....more
Imagine having a truly famous author in your recent ancestry. Someone like Wilde or Dickens, Howard or Lovecraft, Poe, Swift, Twain, Doyle...imagine tImagine having a truly famous author in your recent ancestry. Someone like Wilde or Dickens, Howard or Lovecraft, Poe, Swift, Twain, Doyle...imagine the pride! The cool history and insider knowledge, the leftover fandom and neat people you'd get to meet.
And imagine the pressure.
The Stoker biography is interesting and tragic, and there's something really cool about Bram's grand-nephew picking up the pen to carry on the family legacy.
But he really shouldn't have.
That's really all that's necessary to say, ultimately. The book isn't complete crap, and there is some solid research and homage that happened somewhere in this process. But you have to have an insanely solid and unique idea to follow up something as iconic as Dracula, and couple it with stellar writing skills and a sensitivity to the myriad of fandoms that have sprouted from such a seminal novel. Dracula the Un-Dead or, DUD, lacks all of the excuses and hidey-holes of mere fan-fiction. Half of the author team IS a Stoker. The expectations shoot through the roof with that.
Highlighting it's strengths and then calling out it's flaws ultimately becomes a task of traipsing through spoilers, and isn't worth the effort, when all is said and done. ...more
Michelle F
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Books:
mythology
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