Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Geist & "Spoilers"
I'm really, really bad at one thing - reading a part of the last pages of a book and "spoiling" myself. I think this started for me after reading Anne McCaffery's Moreta: Dragon Lady of Pern, because, you see, I didn't expect it. That was the very first time EVER I cried when reading a book. (It wasn't he last.) So I think I might do this as a sort of coping mechanism. A few books I've read recently I've done this to when I get stuck in the middle, and part of my brain is going: "THIS IS NEVER GOING TO END." (But it does, and the ending is good, and I pick up the sequel and then it's like following the directions on your shampoo bottle.)
However, this is probably the first time that reading a small glimpse at the end of a book really felt like it tainted my experience of the book itself (though I realize it probably does, regardless - I'd just never NOTICED it before.) The book in question was Geist (A Book of the Order) by Philippa Ballantine. This was not an epic tome where I got bored in the middle and wanted a glimpse to be certain that "the other side" was waiting for me. In fact it was action packed, and a fairly quick read. But I still cheated!
Geist is a good read. The story is a bit of urban fantasy with some romance and mystery, and there is a very interesting magic system. The story follows Deacon Sorcha Faris, a member of the Order - a magical organization that trains "Sensitive" Deacons who can see and identify wraiths and other undead creatures from the Otherworld (called geists), and "Active" Deacons - those that can wield magic to fight against these supernatural beings. The Actives and the Sensitives learn different runes of power that they can use. The actives have gauntlets that channel their power, and each of the runes has a specific power that can be used against the geists. While partnered with her "Sensitive" husband, fighting a geist, something goes wrong. Her husband ends up very hurt, and Deacon Faris must travel to the town of Ulrich to find the answers. She begins her journey with a new partner, Deacon Merrick Chambers who has just finished his training. Along their journey they meet with Raed Rossin, the son of the usurped emperor, and bearer of a wicked curse.
I highly recommend Geist, and I quickly added the next books in the series to my Goodreads account so I wouldn't forget to pick them up. It's a bit of a mash of genre, urban fantasy mixed with more traditional fantasy, and a dash of steampunk just to mix things up.
So why did I peek at the end? Well, to be honest, early on, I guessed that two of the characters would end up in some sort of romance. So, I glanced at the end to see if I was on the right track. Unfortunately, the words I read basically solved the mystery of the entire novel. And reading it with that in mind, I felt some of the later parts of the book were especially annoying. When reading a mystery, if you know who the murder is, the clues become very obvious for the reader. And what I don't like is knowing if I would have "caught on" if I didn't already know.
But I did this to myself. Maybe I've learned my lesson. Next time I won't give in. Next time I won't try to confirm my suspicions at the beginning of the novel. Or maybe I will. I do however, recommend when you pick up Geist, you read it the way the author intended.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
I felt it better, and easier, to give a brief review of The Hunger Games Trilogy as a whole, rather than as individual reviews, because with them there is another topic I'd like to broach, which is YA.
First things first - no I do not think you have to be under 19 to enjoy "Young Adult" novels. Some of them are very well written, have great characters, and are fun and exciting. Just because you pick up one YA novel or series does not mean you have to start reading ALL YA novels, but if you enjoy it, you might look into some others. (Goodreads is a great place to get book suggestions!)
Second - one of the current trends in YA (after paranormal romance) is dystopian. Hunger Games and some other big named books fall into this category. I think the trend is interesting and I do think YA is a great place to have dystopian novels. Young Adults, who are your target audience are those that are most likely to look at the world and say, something needs to change. They may or may not be "right" about it, but sometimes it's the people without experience in the "real world" that can see what the rest of us can not. It's easy to keep going on because you have to - there are bills to pay, people to impress, personal and professional goals to reach. You tend to lose track of the system when you are so ingrained into it. Young Adults are fresh, they have new eyes on the system. They look at it and say: "OK, but WHY do we do this?" And sometimes that can be a good thing.
So, on to the Hunger Games. As a whole, I enjoyed 3/4ths of the trilogy. Well, probably more than that, about the last 50 pages of the last book makes me hope and pray Hollywood actually CHANGES a book to movie translation. (It is super rare to hear me say that. I was ready to lead a revolution if Neville Longbottom didn't get his due in the last Harry Potter film. Thank the gods of entertainment that it all turned out all right in the end!) I enjoyed Catching Fire more than many others did, though I read it and Mockingjay AFTER I saw the Hunger Games movie. I didn't care for the end of The Hunger Games itself, either, so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised by the end of Mockingjay, but I just felt the end of Mockingjay was a bit too depressing. I'm not in the camp that everything has to have a happy ending, but I do think an ending has to have some movement from the beginning. The ending to the whole trilogy felt a bit forced and without hope, which is pretty much how the books started.
In terms of dystopian literature, I know there are usually two possible outcomes - what happens pretty much gets overwritten (1984) and everything goes back to the way it was. Or, the heroes triumph and go about trying to make a new world. I just think, especially in a YA novel, you need a little more of the triumph of revolution.
If you haven't read the Hunger Games they can be a bit violent. I don't really recommend them for the younger crowd - but you know your child best. I will always suggest that until your kids are in the 13-15+ range you read the same books they are reading. (I honestly suggest you do this beyond, so you can discuss the books with your kids.) Still, I recommend reading all three. If you plan on seeing the movies (or have already seen the first) they will help fill in some of the gaps that I feel complete the picture, and I do recommend reading all three before seeing the movies.
What did you think of the Hunger Games? Love them? Hate them? Not giving into the hype? Let us know!
First things first - no I do not think you have to be under 19 to enjoy "Young Adult" novels. Some of them are very well written, have great characters, and are fun and exciting. Just because you pick up one YA novel or series does not mean you have to start reading ALL YA novels, but if you enjoy it, you might look into some others. (Goodreads is a great place to get book suggestions!)
Second - one of the current trends in YA (after paranormal romance) is dystopian. Hunger Games and some other big named books fall into this category. I think the trend is interesting and I do think YA is a great place to have dystopian novels. Young Adults, who are your target audience are those that are most likely to look at the world and say, something needs to change. They may or may not be "right" about it, but sometimes it's the people without experience in the "real world" that can see what the rest of us can not. It's easy to keep going on because you have to - there are bills to pay, people to impress, personal and professional goals to reach. You tend to lose track of the system when you are so ingrained into it. Young Adults are fresh, they have new eyes on the system. They look at it and say: "OK, but WHY do we do this?" And sometimes that can be a good thing.
So, on to the Hunger Games. As a whole, I enjoyed 3/4ths of the trilogy. Well, probably more than that, about the last 50 pages of the last book makes me hope and pray Hollywood actually CHANGES a book to movie translation. (It is super rare to hear me say that. I was ready to lead a revolution if Neville Longbottom didn't get his due in the last Harry Potter film. Thank the gods of entertainment that it all turned out all right in the end!) I enjoyed Catching Fire more than many others did, though I read it and Mockingjay AFTER I saw the Hunger Games movie. I didn't care for the end of The Hunger Games itself, either, so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised by the end of Mockingjay, but I just felt the end of Mockingjay was a bit too depressing. I'm not in the camp that everything has to have a happy ending, but I do think an ending has to have some movement from the beginning. The ending to the whole trilogy felt a bit forced and without hope, which is pretty much how the books started.
In terms of dystopian literature, I know there are usually two possible outcomes - what happens pretty much gets overwritten (1984) and everything goes back to the way it was. Or, the heroes triumph and go about trying to make a new world. I just think, especially in a YA novel, you need a little more of the triumph of revolution.
If you haven't read the Hunger Games they can be a bit violent. I don't really recommend them for the younger crowd - but you know your child best. I will always suggest that until your kids are in the 13-15+ range you read the same books they are reading. (I honestly suggest you do this beyond, so you can discuss the books with your kids.) Still, I recommend reading all three. If you plan on seeing the movies (or have already seen the first) they will help fill in some of the gaps that I feel complete the picture, and I do recommend reading all three before seeing the movies.
What did you think of the Hunger Games? Love them? Hate them? Not giving into the hype? Let us know!
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Snow Queen's Shadow by Jim C. Hines
Oh, Jim Hines, how could you do this to me?
The Snow Queen's Shadow is the fourth book in Jim C. Hines' Princess series. I picked up the first one in May 2010, and have looked forward to each of them in turn ever since. I left this one on my TBR pile for longer than I wanted because I knew it was the last in the series, and part of me didn't want the series to end.
The Princess novels center around a wonderful re-telling of three very famous Princesses: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Snow Queen's Shadow starts in Cinderella's Kingdom, where her Mother-In-Law, Queen Beatrice, is dying. Snow White tries some mirror magic to help the Queen, but something goes horribly wrong.
I wanted to love this book. I wanted to feel an emotional connection. But after the first quarter of the book (which kept me up past my bedtime!), the rest of the book just fell flat for me. And that upsets me. I've followed these characters through three well written novels. This ending just seems, forgive me for saying this, like a fairy tale ending. It's dark, and horrible, but then - the ending, everything works out fine. Not wishing to give spoilers, I'll just leave it at that.
I wish I could recommend this book, but part of me wants to tell everyone to go forth and read books 1-3. Love them, tell your friends about them, and just forget that this book even exists or is part of the series. Make up your own stories about the gang from there. It's OK. I'm not upset that the series itself is over (for now), but more how it ended just didn't feel right to me. I wish I could recommend this book, I really do. I follow Jim Hines on twitter, and his blog through Google +, and I certainly do not want to ever turn anyone away from reading any of his books. I just wish I had been able to enjoy this one more.
The Snow Queen's Shadow is the fourth book in Jim C. Hines' Princess series. I picked up the first one in May 2010, and have looked forward to each of them in turn ever since. I left this one on my TBR pile for longer than I wanted because I knew it was the last in the series, and part of me didn't want the series to end.
The Princess novels center around a wonderful re-telling of three very famous Princesses: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Snow Queen's Shadow starts in Cinderella's Kingdom, where her Mother-In-Law, Queen Beatrice, is dying. Snow White tries some mirror magic to help the Queen, but something goes horribly wrong.
I wanted to love this book. I wanted to feel an emotional connection. But after the first quarter of the book (which kept me up past my bedtime!), the rest of the book just fell flat for me. And that upsets me. I've followed these characters through three well written novels. This ending just seems, forgive me for saying this, like a fairy tale ending. It's dark, and horrible, but then - the ending, everything works out fine. Not wishing to give spoilers, I'll just leave it at that.
I wish I could recommend this book, but part of me wants to tell everyone to go forth and read books 1-3. Love them, tell your friends about them, and just forget that this book even exists or is part of the series. Make up your own stories about the gang from there. It's OK. I'm not upset that the series itself is over (for now), but more how it ended just didn't feel right to me. I wish I could recommend this book, I really do. I follow Jim Hines on twitter, and his blog through Google +, and I certainly do not want to ever turn anyone away from reading any of his books. I just wish I had been able to enjoy this one more.
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