Tir Alainn trilogy book 1
ISBN: 9780451458506
I bought this book.
Anne Bishop is a master world builder, bringing epic fantasy lands to life with a deft hand. In this trilogy the world is one of elemental magic, where fae and witches come to life and both are threatened by a sinister evil force.
In this first book in the trilogy a witch with the gifts of fire and earth gets trapped by a bit of hedge love magic and, trying to avoid being abused, swears to give herself to a mysterious stallion who shares a summer holiday with her. The stallion turns out to be Lucian, the fae Lord of Fire in his animal form. Curious about this woman who sought him as a friend rather than as a breeder, Lucian begins an affair with Ari.
In Tir Alainn, the fae are facing their own, much larger crisis. Whole sections of their enchanted land are vanishing, cut off by a mysterious misty nothingness. When Dianna, Lucian’s twin and The Huntress, discovers Ari is a witch, whom some of the stories and songs of the land blame for the growing evil in the world, she also begins to foster an interest in Ari, determined to save her home at any costs.
The truth of the lost places of Tir Alainn and a foul evil that’s spreading through the land, is far more complicated than Lucian, Dianna and Ari know. In this first book three sides are drawn, those for good, those for evil, and those whose egos drive their actions rather than their heads.
This is absolutely one of my favorite books. Bishop’s world is so thick and sensory that even though I read this for the first time when it was first published around 2002 I continue to read the triology over and over, nearly every year and have yet to tire of it.
Bishop’s only flaw is a skew toward “Women are beautiful and wonderful and men are wicked and cruel” themes, and of all her work this series balances it out the best. Despite great or little power, Bishop’s characters are real people, often gifted with a sense of humor which balances out the darker elements of the stories.
Here you will find neither damsels in distress nor super powered Janeways. The balance between male and female, good and evil are maintained delicately, but clearly, making this whole trilogy a pleasure to read and reread.
ISBN: 9780375814242
I bought this book.
Dahl’s name on a book, to me, is synonymous with a wild ride. James and the Giant Peach is quite possibly his craziest book (that I’ve read) so far.
Dahl’s penchant for abused children facing down a cruel world sets the scene, with James Henry Trotter (whose parents were gobbled up by a rhinoceros) living a lonely, miserable life in the cruel care of his aunts Spiker and Sponge (who are, of course, truly horrible people, even for Dahl’s worlds). Then one day a strange man appears and gives James magical green things, telling him to brew them into a tea and drink them and marvelous things will happen.
Parents will be close to screaming at this point, both because of the blatant abuse of the lead character and the danger of eating things strangers (and this man is indeed VERY strange) offer. Consider it an opportunity to have a talk or two about the serious subjects with your kids.
James accidentally trips and loses the green magical things, which burrow into the ground and instead work their magic on the few occupants of the horrible aunts’ pitiful garden. The strange man was right, though, and the peach tree somehow surviving in such a horrible place, grows a gigantic peach that serves as boat, meal and almost a secondary character in James’ voyage to freedom.
James and the Giant Peach is quite “out there”. In fact between giant bugs, sheer strangeness and outlandish extremism (and cloud people) James and the Giant Peach could fit into the bizarro genre, if it was commonly aimed at children readers.
There is some issue with language (“ass” is used several times) and the level of abuse James suffers that makes this book not for all families. But the underlying theme is one of taking your life into your own hands and choosing your own actions rather than letting the actions of others force you into things.
Dahl’s books might be of particular value to families and children struggling to cope with real life abuse and pain, as every story I’ve read so far has pit a mostly helpless child against forces entirely out of their control, and yet through thoughtfulness and great-heartedness wonderful things come to those who choose to live beyond the harshness of the world. Like many children found solace in the Harry Potter series after the death of a parent, some might also find solace and aid in coping from Dahl’s dark, but triumphant tales of recovery.
16
Jul
Paperback: 0451458923, $6.99
The previous book in the series, Grave Peril, was the kind of book a fan reads just to find out what’s happening next with the characters, so it was with some caution that I picked up my copy of Summer Knight. I was, honestly, afraid that the momentum and pure fun Butcher whipped up in the first two Harry Dresden books was destined to only make for a slow, disappointing slide.
And I was very wrong, thankfully.
In Summer Knight Butcher hits that perfect stride between adventure, mystery, a touch of romance and plenty of humor that was off in Grave Peril. It opens with Dresden, nearly mad and driven to his own destruction over the tragedy that befell his girlfriend Susan in the last book, investigating a literal rain of toads at a Chicago park. While there Dresden barely escapes a hit, aided by a werewolf buddy, and returns home to meet a would-be client. Only the client turns out to be none other than the Winter Queen of the Fairies, who has bought his debt to his fairie godmother and in return wants three favors from him.
The first, which he is told he has full permission to decline, is to seek out the true killer of the knight of the Summer court, clearing the Winter Queen’s name. But while still considering whether he’ll take the task or not Dresden meets with the White Council, part of which is trying to blame him for starting the war between wizards and the Red Court of vampires. The Winter Queen, the Council finds, is willing to give the wizards aid in their fight against the vampires, if Dresden completes a task for them. Conveniently enough the White Council, less friendly than Harry would like to admit to, demands that he fulfill the Winter Queen’s task as he never did have a proper quest to become a full wizard in the first place. The quest will kill two birds with one stone, if it doesn’t kill Harry first.
Only the quest isn’t as simple as find the killer, something neither the White Council nor the Winter Queen (or even the Summer Queen) realize is going on, and Harry, the only one who can find the truth, is facing a full on Fairie War as well as a magical imbalance of the seasons that could rip the mortal world apart.
As always Dresden is in over his head, but is stubborn, sarcastic and determined to do what is right by the people around him, the people who depend on him one way or the other.
Summer Knight comes together with smoothness and wholeness that Grave Peril lacked. The stakes are just as high, the losses potentially just as bad, but the parts all fit together in a way that makes this addition to the Dresden Files an incredibly satisfying read.
Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com’s Werewolf Month 2009
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Ace Fantasy, 2006
ISBN: 0441013813
Available: New and Used
Mercy Thompson is unconventional from the beginning. She’s a mechanic for a small town, not to mention a tattooed skinwalker who can become a coyote at will. Mercy was orphaned by a magical father before she was born, and fostered by werewolves, and although she doesn’t truly belong with them, Mercy feels a connection to the wolves, no matter how intense and violent they might become.
When a stray werewolf shows up at her shop begging for a temporary job, she gets sucked into a plot that threatens the lives of the area alpha as well as the werewolf Merrok (ruler) who helped raise Mercy. Mercy is not necessarily violent or intense. She is weaker than most of the supernatural creatures around her. But her calm, somewhat defiant persona makes her an easygoing viewpoint character surrounded by werewolves and vampires that are straight out of horror movies. Mercy is the calm point of the dark, violent world. She knows when to fight back, when to let strong characters handle things, and how to quietly defy the big bads without having their ire crash down on her.Something of a softer dark urban fantasy book, due to Mercy’s charm, the world is no less bloody, violent or horrific than most other werewolf books. This one is likely to catch the eye of readers who love dark fiction that’s not unrelenting in terror or gore.
Paperback: 0446616419, $6.99
I read and reviewed this one mostly for MonsterLibrarian.com’s Werewolf Month, but in the end, I needed more space to really explore my reaction. At best I thought “meh”.
I’m absolutely a werewolf fan, all shape shifters really, and even though I don’t like the tradition man-to-monster angle on werewolves found in horror I just can’t get enough. If it has shape shifters I’ll try it, and this is one of those times where that bites me on the rear.
What’s causing this internal conflict is the number of fans and positive reviews out there. I don’t understand what other readers see in this series, because I was done with this book 20 pages in (I kept reading through the first 100 pages and it never picked up.)
Kitty Norville is a werewolf, but she’s not only submissive, she’s whiny. She cowers, she whines, she cries, but she still goes against her alphas. Furthermore, she has a very flat personality and seems to be nothing outside of “being a werewolf” and running her late night call in show, The Midnight Hour.
The radio show bits are the only interesting parts of the book, but those aren’t entirely realistic, when combined with Kitty’s complete lack of experience and the reactions of the callers to Kitty. Callers seem to unquestioningly trust Kitty. This leads to a feeling that everyone who calls into The Midnight Hour is either an irrational hater/religious nut or blindly and adoringly trusts and obey Kitty. This, without a firm rational to explain it, directly sets off my Mary Sue alarm, because it leaves me, as a reader, feeling like the author is setting the character up to be loved and adored and sympathized with by other characters in the hopes readers will feel the same way (we don’t).
I never liked Kitty, and never felt like I was given a reason to like Kitty other than “Poor Kitty was attacked by a werewolf and victimized and can’t be herself except on this radio show, which everyone wants to take away from her”. That simply isn’t motivation enough for me. I need to see features in characters that I like and want to connect with.
And speaking of the werewolves, I’ve seen much praise for this book “showing the darker side of werewolf pack life that other books ignore” that I also don’t understand. I’ve seen lots of stories about constant battles and co-dependency among werewolves. But this book slaps readers in the face with the message over and over with every pack scene.
Put simply, Kitty’s whining is made worse by the fact that her alpha, Carl, commonly beats her and has
sex with her and when not doing either he emotionally manipulates her to be completely dependent on him. Kitty even says he wants her to be a child, helpless and useless without him, unable to protect herself, or make her own choices, but that doesn’t matter because Carl will make the tough choices (in his favor) for her. Even Kitty’s close friend, Carl’s second in command T.J., assaults her and emotionally abuses her, always undermining her choices, especially the ones where Kitty starts to stand up for herself. “Oh I’m worried about you” and “What’s wrong with you” he asks, when Kitty fights back against the man who attacked and infected her and who, in that scene, also tries to force her to have sex with him (again, apparently). With these not-so-subtle questions to her behavior T.J. implies that there is something wrong with Kitty defending herself from forced sex from someone who has proven to want to kill her.
Outside of the radio show and the pack issues there is nothing. All the other scenes, sometimes weeks at a time are completely skipped over, reinforcing the feel that there is nothing to Kitty other than pack submission and giving out advice she’s not qualified to give. It’s as if Kitty has no life outside of these things, save for the fact that she tells us certain things in the “fast forward” sections (like about her family, who are also mindlessly supportive once Kitty comes out).
Through the whole book Kitty is supposed to be investigating a religious cult claiming to be able to cure vampirism and lycanthropy, however no “on scene” time is spent on this investigation. Yet when asked about this Kitty always has more information. What is first presented as likely the main plot, sort of lingers in the background, not really addressed for the sake of Kitty’s emotional pack drama.
Add to that a myriad of small irritations like, how is Kitty’s own howl being used as the sign off for her show, how did she record her own howl if she avoids shape shifting as much as possible? Add the utter lack of resolution making this whole book feels like a prologue to the next book, and there just isn’t anything to keep me reading, much less wanting to buy the next.
In the end the only good thing I can say it that I didn’t force myself to finish this one, I didn’t pay full price, and what I did pay went to my local library (I bought this book at a library sale). Not to say I feel any ill will toward the author, just that a book this disappointing would be worse if its purchase hadn’t ultimately been for a good cause.
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Review by Jason Lush
- Read it for the information about archeology and the people who study coptic writings, but not to learn any thing of Judas or the document “The Gospel of Judas”.
- Simply put, this is an informative and interesting book, but it has nothing to do with its sensational title. The man Judas is mentioned briefly, but the remainder is about the documents’ procurement and the people involved with its translation and preservation.
- Nothing…nothing of the document itself or any of its content. The spiritual content of this book is no more than any thinking reader of the New Testament could surmise on their own.
- Good book, over blown title.
13
Jan
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Book Three in the Dresden Files series
Hardback: 978-0451462343, $23.95
Paperback: 0-4514-5844-3, $7.99
Harry Dresden (wizard for hire) often refers to the Nevernever in the first books of the Dresden Files series, but in this book he pulls the reader straight into it. A realm of all sorts of spooks and even fairies, the Nevernever follows an esoteric sort of dream logic that might make some readers shy away. But this journey is one of hard, willful and fantastic magic, set in motion by a complicated twist of plotting that only immortal beings would have the patience for.
Readers are thrown right into the action, which at times can make them feel as if they are missing something (they are, as far as I can tell some of the events referred to aren’t experienced by the reader except for as flashbacks and Dresden’s nightmares.) Harry and his friend, a true Knight of the Cross, Michael, are in their fourth or fifth night of hunting down a series of powerful ghosts who are attacking the real world with a strength that seems unprecedented, even so close to Halloween. But fighting specters that are trying to punish people long dead, for deeds long lost to history, is only the beginning as Harry discovers a strange spell, woven into the very being of the ghosts, that appears to be manipulating them into their attacks.
What follows is an almost painful series of events with so many possible bad guys that one has to wonder how Harry has survived so long at all. An iron will and indomitable stubbornness are threaded into Harry as firmly as the barbed wire-shaped torture spells are threaded into the human and ghostly victims of this book’s Big Bad. A book that revels in loose ends, it leaves more than a few set ups for further books but it also brings the Nevernever solidly into the Dresden world, giving reader’s imaginations and Dresden more territory to play in.
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Wayside School was a set up to be special from the moment the builders mistakenly built it as thirty one-room floors instead of one thirty-room floor. Luckily this left a lot of extra space for the playground, a playground that Mrs. Jewels’ class rarely gets to play on since their room is at the top of the building.
I remember loving the Wayside books as a kid. Anything and everything could and did happen, from dead rats who are determined to sneak into Mrs. Jewels class, to Mrs. Zorf (who doesn’t exist, and her classroom on the 19th floor which also doesn’t exist) to puns and humorous literal interpretations of concepts. In trying to expand my children’s love of stories I picked Sideways Stories from Wayside School to read before bed each night.
While we enjoyed some stories, like Mrs. Gorf (who turns the kids into apples when they misbehave), Mrs. Jewels (who thinks the class is filled with monkeys because children can’t possibly be so cute) and Todd (a student who just cannot seem to get through a whole day without being sent home, no matter how hard he tries), others were a complete miss. There were some stories I feel we didn’t connect with because my son is a very literal thinker and didn’t “get” the joke.
Being willing to believe anything is important to enjoying the thirty short stories in this book. If your child can suspend disbelief then they’ll love these wacky tales. But if you stall on how unreal the concept of a story is then it’s hard to get past that. Sachar doesn’t suspend disbelief, he assumes you’ve already done that and writes a story about what happens afterwards.
Most of the stories are about three pages long, which lends well to before bed reading. Each is about a different student or teacher, but they all feature a familiar cast of characters which also makes this book good for reading in small bits since each story is like an episode, a whole story on its own but expands the world of Wayside a little bit at a time. The short length of the stories will also help children still learning to read or parents who burnout on books aimed at kids balance the pros of reading together with the frustrations.