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The Fey and the Fallen #1
Of Blood and Honey
Liam never knew who his father was. The town of Derry had always assumed that he was the bastard of a protestant — his mother never spoke of him, and Liam assumed he was dead. But when the war between the fallen and the fey began to heat up, Liam and his family are pulled into a conflict that they didn't know existed.
A centuries old conflict between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970s-era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong into both conflicts! Only the direct intervention of Liam's real father, and a secret catholic order dedicated to fighting "The Fallen" can save Liam... from the mundane and supernatural forces around him, and from the darkness that lurks within him.
A centuries old conflict between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970s-era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong into both conflicts! Only the direct intervention of Liam's real father, and a secret catholic order dedicated to fighting "The Fallen" can save Liam... from the mundane and supernatural forces around him, and from the darkness that lurks within him.
296 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews
February 9, 2011
This novel rocketed me right out of my chair. It's that good. I think it’s wonderful to see something fresh brought to the fantasy genre, and Stina Leicht does it with flair.
Set in the 1970s when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British Army (BA) clash, Leicht’s story opens with action that doesn’t stop until the last page is turned. Ireland’s Fey are at war with the Fallen, and as that conflict escalates, so does the confrontations between the IRA and the BA. Caught up in the war zones from both sides is Liam, a young man who always assumed that his protestant father was dead. When Liam is wrongly accused of participating in a riot and is arrested, his mother turns to her old lover and Liam’s father, a member of the Fey, for help.
Told with the fierce voice of the Irish, Leicht takes the reader deep into Northern Ireland’s Troubles through Liam’s experiences. She pulls no punches and shows both the IRA and the BA in all their brutality while never losing sight of either the old Celtic religion or the new (Christianity). It’s rare to see such a masterful weaving of worlds, but Leicht keeps a tight grip on her story and propels the reader forward like a bullet from a gun.
All of Leicht’s characters are rich and complex, and she keeps the surprises coming. She masterfully intertwines fantasy with reality to create a world so gritty, you feel like you’re walking Belfast’s streets. Dark and feral in its imagery, this is a story you don’t want to miss.
Set in the 1970s when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British Army (BA) clash, Leicht’s story opens with action that doesn’t stop until the last page is turned. Ireland’s Fey are at war with the Fallen, and as that conflict escalates, so does the confrontations between the IRA and the BA. Caught up in the war zones from both sides is Liam, a young man who always assumed that his protestant father was dead. When Liam is wrongly accused of participating in a riot and is arrested, his mother turns to her old lover and Liam’s father, a member of the Fey, for help.
Told with the fierce voice of the Irish, Leicht takes the reader deep into Northern Ireland’s Troubles through Liam’s experiences. She pulls no punches and shows both the IRA and the BA in all their brutality while never losing sight of either the old Celtic religion or the new (Christianity). It’s rare to see such a masterful weaving of worlds, but Leicht keeps a tight grip on her story and propels the reader forward like a bullet from a gun.
All of Leicht’s characters are rich and complex, and she keeps the surprises coming. She masterfully intertwines fantasy with reality to create a world so gritty, you feel like you’re walking Belfast’s streets. Dark and feral in its imagery, this is a story you don’t want to miss.
August 8, 2013
Sometimes you just know you and a book aren’t going to get along. I debated giving Of Blood and Honey a miss after a few chapters, and I’m still not sure I made the right call to soldier on. I finished the book, and I kind of understand the plot. To say that I enjoyed it or got much out of the story would be an overstatement, though, and that’s a shame. Stina Leicht is a good writer, and the book itself is not poor. It just wasn’t what I was expecting or what I needed.
The marketing hype for this book doesn’t do it any favours, because it implies a tone and supernatural emphasis that simply isn’t present here. This is the first in a series called The Fey and the Fallen. There are Fey, and there are Fallen, but they are few and far between. The cover copy, the reviews, the author promotional material I saw … it all promises an epic conflict between these two supernatural sides, set amidst the chaos and recrimination of 1970s Ireland. I was all for that. Instead, Of Blood and Honey is more about the chaos and recrimination of 1970s Ireland, with a main character who happens to be of Fey descent.
Liam’s Fey blood allows him to transform into a werewolf-like creature when threatened, as well as providing a few other perks. As he navigates his way through a rocky adolescence, ending up in jail a few times before marrying his childhood sweetheart, Liam knows he is different. He doesn’t understand how different, however, because his mother and the town priest, Father Murray, have concealed the true identity of his father from him. Liam ends up joining a cell of the IRA and committing terrorist acts in the name of Irish independence. All the while, his father hovers on the sidelines, committed to protecting Liam and Liam’s mother from his own Fallen enemies.
I feel bad complaining that too much of the book focuses on Liam and the independence conflict. I don’t want to minimize the importance of that conflict to history, and I knew it would be the setting for this book going into it. Nevertheless, it was overwhelming compared to the scant supernatural elements that Leicht invokes. Be warned that this is more historical than fantasy, and be happy if that is what you want.
Also, I had a difficult time feeling much sympathy for these characters. My favourites were probably Father Murray, and maybe Liam’s mother. Though I don’t fault Leicht’s style, it doesn’t quite work for me.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about Of Blood and Honey is that it provides a very detailled, personal account of what it’s like to be involved in the Irish independence conflict. And there happen to be Fey in it. A bit. And Fallen angels. Kind of.
The marketing hype for this book doesn’t do it any favours, because it implies a tone and supernatural emphasis that simply isn’t present here. This is the first in a series called The Fey and the Fallen. There are Fey, and there are Fallen, but they are few and far between. The cover copy, the reviews, the author promotional material I saw … it all promises an epic conflict between these two supernatural sides, set amidst the chaos and recrimination of 1970s Ireland. I was all for that. Instead, Of Blood and Honey is more about the chaos and recrimination of 1970s Ireland, with a main character who happens to be of Fey descent.
Liam’s Fey blood allows him to transform into a werewolf-like creature when threatened, as well as providing a few other perks. As he navigates his way through a rocky adolescence, ending up in jail a few times before marrying his childhood sweetheart, Liam knows he is different. He doesn’t understand how different, however, because his mother and the town priest, Father Murray, have concealed the true identity of his father from him. Liam ends up joining a cell of the IRA and committing terrorist acts in the name of Irish independence. All the while, his father hovers on the sidelines, committed to protecting Liam and Liam’s mother from his own Fallen enemies.
I feel bad complaining that too much of the book focuses on Liam and the independence conflict. I don’t want to minimize the importance of that conflict to history, and I knew it would be the setting for this book going into it. Nevertheless, it was overwhelming compared to the scant supernatural elements that Leicht invokes. Be warned that this is more historical than fantasy, and be happy if that is what you want.
Also, I had a difficult time feeling much sympathy for these characters. My favourites were probably Father Murray, and maybe Liam’s mother. Though I don’t fault Leicht’s style, it doesn’t quite work for me.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about Of Blood and Honey is that it provides a very detailled, personal account of what it’s like to be involved in the Irish independence conflict. And there happen to be Fey in it. A bit. And Fallen angels. Kind of.
May 19, 2014
Of Blood and Honey managed to win me over despite relying far too much one of the literary tricks that drives me batty every single time I see it. That's saying something. But still, it was at times an aggravating read. There are so many things that are good here, and then so many things that I want to be just that little bit better to make this awesome. The book got the author a nomination for the Campbell Award, so this is obviously very early in her career. I have high hopes for her future books, because she's got really unique ideas and I want to read more of them. Just a little less of a couple of things.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
December 23, 2015
This is one of those tricky books where the nature of some of the content addressed leaves me feeling that I should rate it higher than my actual liking of the book would dictate. There's a lot of weighty content in here that I hadn't expected: most notably, within the first few chapters the main character is the victim of brutal prison rape, which ends up coloring a lot of his life thereafter as he struggles to recover from something he can't even speak of. This plotline is handled with nuance and... I think it could be reasonably said that it's done with sensitivity and sympathy for Liam's struggles.
The narrative of the Irish Troubles and Liam's recovery takes the lead in this book, over the fey conflict the description promises. Since it's part of a duology, I don't think this is really a downside; it's clear by the end of the book that the focus will shift. Still, that description is deceptive, and certainly gives no idea of what the central drivers of the book actually are.
As an American, I don't know much at all about Irish history. Obviously this book isn't a nonfiction account of what the Troubles were like, but it is certainly a window onto the level of brutality and violence of that time. I suspect that someone more versed in the context might get more out of this book; I mostly got a desire to hide under a bed and never face humanity again. (As a lifelong atheist, the hatred some people have for other religions - including, in this case, a different sect of the same mainstream faith - is baffling and terrifying to me.) I'll admit that I came out of it with a desire not to learn more. The reading experience of this book was upsetting enough.
Despite the fact that the fey plotline promises to pick up in the second book, I'm not particularly interested in reading it. This book was brutal enough, and I went into it unknowing; I wouldn't choose to repeat the experience.
The narrative of the Irish Troubles and Liam's recovery takes the lead in this book, over the fey conflict the description promises. Since it's part of a duology, I don't think this is really a downside; it's clear by the end of the book that the focus will shift. Still, that description is deceptive, and certainly gives no idea of what the central drivers of the book actually are.
As an American, I don't know much at all about Irish history. Obviously this book isn't a nonfiction account of what the Troubles were like, but it is certainly a window onto the level of brutality and violence of that time. I suspect that someone more versed in the context might get more out of this book; I mostly got a desire to hide under a bed and never face humanity again. (As a lifelong atheist, the hatred some people have for other religions - including, in this case, a different sect of the same mainstream faith - is baffling and terrifying to me.) I'll admit that I came out of it with a desire not to learn more. The reading experience of this book was upsetting enough.
Despite the fact that the fey plotline promises to pick up in the second book, I'm not particularly interested in reading it. This book was brutal enough, and I went into it unknowing; I wouldn't choose to repeat the experience.
February 4, 2012
It's a really interesting premise -- urban fantasy set in Northern Ireland in the 70s. But honestly I thought the Fae part and the IRA part didn't really gel together. The urban fantasy elements to me felt kind of light and generic, whereas all the IRA stuff was, well, pretty brutal. I think honestly I would have liked this better without fantastic elements, and maybe with more characterization for people other than the main character -- it all felt a little bit flat.
March 15, 2012
Feels half-written. The main character gets tortured to the point of excess, but hardly any of it properly resonates. The Irish stuff feels thrown in without proper context, a backdrop for the sake of a backdrop and little more, and the Fey vs Fallen thing is barely explored at all. All in all, a waste of time.
February 12, 2011
Strong first novel that puts urban fantasy in one of the last places you would expect it -- Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Liam Kelly is Irish Catholic but (mostly) non-political, trying to keep his head down and mind his own business. That plan doesn't work out so well as events draw him into the Troubles and an older, far more secret war.
Leicht takes an ambitious approach, telling a complex story set over years in an unfamiliar society, but the gamble pays off. Some of this is the setting; I don't know jack about Derry or Belfast, past or present, but she makes her places feel real and lived-in. She has the gift of making you feel present at the scene.
Then there are the characters. Liam is the most conventional -- he has the thankless task of being the reader's eyes and ears, so he can't be too unfamiliar. The other leads are more complicated, mysterious in the good way. None of the characters fall into cliches, all of them are lively and driven by their own problems, and most of them do terrible things for what they think are the best of reasons. These are great characters, and at least one of Liam's associates could carry a whole book by himself.
Which he might get to, since this is the first of potentially many stories. The book works fine as a standalone novel -- think Kage Baker and her early Company novels -- but the end sets up new adventures to come. I'm looking forward to reading them.
(Read an advance copy, the book is now out.)
Leicht takes an ambitious approach, telling a complex story set over years in an unfamiliar society, but the gamble pays off. Some of this is the setting; I don't know jack about Derry or Belfast, past or present, but she makes her places feel real and lived-in. She has the gift of making you feel present at the scene.
Then there are the characters. Liam is the most conventional -- he has the thankless task of being the reader's eyes and ears, so he can't be too unfamiliar. The other leads are more complicated, mysterious in the good way. None of the characters fall into cliches, all of them are lively and driven by their own problems, and most of them do terrible things for what they think are the best of reasons. These are great characters, and at least one of Liam's associates could carry a whole book by himself.
Which he might get to, since this is the first of potentially many stories. The book works fine as a standalone novel -- think Kage Baker and her early Company novels -- but the end sets up new adventures to come. I'm looking forward to reading them.
(Read an advance copy, the book is now out.)
September 14, 2019
I enjoyed the book overall, but my reaction to it is complicated--as is the book. It follows Liam, a young Catholic man coming of age in 1970s Northern Ireland. He is repeatedly imprisoned and abused by the occupying British Army--and battles against his own dark nature. He does not understand that he is part fae, and that he has been targeted by his estranged father's old enemy.
Foremost, this is the only fantasy book I've read that is based in the Troubles, and it's brilliant. Dark and disturbing, but brilliant. For Americans like me, who grew up with mentions of the IRA and bombings in lands-afar with no personal connections to the conflict, it will be a necessary education. I didn't like the presence of rape throughout the novel, though I understand it is also part of the reality of the time period.
Liam is a fantastic protagonist to follow. He does terrible things, but he never lost me. Again, he feels real. Human and frail, even as he doubts his own humanity at times.
What drove me bonkers, though, was that almost all of the book happens because people cannot communicate about simple things. They hint, they hedge, but they cannot reveal the truth, even when people are brutalized and raped and killed. That might be realistic, yes, but it's also infuriating as a plot device. I didn't like it in old Flintstones episodes when I was a kid, and I don't like it now, especially when those frustrating secrets kept the major cool aspect of this world almost entirely hidden: I wanted to know more about the fae and the parallel war against the Fallen. I wanted to know more about magic, period. Instead, it feels like that has likely been pushed off for the next book. At this point, I'm left so frustrated by the pacing that I don't know if I want to continue to get to the bits I really wanted.
Foremost, this is the only fantasy book I've read that is based in the Troubles, and it's brilliant. Dark and disturbing, but brilliant. For Americans like me, who grew up with mentions of the IRA and bombings in lands-afar with no personal connections to the conflict, it will be a necessary education. I didn't like the presence of rape throughout the novel, though I understand it is also part of the reality of the time period.
Liam is a fantastic protagonist to follow. He does terrible things, but he never lost me. Again, he feels real. Human and frail, even as he doubts his own humanity at times.
What drove me bonkers, though, was that almost all of the book happens because people cannot communicate about simple things. They hint, they hedge, but they cannot reveal the truth, even when people are brutalized and raped and killed. That might be realistic, yes, but it's also infuriating as a plot device. I didn't like it in old Flintstones episodes when I was a kid, and I don't like it now, especially when those frustrating secrets kept the major cool aspect of this world almost entirely hidden: I wanted to know more about the fae and the parallel war against the Fallen. I wanted to know more about magic, period. Instead, it feels like that has likely been pushed off for the next book. At this point, I'm left so frustrated by the pacing that I don't know if I want to continue to get to the bits I really wanted.
October 17, 2011
(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com/)
I finished this book a while ago, but I’ve held off on writing a review on it. Mostly because I was trying to figure out what I didn’t like about it, because while it’s clear to me that Stina Leicht’s debut and I didn’t connect, I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I think I can confidently say that the issue is between me and the book, and not with the book its self. Blood and Honey has garnered itself a slew of positive reviews across the internet, many from sources I trust.
It was these positive reviews that led me to picking up the book in the first place. When it was first released I gave the blurb a once over and disregarded the book as another urban fantasy, yawn. But then the reviews started coming in, painting the story as something much more. The book is set in 1970's Ireland, an era not exactly known for its stability, and revolves around a young kid called Liam. Liam has a real knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite being mostly innocent, can’t seem to keep himself out a string of really nasty prison camps. On top this, and unbeknownst to poor Liam, it turns out that he’s part fae. Part nasty, violent, hard to control, beast shaped fae.
This is a dark, gritty book. Normally when a fantasy novel is described as dark or gritty you might expect a certain kind of style. But 'Of Blood and Honey' is not dark in that over saturated, hyper realized Abercrombie/Tarantino kind of way, it’s dark in a much more realistic, human kind of way. This might be at the root of why this book did not work for me. I make no apologies for the fact that I read to escape and be entertained, and there’s little escapism to be found in a book so deeply rooted in the muck and mire of the real world. Reading, for example, about Jant Shira of Steph Swainstan’s Castle book’s drug addiction was entertaining, reading about Liam’s addiction to heroin was just depressing.
The fantasy aspects of this book were fairly limited. This was a consequence of Liam being in the dark as to his true heritage for almost the whole novel, and I think we’ll see a lot more of the other worldly stuff in the sequels. What we do see certainly held promise. We have the fae and fallen angels at war with each other, and an order of human priest who think all other world creatures are on the same team, and are trying to eradicate them. Often in these books the ‘ancient order” or what have you has all the answers, and probably my favourite aspect the book was watching the priest assigned to watch over Liam trying to figure things out. The fallen angels, what little we see of them, are delightfully creepy.
But as I said, this novel definitely leans more on the urban than it does on the fantasy. Which is another aspect that probably effected my enjoyment. Knowing that the sequel is going to be more fantasy heavy is all well and good, but it doesn’t help with the book I’m reading now.
The characters are well drawn. We see the most of Liam, and he’s likeable enough and well meaning, but also a bit of an idiot. He’s definitely more passive than a usually like my characters to be, he tends to do what others tell him or to react to what others do, instead of ever taking the initiative for himself. The character I liked most, who we saw only little of, was Liam’s fae father Bran. Here’s a character with spark and wit, one who makes things happen. We see glimpses of a fascinating backstory, and more importantly, we get the impression that his current story, playing out almost entirely off page, is even more interesting. At the risk of repeating myself, I think book two is where a lot more of Bran will be seen.
The question is, can I forget how overall meh I found this book enough to pick up the sequel?
I would like to stress one last time that my feelings for this book were hugely subjective. Leicht writes very well, and despite my misgiving I never considered not finishing this book. I think this is one that you’ll have to try for yourself.
I finished this book a while ago, but I’ve held off on writing a review on it. Mostly because I was trying to figure out what I didn’t like about it, because while it’s clear to me that Stina Leicht’s debut and I didn’t connect, I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I think I can confidently say that the issue is between me and the book, and not with the book its self. Blood and Honey has garnered itself a slew of positive reviews across the internet, many from sources I trust.
It was these positive reviews that led me to picking up the book in the first place. When it was first released I gave the blurb a once over and disregarded the book as another urban fantasy, yawn. But then the reviews started coming in, painting the story as something much more. The book is set in 1970's Ireland, an era not exactly known for its stability, and revolves around a young kid called Liam. Liam has a real knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite being mostly innocent, can’t seem to keep himself out a string of really nasty prison camps. On top this, and unbeknownst to poor Liam, it turns out that he’s part fae. Part nasty, violent, hard to control, beast shaped fae.
This is a dark, gritty book. Normally when a fantasy novel is described as dark or gritty you might expect a certain kind of style. But 'Of Blood and Honey' is not dark in that over saturated, hyper realized Abercrombie/Tarantino kind of way, it’s dark in a much more realistic, human kind of way. This might be at the root of why this book did not work for me. I make no apologies for the fact that I read to escape and be entertained, and there’s little escapism to be found in a book so deeply rooted in the muck and mire of the real world. Reading, for example, about Jant Shira of Steph Swainstan’s Castle book’s drug addiction was entertaining, reading about Liam’s addiction to heroin was just depressing.
The fantasy aspects of this book were fairly limited. This was a consequence of Liam being in the dark as to his true heritage for almost the whole novel, and I think we’ll see a lot more of the other worldly stuff in the sequels. What we do see certainly held promise. We have the fae and fallen angels at war with each other, and an order of human priest who think all other world creatures are on the same team, and are trying to eradicate them. Often in these books the ‘ancient order” or what have you has all the answers, and probably my favourite aspect the book was watching the priest assigned to watch over Liam trying to figure things out. The fallen angels, what little we see of them, are delightfully creepy.
But as I said, this novel definitely leans more on the urban than it does on the fantasy. Which is another aspect that probably effected my enjoyment. Knowing that the sequel is going to be more fantasy heavy is all well and good, but it doesn’t help with the book I’m reading now.
The characters are well drawn. We see the most of Liam, and he’s likeable enough and well meaning, but also a bit of an idiot. He’s definitely more passive than a usually like my characters to be, he tends to do what others tell him or to react to what others do, instead of ever taking the initiative for himself. The character I liked most, who we saw only little of, was Liam’s fae father Bran. Here’s a character with spark and wit, one who makes things happen. We see glimpses of a fascinating backstory, and more importantly, we get the impression that his current story, playing out almost entirely off page, is even more interesting. At the risk of repeating myself, I think book two is where a lot more of Bran will be seen.
The question is, can I forget how overall meh I found this book enough to pick up the sequel?
I would like to stress one last time that my feelings for this book were hugely subjective. Leicht writes very well, and despite my misgiving I never considered not finishing this book. I think this is one that you’ll have to try for yourself.
May 11, 2011
Maybe I have been reading too many urban fantasies with kick-ass heroines lately, but it was really refreshing reading one with a male lead and set in 1970's troubled Ireland. The story follows Liam, a young Catholic, who seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. After 3 years in two different prisons and marrying into a political family he joins the IRA. Liam has never known his father and has grown up thinking his father was a Protestant. His life turns to sorrow and violence as he slowly learns he is something more than human and human politics starts mixing with the battle between the Fey and the Fallen. The story is dark and terribly sad, but also creative and wonderfully written.
July 14, 2011
http://www.rantingdragon.com/of-blood...
I don’t usually read urban fantasy, especially not the trashy, fallen angel type (obviously, “trashy” is my own opinion — a wrong one at that, as this review will prove). So even though I heard good things about Stina Leicht’s Of Blood and Honey, I vowed never to read it. Of course, I did read it in the end… and I blame Leicht for that. She abused a Twitter conversation in order to convince me. “It has car chases,” she promised. Considering no book from Night Shade Publishers has ever let me down (they are quickly turning into my favorite publisher; you should check them out, if you haven’t already!) I decided to buy Leicht’s debut novel. It’s urban fantasy with fallen angels, and I loved it… Where did I go wrong?
Cars, races and characters
As promised, there were car chases. In fact, there was even a rally race. The way these scenes are written is exhilarating. I’m a fan of all things motor racing, and Leicht perfectly captures everything I love about the sport. I hear she even rally raced as part of her research… Isn’t she cool?
Don’t let the cars and the racing mislead you, though. This isn’t a novelization of The Fast and the Furious. Of Blood and Honey focuses on its characters — their love, their struggles, their pain, and their tragedy. Against the backdrop of the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in 1970s’ Ireland, we follow Liam, a regular Catholic boy, as he falls in love, gets married, and joins the IRA. What he doesn’t know, however, is that he isn’t so regular after all. While the world thinks his father was a Protestant Marine, Liam is actually the son of a Fey soldier, a shape shifter. And these Fey — a group of faeries and the original inhabitants of Ireland — are fighting an ancient war against fallen angels.
Of Blood and Honey explores the struggles of a boy who is half man, half something else, as he is forced to deal with the monster inside himself. This tragic tale unfolds in a very believable way. Leicht’s characters might even be better than her rally races and car chases. Often in fantasy, characters seem to get over life changing revelations rather easily. That isn’t the case for Liam, and the result is a story that had me going through the pages as fast as I could, on the edge of my seat. It isn’t that a lot happens plot-wise, especially not in the first half of the book, but Leicht’s characters are so well-constructed, so believable and realistic, that I just had to know what would happen next. I fell in love with Mary Kate, Liam’s love interest, when he did; I hated the British soldiers when Liam did; I felt betrayed when Liam was betrayed.
I don’t like fallen angels, but I love roller coasters
Yet, when it felt like the tragedy in Liam’s life couldn’t be more unbearable, and when the story became so overwhelming and exciting that I wanted to take a break but couldn’t bring myself to put the book down, Of Blood and Honey took a turn like a roller coaster ride, events unfolding one after another at breakneck speed.
Atmospheric nemesis
All of this takes place against a very well-researched historical background. I have never been very interested in the British/Irish conflicts of the seventies, but after finishing Of Blood and Honey, I found myself spending an hour on Wikipedia, reading up on the events portrayed in the story. Leicht has created a very edgy and dark atmosphere, exactly how I imagine Ireland must have been at the time. In a way, this very atmosphere feels like a character in the book. There are so many British and Protestant institutions and soldiers, they are bound to become a big blur to a reader — they did to me, anyway — yet, because of the darkness of this version of Ireland, they are an entity, a nemesis. At every turn, a BA (British Army soldier) tends to show up, and no character in Of Blood and Honey is safe at any time.
Why should you read this book?
This alternate history/urban fantasy novel is for every fan of the fantasy genre, really. Just look at me — I usually don’t like this sort of book, and I loved it. Leicht has a way with words and characters that makes every single one of the book’s nearly three hundred pages interesting. The pacing and atmosphere of Of Blood and Honey are truly phenomenal, making it a contender for 2011’s best debut.
I don’t usually read urban fantasy, especially not the trashy, fallen angel type (obviously, “trashy” is my own opinion — a wrong one at that, as this review will prove). So even though I heard good things about Stina Leicht’s Of Blood and Honey, I vowed never to read it. Of course, I did read it in the end… and I blame Leicht for that. She abused a Twitter conversation in order to convince me. “It has car chases,” she promised. Considering no book from Night Shade Publishers has ever let me down (they are quickly turning into my favorite publisher; you should check them out, if you haven’t already!) I decided to buy Leicht’s debut novel. It’s urban fantasy with fallen angels, and I loved it… Where did I go wrong?
Cars, races and characters
As promised, there were car chases. In fact, there was even a rally race. The way these scenes are written is exhilarating. I’m a fan of all things motor racing, and Leicht perfectly captures everything I love about the sport. I hear she even rally raced as part of her research… Isn’t she cool?
Don’t let the cars and the racing mislead you, though. This isn’t a novelization of The Fast and the Furious. Of Blood and Honey focuses on its characters — their love, their struggles, their pain, and their tragedy. Against the backdrop of the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in 1970s’ Ireland, we follow Liam, a regular Catholic boy, as he falls in love, gets married, and joins the IRA. What he doesn’t know, however, is that he isn’t so regular after all. While the world thinks his father was a Protestant Marine, Liam is actually the son of a Fey soldier, a shape shifter. And these Fey — a group of faeries and the original inhabitants of Ireland — are fighting an ancient war against fallen angels.
Of Blood and Honey explores the struggles of a boy who is half man, half something else, as he is forced to deal with the monster inside himself. This tragic tale unfolds in a very believable way. Leicht’s characters might even be better than her rally races and car chases. Often in fantasy, characters seem to get over life changing revelations rather easily. That isn’t the case for Liam, and the result is a story that had me going through the pages as fast as I could, on the edge of my seat. It isn’t that a lot happens plot-wise, especially not in the first half of the book, but Leicht’s characters are so well-constructed, so believable and realistic, that I just had to know what would happen next. I fell in love with Mary Kate, Liam’s love interest, when he did; I hated the British soldiers when Liam did; I felt betrayed when Liam was betrayed.
I don’t like fallen angels, but I love roller coasters
Yet, when it felt like the tragedy in Liam’s life couldn’t be more unbearable, and when the story became so overwhelming and exciting that I wanted to take a break but couldn’t bring myself to put the book down, Of Blood and Honey took a turn like a roller coaster ride, events unfolding one after another at breakneck speed.
Atmospheric nemesis
All of this takes place against a very well-researched historical background. I have never been very interested in the British/Irish conflicts of the seventies, but after finishing Of Blood and Honey, I found myself spending an hour on Wikipedia, reading up on the events portrayed in the story. Leicht has created a very edgy and dark atmosphere, exactly how I imagine Ireland must have been at the time. In a way, this very atmosphere feels like a character in the book. There are so many British and Protestant institutions and soldiers, they are bound to become a big blur to a reader — they did to me, anyway — yet, because of the darkness of this version of Ireland, they are an entity, a nemesis. At every turn, a BA (British Army soldier) tends to show up, and no character in Of Blood and Honey is safe at any time.
Why should you read this book?
This alternate history/urban fantasy novel is for every fan of the fantasy genre, really. Just look at me — I usually don’t like this sort of book, and I loved it. Leicht has a way with words and characters that makes every single one of the book’s nearly three hundred pages interesting. The pacing and atmosphere of Of Blood and Honey are truly phenomenal, making it a contender for 2011’s best debut.
February 10, 2012
I have to offer you all reading this, and my recent reviews, an apology because I am having one of my mental "episodes" and my writing and thinking are quite erratic. The doctor calls it neural degradation. I get confused really easily, and forget things as soon as I hear/read/see them. So my reviews are horrible when I'm going through it, sorry. :)
I'm feeling pretty cheated by this ending to be honest. There were SO many things that hadn't been explained, and even with an epilogue, I have no better understanding of it.
There is a great deal of things about this book that I didn't like, but I was able to enjoy the story (for the most part) despite that, and I think it might be because of my adoration of all things Irish. There are a lot of needless sentences and paragraphs that should have been culled, as well as missed details and bad transitions. This was also really long! I spent all day reading it yesterday and I still had 10% left to go yet.
The story begins with our main character, Liam, being wrongly imprisoned and thrown into the worst of the prisons; Long Kesh. While he only spends a few months there, it will forever change him in ways that are never resolved in this part of the story. It is here that he meets a huge wolfhound and realizes that he is not normal. He has a monster inside of him.
From there Liam goes home and makes a pact with his girlfriend to be wed when he has the ability to keep her, but he is once again thrown in jail. This time he spends a couple of years there.
After he is released he marries his girlfriend and begins life in Dublin during the war. He becomes one of the volunteer fighters, and this is the main focus of the entire book up to the fight with the bad guy in the supernatural world.
There was very, very, little by way of Fae/supernatural and I never understood the reason for the title. The honey in particular. There is also a incredible use of genuine Irish slang, or even regular, language and while I had to figure out the meanings I loved reading it. Like the trunk of a car is called a boot, and getting beaten is called a hiding, and killing (or maybe just shooting?) someone is called top. I did get a little frustrated by it, even as I loved it, because some things weren't easy for me to figure out their meanings. Like taig I gathered easily enough is some sort of derogatory term, but for what and how? There is also Irish spoken, and I always thought it was called Gaelic so that was neat to learn I was wrong, and mostly it is translated but a couple of times it wasn't. I actually went to see if the author was from Ireland because of the command of their slang, but she is from the US.
It was really disappointing that I didn't get to learn more about Liam's monster, or Bran even, but it would appear that information is left up to future novels. I still think that more could have been given about at least Liam though, and still had more than enough to cover for later. Liam got on my nerves many times as well because he failed to ask about anything! Like when his wife was ill he didn't have the common sense to figure it out, or wonder at what was really going on. His devotion to his wife made me melt, and I wish I could have gotten more of the two of them, and less of the conflict fighting.
All in all it was an okay book with lots of flaws, but there is potential here. It needs to be less heavy with the nonsense filler and more true to what the synopsis says it's about. If I am told I'm getting a book about Fey, I expect a book about Fey. In total fairness it deserves much closer to two stars, but I have such a huge weakness for all things Irish that I bumped it up because of that.
I'm feeling pretty cheated by this ending to be honest. There were SO many things that hadn't been explained, and even with an epilogue, I have no better understanding of it.
There is a great deal of things about this book that I didn't like, but I was able to enjoy the story (for the most part) despite that, and I think it might be because of my adoration of all things Irish. There are a lot of needless sentences and paragraphs that should have been culled, as well as missed details and bad transitions. This was also really long! I spent all day reading it yesterday and I still had 10% left to go yet.
The story begins with our main character, Liam, being wrongly imprisoned and thrown into the worst of the prisons; Long Kesh. While he only spends a few months there, it will forever change him in ways that are never resolved in this part of the story. It is here that he meets a huge wolfhound and realizes that he is not normal. He has a monster inside of him.
From there Liam goes home and makes a pact with his girlfriend to be wed when he has the ability to keep her, but he is once again thrown in jail. This time he spends a couple of years there.
After he is released he marries his girlfriend and begins life in Dublin during the war. He becomes one of the volunteer fighters, and this is the main focus of the entire book up to the fight with the bad guy in the supernatural world.
There was very, very, little by way of Fae/supernatural and I never understood the reason for the title. The honey in particular. There is also a incredible use of genuine Irish slang, or even regular, language and while I had to figure out the meanings I loved reading it. Like the trunk of a car is called a boot, and getting beaten is called a hiding, and killing (or maybe just shooting?) someone is called top. I did get a little frustrated by it, even as I loved it, because some things weren't easy for me to figure out their meanings. Like taig I gathered easily enough is some sort of derogatory term, but for what and how? There is also Irish spoken, and I always thought it was called Gaelic so that was neat to learn I was wrong, and mostly it is translated but a couple of times it wasn't. I actually went to see if the author was from Ireland because of the command of their slang, but she is from the US.
It was really disappointing that I didn't get to learn more about Liam's monster, or Bran even, but it would appear that information is left up to future novels. I still think that more could have been given about at least Liam though, and still had more than enough to cover for later. Liam got on my nerves many times as well because he failed to ask about anything! Like when his wife was ill he didn't have the common sense to figure it out, or wonder at what was really going on. His devotion to his wife made me melt, and I wish I could have gotten more of the two of them, and less of the conflict fighting.
All in all it was an okay book with lots of flaws, but there is potential here. It needs to be less heavy with the nonsense filler and more true to what the synopsis says it's about. If I am told I'm getting a book about Fey, I expect a book about Fey. In total fairness it deserves much closer to two stars, but I have such a huge weakness for all things Irish that I bumped it up because of that.
April 16, 2011
Of Blood and Honey is a debut novel you do not want to miss reading... Dark, gritty urban fantasy full of magic, myth and very real horrors that mankind as well as the supernatural inflicted on each other... I was drawn in to this story of Liam, his mother Kathleen, step father Patrick and his "Fey" father Bran from the start... Not only is there quite a bit of history gleaned about the infamous Irish IRA and also the British Armies conflicts in the 1970's but there is a brilliantly descriptive story of the fight of good against evil as well!
Fantasy has always been one of my favorite genres, this particular fantasy however has teeth and claws that rend and tear just like the beast that is described within the story! Your journey in reading this book is not going to be easy or fun or even sometimes bearable but it will be compelling and interesting and most of all well worth your time...
I had not heard of the author until came across Night Shade Books offer on Twitter or Facebook for a free copy in exchange for a review of the book and after spending time within the imagination of author Stina Leicht am very glad that I had the opportunity to read this first book in her new series... This is a "thinking person's" book, it is not meant for those faint of heart when faced with episodes of brutality and it is certainly not a book that can be put down once started... You have to read it all the way through as it hooks you and you have to know how things turn out for Liam and his family and friends!
I am looking forward to finding more work on this series in the future from this author.
Fantasy has always been one of my favorite genres, this particular fantasy however has teeth and claws that rend and tear just like the beast that is described within the story! Your journey in reading this book is not going to be easy or fun or even sometimes bearable but it will be compelling and interesting and most of all well worth your time...
I had not heard of the author until came across Night Shade Books offer on Twitter or Facebook for a free copy in exchange for a review of the book and after spending time within the imagination of author Stina Leicht am very glad that I had the opportunity to read this first book in her new series... This is a "thinking person's" book, it is not meant for those faint of heart when faced with episodes of brutality and it is certainly not a book that can be put down once started... You have to read it all the way through as it hooks you and you have to know how things turn out for Liam and his family and friends!
I am looking forward to finding more work on this series in the future from this author.
November 29, 2011
The Troubles. Here, in America, it is not too uncommon to find people who don't even know where Ireland is on a map. Truly. It's funny watching people read Swift's Modest Propsal and seeing that they believe Swift was serious. Honestly, it makes me want to yell at them; and I'm not even Irish! I just like U2, the Corrs, the Wildes, all those fair folk, Ballykissangel, The Hanging Gale (ah, the McGanns) and so on.
And Guiness. But I love Guiness, so that'a different story.
Anyway. This book takes place during the 1970s, during the troubles. Our hero, Liam, isn't sure who his father is. In fact, he might be a protestant. Liam just wants to KNOW Mary Kate. Sadly, the English are worse for boys on the make than fathers.
Yeah, I'm making light, but from that simple permise comes a wonderful story. The Troubles are mirrored by a similar war between the fey, priests, and the Fallen. Liam finds himself trying to figure out who or what he is extactly while trying to live a life under occupation. He is occupied not only by the English but by his heritage. It almost seems like this book shouldn't work, but it does. Largely, because Leicht has done her homework, but because there is a sense of place. A prime example is the detail taken to language.
This a wonderful book. Can't wait until the next.
And Guiness. But I love Guiness, so that'a different story.
Anyway. This book takes place during the 1970s, during the troubles. Our hero, Liam, isn't sure who his father is. In fact, he might be a protestant. Liam just wants to KNOW Mary Kate. Sadly, the English are worse for boys on the make than fathers.
Yeah, I'm making light, but from that simple permise comes a wonderful story. The Troubles are mirrored by a similar war between the fey, priests, and the Fallen. Liam finds himself trying to figure out who or what he is extactly while trying to live a life under occupation. He is occupied not only by the English but by his heritage. It almost seems like this book shouldn't work, but it does. Largely, because Leicht has done her homework, but because there is a sense of place. A prime example is the detail taken to language.
This a wonderful book. Can't wait until the next.
December 19, 2012
Of Blood and Honey is a beautifully written, powerful book.
The book is set in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, and follows the young adulthood of Liam Kelly. Liam is a troubled young man whose father abandoned his mother when Liam was a baby.
What Liam doesn't know is that his father isn't human.
Liam is caught up in a police net around rioters (the Troubles were in full swing at this time) and taken to prison without trial. While there, he learns things about himself that will change him forever.
The book is an engaging read, full of fully realized characters and emotionally charged situations. Leicht clearly did her homework on the situation in Northern Ireland for this book. In addition to his eldritch heritage, Liam must learn to deal with love, loss, the IRA, his stepfather, and a meddlesome Catholic priest.
I strongly recommend this book.
The book is set in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, and follows the young adulthood of Liam Kelly. Liam is a troubled young man whose father abandoned his mother when Liam was a baby.
What Liam doesn't know is that his father isn't human.
Liam is caught up in a police net around rioters (the Troubles were in full swing at this time) and taken to prison without trial. While there, he learns things about himself that will change him forever.
The book is an engaging read, full of fully realized characters and emotionally charged situations. Leicht clearly did her homework on the situation in Northern Ireland for this book. In addition to his eldritch heritage, Liam must learn to deal with love, loss, the IRA, his stepfather, and a meddlesome Catholic priest.
I strongly recommend this book.
March 9, 2011
Excellent debut novel that combines the Sidhe and fallen angels with the gritty reality of life during the Troubles in 1970s Ireland. Leicht does a terrific job with her characters and their relationships, which were all both intense and utterly believable. Her protagonist Liam's struggle with his own darker impulses makes for compelling, gut-wrenching reading - after a certain scene in the book, I couldn't put it down. I stayed up far too late telling myself "just one more chapter...okay, just one more..." until I at last I finished, bleary-eyed but satisfied (and very much looking forward to the next installment!). I highly recommend the novel to anyone who likes their fantasy dark, complex, and full of realism.
June 5, 2012
I absolutely loved this book. Of Blood and Honey is one of those fantasy books that could also easily be enjoyed by fans of historical fiction as well. The fantasy elements, while obvious, are fairly subtle which could allow this to be a good crossover novel for fiction fans who are a little adventurous. Leicht’s writing is, quite honestly, stunning. The meticulous historical research mixed with an emotionally compelling plot work hand in hand to make this book unforgettable.
At the end of the day, that’s what Of Blood and Honey is: Unforgettable.
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2012/06/...
At the end of the day, that’s what Of Blood and Honey is: Unforgettable.
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2012/06/...
August 7, 2012
Not going to write a long review of this. I've commented about it extensively in other posts, most notably this one: http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...
Long story short... it's excellent, but suffers from some pretty serious pacing issues in the early going. Fantastic finish and some truly poignant scenes throughout.
Long story short... it's excellent, but suffers from some pretty serious pacing issues in the early going. Fantastic finish and some truly poignant scenes throughout.
April 18, 2012
Very impressive debut novel! Even if Liam's continuous torment is almost to much to read about, I like very much how this book shows that speculative fiction can be incredible powerful and relevant in the world that we live in.
April 1, 2021
I bought this right after prosephone station as that was one of my favourite books and I wanted to read everything else the author had written. I could not have been more disappointed. PS had an amazing cast of queer women and non-binary characters. This book had a homophobic man who was also a terrorist as the main character and the women were just there as plot points for his story.
I'm also not sure Americans should be writing stories about the troubles in Northern Ireland. Even if they have done a lot of historical research on it. The main character seemed to decide to become a terrorist for the IRA simply to move closer to his girlfriend and get a job. There was nothing about United Ireland or nationality at all. No belief behind what he was doing. It just also seems a bit disrespectful and inaccurate especially when splattered with Irish mythology. And Irish mythology where the fey are basically just monsters, they have an Irish name but nothing really in conjunction beyond that with any of the mythology. Like these could have been any supernatural creature from any culture. Our main character was half fey but his mythological half only existed as a rage telling him to kill others and was something he had to fight.
I would say read Anna Burns Milkman instead, a truly insightful book and wonderful prose.
I'm also not sure Americans should be writing stories about the troubles in Northern Ireland. Even if they have done a lot of historical research on it. The main character seemed to decide to become a terrorist for the IRA simply to move closer to his girlfriend and get a job. There was nothing about United Ireland or nationality at all. No belief behind what he was doing. It just also seems a bit disrespectful and inaccurate especially when splattered with Irish mythology. And Irish mythology where the fey are basically just monsters, they have an Irish name but nothing really in conjunction beyond that with any of the mythology. Like these could have been any supernatural creature from any culture. Our main character was half fey but his mythological half only existed as a rage telling him to kill others and was something he had to fight.
I would say read Anna Burns Milkman instead, a truly insightful book and wonderful prose.
July 25, 2017
I keep wanting to like this book more than I do. I like Urban Fantasy and I like historical fiction. I think the problem is that it is so BLEAK. Liam is not aware of his "gift" and so is unable to use it to his advantage when it would have helped. He's not told the truth until something horrific occurs and then, we're 2/3 through.
I did enjoy the duality: both the fey and the mortal worlds are at war.
Over all, this is very well written and intricately plotted. So please do not allow my review to put you off.
I did enjoy the duality: both the fey and the mortal worlds are at war.
Over all, this is very well written and intricately plotted. So please do not allow my review to put you off.
June 11, 2014
I really wanted to love this book. It practically leapt off of the library shelf at me. But even though I couldn't stop reading it, ultimately this novel was a disappointment.
Spoiler-free TL/DR version: It seemed like the author really wanted to write a novel about the Troubles and later decided she wanted to work the supernatural element in and so she shoehorned it in here and there in teasing little snippets and turned it towards the supernatural at the end.
Okay, SPOILERS COMING.
The book started off great. But somewhere about the second time he ended up in prison, I started to despair of Liam ever really accepting his Fey side and becoming involved in anything supernatural. Then the whole Belfast portion started and I started to wonder why this book was on the science fiction/fantasy shelf at all. And then, finally, we came to a character death that I thought -- being an obvious easy way to shock the story into changing gears -- would surely fling him headlong into the Fey vs. Fallen war. NOPE. One supernatural scene later, we're back to the mundane world, and said character death turned out to be not only a cheap modern author trick but also seemingly irrelevant to the larger conflict (even at the end, there's not much in the way of explanation other than the villain's hatred of Liam and his father). So instead of awesome faerie on demon battle action, we get more of the horribly depressing and broken life of this rather clueless young man. At this point, what kept me reading was not so much enjoyment as it was the desire to see where she could possibly be taking this that wasn't even farther from the promised supernatural war and when I would get to see my favorite character, Liam's father, again.
Somewhere around page 230 (out of 296, mind you), it finally turned into "a book of the Fey and the Fallen" as the tagline and the back cover summary promised. From that point on, it was really good, if a bit (okay, a lot) rushed. It kind of felt like the author had promised herself to keep the novel under 300 pages, but got carried away and finally realized that with only 75 pages left, she hadn't really shown much of the war she'd teased. As a result, the action is pretty cool but there's not enough of it, and the villain presents what he believes to be his history but the reader is given to understand is a falsehood, but we never get the real story or an explanation of how the villain has been so deceived. Oh, and it turns out that everything bad that ever happened in Liam's life was caused, either directly or indirectly, by the villain and his influence.
Ultimately, the proportions of the book are off if this is to be considered "a book of the Fey and the Fallen" rather than "a book of the IRA and the Prods, with a sprinkling of faerie lore for flavor." I get that Liam's experiences are supposed to help develop who he is by the time he accepts his Fey heritage, but to be honest it's hard to see how some of those experiences are supposed to matter to us as readers. I understand this is intended to be the beginning of a series, so I hope some of that, like his mad mechanic and driving skills, becomes more relevant in later books. Even more so, though, I hope that later books spend a little more time weaving the Fey and the Fallen into the fabric of Northern Ireland rather than dripping references here and there without much involvement until the last 75ish pages like drops of whiskey dribbled along by a drunk who can't hold his glass steady. If there are more books, I'll give them a chance, but only because this finally got to the good stuff at the end.
Spoiler-free TL/DR version: It seemed like the author really wanted to write a novel about the Troubles and later decided she wanted to work the supernatural element in and so she shoehorned it in here and there in teasing little snippets and turned it towards the supernatural at the end.
Okay, SPOILERS COMING.
The book started off great. But somewhere about the second time he ended up in prison, I started to despair of Liam ever really accepting his Fey side and becoming involved in anything supernatural. Then the whole Belfast portion started and I started to wonder why this book was on the science fiction/fantasy shelf at all. And then, finally, we came to a character death that I thought -- being an obvious easy way to shock the story into changing gears -- would surely fling him headlong into the Fey vs. Fallen war. NOPE. One supernatural scene later, we're back to the mundane world, and said character death turned out to be not only a cheap modern author trick but also seemingly irrelevant to the larger conflict (even at the end, there's not much in the way of explanation other than the villain's hatred of Liam and his father). So instead of awesome faerie on demon battle action, we get more of the horribly depressing and broken life of this rather clueless young man. At this point, what kept me reading was not so much enjoyment as it was the desire to see where she could possibly be taking this that wasn't even farther from the promised supernatural war and when I would get to see my favorite character, Liam's father, again.
Somewhere around page 230 (out of 296, mind you), it finally turned into "a book of the Fey and the Fallen" as the tagline and the back cover summary promised. From that point on, it was really good, if a bit (okay, a lot) rushed. It kind of felt like the author had promised herself to keep the novel under 300 pages, but got carried away and finally realized that with only 75 pages left, she hadn't really shown much of the war she'd teased. As a result, the action is pretty cool but there's not enough of it, and the villain presents what he believes to be his history but the reader is given to understand is a falsehood, but we never get the real story or an explanation of how the villain has been so deceived. Oh, and it turns out that everything bad that ever happened in Liam's life was caused, either directly or indirectly, by the villain and his influence.
Ultimately, the proportions of the book are off if this is to be considered "a book of the Fey and the Fallen" rather than "a book of the IRA and the Prods, with a sprinkling of faerie lore for flavor." I get that Liam's experiences are supposed to help develop who he is by the time he accepts his Fey heritage, but to be honest it's hard to see how some of those experiences are supposed to matter to us as readers. I understand this is intended to be the beginning of a series, so I hope some of that, like his mad mechanic and driving skills, becomes more relevant in later books. Even more so, though, I hope that later books spend a little more time weaving the Fey and the Fallen into the fabric of Northern Ireland rather than dripping references here and there without much involvement until the last 75ish pages like drops of whiskey dribbled along by a drunk who can't hold his glass steady. If there are more books, I'll give them a chance, but only because this finally got to the good stuff at the end.
August 3, 2012
At some point in reading this book, I wanted to give it five stars. It's truly a great read. I read so many wonderful reviews, but still I was reluctant to start the book because urban fantasy is rarely my thing. There are basically two reasons for this: 1) I've read too much urban fantasy that was poorly written, and 2) I have a difficult time suspending disbelief where magic interacts with the contemporary world. I prefer my heroes wielding either guns or swords, not both.
I didn't have either problem with this book. Stina Leicht writes like she was born to do it. It's not so much the lyrical prose that I often prefer or the frequent occurrence of a lovely turn of phrase. It was a believable plot and real, flawed characters that drew me into the story.
By the end, however, I felt less satisfied by the book and had to subtract at least one star. The main difficulty is that the book is so dark. The protagonist rarely has a nice thing happen to him in his miserable life. And that would be fine, but it's hardly something I enjoy reading. It's also hard to believe. I would think inserting a moment of levity or beauty into the story would make the dark parts easier (like life, as a matter of fact). I was also disappointed in the character of Mary Kate. There was also sexual victimization in this book, and I'm getting tired of that. Basically I'm just getting tired of reading about it. My last major problem was that Liam ends up rather whiny and annoying at the end. If I were Father Murray, I would have eventually snapped and told him to get a life. He really says the same things over and over. I get that horrible things happened, but complaining about it ad nauseam doesn't make it go away or change the past.
There were a few more minor quibbles. I greatly dislike gaps of time in character-driven stories such as this one. A few months or so would pass from one paragraph to the next. They surely have a place, since everyday life is fairly boring and unnecessary to recount in detail, but I feel like those transitions could have been handled more smoothly. The magic system, while woven subtly and expertly into the story, could have used more justification. More details will surely emerge in future books, but so little explanation was used to distinguish between the magic of Angels and Fairies that I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I may not read any further, so I would like to know at least the basics.
I've spent a large time on complaints, but that was because I had to think so hard to find any. The book is well-written and believable, and I can see why it won a Campbell Award. This is high quality fantasy literature.
I didn't have either problem with this book. Stina Leicht writes like she was born to do it. It's not so much the lyrical prose that I often prefer or the frequent occurrence of a lovely turn of phrase. It was a believable plot and real, flawed characters that drew me into the story.
By the end, however, I felt less satisfied by the book and had to subtract at least one star. The main difficulty is that the book is so dark. The protagonist rarely has a nice thing happen to him in his miserable life. And that would be fine, but it's hardly something I enjoy reading. It's also hard to believe. I would think inserting a moment of levity or beauty into the story would make the dark parts easier (like life, as a matter of fact). I was also disappointed in the character of Mary Kate. There was also sexual victimization in this book, and I'm getting tired of that. Basically I'm just getting tired of reading about it. My last major problem was that Liam ends up rather whiny and annoying at the end. If I were Father Murray, I would have eventually snapped and told him to get a life. He really says the same things over and over. I get that horrible things happened, but complaining about it ad nauseam doesn't make it go away or change the past.
There were a few more minor quibbles. I greatly dislike gaps of time in character-driven stories such as this one. A few months or so would pass from one paragraph to the next. They surely have a place, since everyday life is fairly boring and unnecessary to recount in detail, but I feel like those transitions could have been handled more smoothly. The magic system, while woven subtly and expertly into the story, could have used more justification. More details will surely emerge in future books, but so little explanation was used to distinguish between the magic of Angels and Fairies that I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I may not read any further, so I would like to know at least the basics.
I've spent a large time on complaints, but that was because I had to think so hard to find any. The book is well-written and believable, and I can see why it won a Campbell Award. This is high quality fantasy literature.
June 15, 2012
I didn't know what to expect going into this book. I guess I was thinking "Charles de Lint" and so the first few pages I spent readjusting to both the lingo, the political climate of 1970's Ireland, and a brutally honest and realistic story of a young man, Liam, wrongfully thrust into one of Ireland's most brutal prisons: Long Kesh.
In the Kesh, Liam undergoes a brutal experience that lets loose the darkness in him that is a legacy from his unknown father.
Even when he is let out of the Kesh, he can't escape politics. It seems like BAs (British Army) have it out for him and he is again arrested as a rioter when trying to defend his fiance/girlfriend during a demonstration.
He spends three years in prison this time, and it firms up his desire to join up with the IRA.
But the BAs do have it out for him, not only because of his ties to illegal activities, but also because an evil has infiltrated their ranks, and this evil has a personal vendetta against Liam's father. It will stop at nothing to destroy him.
Unlike alot of urban fantasy these days, this story does not feature a kick ass female with a supernatural love, nor is it about a noble, magic-wielding loner of a man.
Liam is firmly enmeshed in his Catholic community. His actions have repercussions on his mother, stepfather, fiance, mates, and priest. He struggles to do the right thing, but is constantly met at each turn by brutal force. One gets the despair and hopelessness when we experience, along with Liam, his utter helplessness at the brutality wielded by those in authority.
Of Blood and Honey is a history lesson on the IRA, Republicans, Protestants vs. Catholics, and Ireland/British history rolled up with action, spiced with a smattering of Irish folklore. It's crazy how even the supernatural parts fit so well inside the story one doesn't even blink. When Liam's friend, Father Murphy tries to get his bishop to acknowledge the possibility that not all supernatural creatures are fallen angel-demons and fails, its explained that the Church can't allow the possibility because it would mean admitting hundreds of years of genocide and wrongdoing.
And the blending of redhats (goblin-like creatures of folklore) with the BA red berets is genius.
This is not a book for young children. There's not a chance I'd leave it out for my elementary school-aged daughters to pick up and read by accident (although since the first pages read more like a historical novel than fantasy, there's little chance they'd get past the first few pages). There is graphic violence, betrayal, and the worst of the ways humanity uses prejudice and greed to hurt itself.
On the other hand, this is an amazingly good book to put in the hands of someone who doesn't understand why you read fantasy. THIS is why I read fantasy. The supernatural is used here to highlight and deepen the struggles Liam faces when choosing actions that are not clearly-cut wrong in a political, moral, or religious way.
This Book's Snack Rating: Tayto Wurster Sauce Crisps for the total Irish history, lingo, and deep, salty flavor of sadness that stays on your tongue long afterwards
In the Kesh, Liam undergoes a brutal experience that lets loose the darkness in him that is a legacy from his unknown father.
Even when he is let out of the Kesh, he can't escape politics. It seems like BAs (British Army) have it out for him and he is again arrested as a rioter when trying to defend his fiance/girlfriend during a demonstration.
He spends three years in prison this time, and it firms up his desire to join up with the IRA.
But the BAs do have it out for him, not only because of his ties to illegal activities, but also because an evil has infiltrated their ranks, and this evil has a personal vendetta against Liam's father. It will stop at nothing to destroy him.
Unlike alot of urban fantasy these days, this story does not feature a kick ass female with a supernatural love, nor is it about a noble, magic-wielding loner of a man.
Liam is firmly enmeshed in his Catholic community. His actions have repercussions on his mother, stepfather, fiance, mates, and priest. He struggles to do the right thing, but is constantly met at each turn by brutal force. One gets the despair and hopelessness when we experience, along with Liam, his utter helplessness at the brutality wielded by those in authority.
Of Blood and Honey is a history lesson on the IRA, Republicans, Protestants vs. Catholics, and Ireland/British history rolled up with action, spiced with a smattering of Irish folklore. It's crazy how even the supernatural parts fit so well inside the story one doesn't even blink. When Liam's friend, Father Murphy tries to get his bishop to acknowledge the possibility that not all supernatural creatures are fallen angel-demons and fails, its explained that the Church can't allow the possibility because it would mean admitting hundreds of years of genocide and wrongdoing.
And the blending of redhats (goblin-like creatures of folklore) with the BA red berets is genius.
This is not a book for young children. There's not a chance I'd leave it out for my elementary school-aged daughters to pick up and read by accident (although since the first pages read more like a historical novel than fantasy, there's little chance they'd get past the first few pages). There is graphic violence, betrayal, and the worst of the ways humanity uses prejudice and greed to hurt itself.
On the other hand, this is an amazingly good book to put in the hands of someone who doesn't understand why you read fantasy. THIS is why I read fantasy. The supernatural is used here to highlight and deepen the struggles Liam faces when choosing actions that are not clearly-cut wrong in a political, moral, or religious way.
This Book's Snack Rating: Tayto Wurster Sauce Crisps for the total Irish history, lingo, and deep, salty flavor of sadness that stays on your tongue long afterwards
July 10, 2012
All right. I'm pretty sure my opinion of this is going to be in the minority. All over the Internets, reviewers are RAVING about this author's staggering, impressive, astounding debut novel and are even clamoring for award recognition.
Why? I ask.
Ah, maybe because the historical details of Ireland's Time of Troubles (against the backdrop of the bitter Protestant-Catholic fighting) are thorough and appear to be meticulously researched. Or that the narrative is gritty and realistically bleak. Or, perhaps that the genre apparently is defined as "literary fantasy". I'm not really sure. What I am sure of is that I'm not particularly a fan of any fiction largely devoid of a sense of humor, if that's what defines this literary fantasy.
Most of the way through the book, I wasn't enjoying it. At times, the story seemed as if it wanted to be two separate books; the Irish historical bits didn't fit with the fantastical premise part. Most of the characters seemed mired in their own ignorance and mistakes, not likable or particularly sympathetic. And the poor protagonist seemed to hit the bad luck lottery over and over. An unrelenting barrage of bleak and bleaker events. The pace dragged; events were misleading, the timeline confusing. More 'telling' than showing. Lots of interior monologuing that slowed the story further. I also kept anticipating more explanation about the fantastical elements, but didn't get any real payoff until nearly the end.
I guess I'm not the target audience here, or I'm not "serious" enough about my fantasy tastes. In the end, I feel this book didn't have enough 'personality' for me. While I found the writing precise and well-constructed, it failed to involve me. Instead, it felt sterile and detached. Description without passion or heart.
All it all, I think I wanted very much to enjoy it (I try to read anything promising about fae and faerie elements), but felt sort of cheated of the promised premise.
Why? I ask.
Ah, maybe because the historical details of Ireland's Time of Troubles (against the backdrop of the bitter Protestant-Catholic fighting) are thorough and appear to be meticulously researched. Or that the narrative is gritty and realistically bleak. Or, perhaps that the genre apparently is defined as "literary fantasy". I'm not really sure. What I am sure of is that I'm not particularly a fan of any fiction largely devoid of a sense of humor, if that's what defines this literary fantasy.
Most of the way through the book, I wasn't enjoying it. At times, the story seemed as if it wanted to be two separate books; the Irish historical bits didn't fit with the fantastical premise part. Most of the characters seemed mired in their own ignorance and mistakes, not likable or particularly sympathetic. And the poor protagonist seemed to hit the bad luck lottery over and over. An unrelenting barrage of bleak and bleaker events. The pace dragged; events were misleading, the timeline confusing. More 'telling' than showing. Lots of interior monologuing that slowed the story further. I also kept anticipating more explanation about the fantastical elements, but didn't get any real payoff until nearly the end.
I guess I'm not the target audience here, or I'm not "serious" enough about my fantasy tastes. In the end, I feel this book didn't have enough 'personality' for me. While I found the writing precise and well-constructed, it failed to involve me. Instead, it felt sterile and detached. Description without passion or heart.
All it all, I think I wanted very much to enjoy it (I try to read anything promising about fae and faerie elements), but felt sort of cheated of the promised premise.
February 16, 2013
Of Blood and Honey is a raw, bitter and bloodthirsty book. There is an undercurrent of brutal honesty which is hard to swallow, mostly because it talks openly about Northern Ireland and what it had to go through in the 1970s.
On the other hand it has an early urban fantasy feel, so if you liked War for The Oaks you most assuredly will enjoy this book as well.
The book follows the life and tribulations of young Irish guy, Liam. He is half-phouka and doesn't know about it as his human mother keeps his heritage secret from anyone. Liam is abused and beaten up and gets into trouble all the time while your heart just bleeds for the poor boy.
There are few factors you can blame for his misfortune: horrible prosecution of Irish on their own soil by British soldiers; the camps and inhuman conditions guys endure there; IRA secret war; secret police's intrigues... but mostly it's the hidden war between The Fey and The Fallen - demons that Catholicism brought to Ireland and which Fey unsuccessfully try to drive off their land, that Liam unwillingly gets caught in because The Fallen try to use him to hurt his father.
Throw in the mold a young and tumultuous love, the rage that overcomes Liam and makes him do some horrible things to the people that abuse him, a secret Order of Catholic priests who don't know the difference between demons and fae and kill everyone they can get their hands on.... and it's an awful, twisted, torturous mess of a life in an insanely intense book.
As I said, Of Blood and Honey is an old-fashioned, long urban fantasy that stubbornly trudges through the injustices of Liam's life and makes us see and feel deeply the suffering of the whole Irish nation and the spirit of its people.
Strong, beautiful and very harsh. Recommended.
On the other hand it has an early urban fantasy feel, so if you liked War for The Oaks you most assuredly will enjoy this book as well.
The book follows the life and tribulations of young Irish guy, Liam. He is half-phouka and doesn't know about it as his human mother keeps his heritage secret from anyone. Liam is abused and beaten up and gets into trouble all the time while your heart just bleeds for the poor boy.
There are few factors you can blame for his misfortune: horrible prosecution of Irish on their own soil by British soldiers; the camps and inhuman conditions guys endure there; IRA secret war; secret police's intrigues... but mostly it's the hidden war between The Fey and The Fallen - demons that Catholicism brought to Ireland and which Fey unsuccessfully try to drive off their land, that Liam unwillingly gets caught in because The Fallen try to use him to hurt his father.
Throw in the mold a young and tumultuous love, the rage that overcomes Liam and makes him do some horrible things to the people that abuse him, a secret Order of Catholic priests who don't know the difference between demons and fae and kill everyone they can get their hands on.... and it's an awful, twisted, torturous mess of a life in an insanely intense book.
As I said, Of Blood and Honey is an old-fashioned, long urban fantasy that stubbornly trudges through the injustices of Liam's life and makes us see and feel deeply the suffering of the whole Irish nation and the spirit of its people.
Strong, beautiful and very harsh. Recommended.
March 12, 2011
Of Blood and Honey is a nicely woven story of the Liam, a well-intentioned but hot-headed young Irish man during the times of Ireland's 1970's troubles. Without giving anything away, I can say there's good and evil, and there are monsters and heroes, but not in a swashbuckling high fantasy kind of way. It's too steeped in modern history to be that straightforward, and, well, people are complicated.
One thing that I really enjoy in a book is when I feel like I've learned something real about my own world, and you certainly get that in handfuls. The real world is very gritty and real, and the fantastical elements always seemed tucked away behind a corner. That really worked for me.
I also liked that the book -- while exploring the age-old question of free will versus pre-determined fate -- added a good dollop of what I think is probably closest to the real answer: your destiny is more often than not the expectations and limitations that other people pile on you.
This isn't a light book; it's not quick entertainment. That said, it's a darn good fantasy, and I look forward to the next one.
One thing that I really enjoy in a book is when I feel like I've learned something real about my own world, and you certainly get that in handfuls. The real world is very gritty and real, and the fantastical elements always seemed tucked away behind a corner. That really worked for me.
I also liked that the book -- while exploring the age-old question of free will versus pre-determined fate -- added a good dollop of what I think is probably closest to the real answer: your destiny is more often than not the expectations and limitations that other people pile on you.
This isn't a light book; it's not quick entertainment. That said, it's a darn good fantasy, and I look forward to the next one.
February 3, 2013
I'm on page 176 of 311 of the ebook and I may very well never get any further. I like the main character but I desperately want to reach into the pages, grab his mother and shake her while screaming "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, WOMAN!? COMMUNICATE!!!" because a few words from her would solve so, so many of Liam's problems (and probably remove the entire first half of this book from existence).
This book is also an unrelenting downer. There is a great essay about SciFi and how it seems to think that you can't ever have any fun if you want to be taken seriously and this book feels like the embodiment of that complaint. Its unrelieved bleakness makes it even harder to keep reading. There are no laughs, no happy smiles, nothing.
I wanted to like this book; I like the main character and I want to know what happens to him but I just can't keep reading. It's technically well written but the combination of poor communication as a driving plot device and the depressing atmosphere of the whole book is just too much.
BTW, if anyone HAS made it through this whole book, could you tell me what happens? I'm giving up and can't find a summary online.
This book is also an unrelenting downer. There is a great essay about SciFi and how it seems to think that you can't ever have any fun if you want to be taken seriously and this book feels like the embodiment of that complaint. Its unrelieved bleakness makes it even harder to keep reading. There are no laughs, no happy smiles, nothing.
I wanted to like this book; I like the main character and I want to know what happens to him but I just can't keep reading. It's technically well written but the combination of poor communication as a driving plot device and the depressing atmosphere of the whole book is just too much.
BTW, if anyone HAS made it through this whole book, could you tell me what happens? I'm giving up and can't find a summary online.
July 22, 2011
*Disclaimer: I read the first 150ish and last 150ish pages, while I sped-read the remainder of the book; therefore, my impressions could be (and most likely are) incomplete.*
I could only recommend this title to someone who has a pre-existing love of the history of Ireland, particularly the time period covered here (when Protestants and Catholics were busy killing each other).
In particular, the main character (Liam), whom the reader is to empathize with, keeps getting his life destroyed by everyone he trusts, who then claim they were trying to "protect him" by lying.
In reality, their lies cause Liam more pain than the truth could ever possibly do. In the end, the reader, like Liam, just wants to move on to a new reality (in the character's case, Liam's implied move to America), but I'm not about to follow this brutal tale any farther.
I could only recommend this title to someone who has a pre-existing love of the history of Ireland, particularly the time period covered here (when Protestants and Catholics were busy killing each other).
In particular, the main character (Liam), whom the reader is to empathize with, keeps getting his life destroyed by everyone he trusts, who then claim they were trying to "protect him" by lying.
In reality, their lies cause Liam more pain than the truth could ever possibly do. In the end, the reader, like Liam, just wants to move on to a new reality (in the character's case, Liam's implied move to America), but I'm not about to follow this brutal tale any farther.
June 20, 2012
While I was reading I could not stop wondering: 'Why is this book fantasy?'
The main focus of the book are political & religious conflicts that happened in 1970s in Ireland. And the Liam's struggle with his inner monster could be looked as a metaphor of his struggling with accepting murdering of people... The fact that his father is fey & fantastic element are only background and I think book could go without them without loosing much of it's strength.
The thing that bothered me the most while reading is how naive & blind is Liam. Everybody is hiding something from him and he does not notice.
The main focus of the book are political & religious conflicts that happened in 1970s in Ireland. And the Liam's struggle with his inner monster could be looked as a metaphor of his struggling with accepting murdering of people... The fact that his father is fey & fantastic element are only background and I think book could go without them without loosing much of it's strength.
The thing that bothered me the most while reading is how naive & blind is Liam. Everybody is hiding something from him and he does not notice.
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