New Booksies

It’s time for another post detailing books I’ve acquired recently, because getting books is fun and looking at pretty covers is nice.

Since my last post:

• I bought the newly released Coyote by Rhonda Roberts. If you’re wondering, it’s a freebie and doesn’t count against my read-three-buy-one scheme. Because.


• I received for review Broken by A. E. Rought from Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books. I am super excited to read this, partly from the blurb but partly because my experiences with Strange Chemistry books so far have been exceedingly positive.


• Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare was a +1 achievement unlocked book in my read-three-buy-one scheme. Already reviewed.

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince is the second book in Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices trilogy. You can read my review of the first book, Clockwork Angel, here.

First up, I loved this book. I very much enjoyed the first one, but the familiarity with the characters in this sequel breeds ever wittier banter (or persiflage, as Jem puts it) and builds greater empathy for the characters as we watch thier hopes and dreams destroyed by tragic irony.

Clockwork Prince continues to follow Tessa, Will, Jem and the other inhabitants of the London Shadowhunter Institute as they continue their search for the arch-bad guy of the series. Along the way they encounter exploding automatons, magic and love. There are twists and reveals and minor characters with bigger roles. I particularly liked that we saw more of Magnus, partly because he’s cool and partly because I was looking forward to observing things which were alluded to in the Mortal Instruments (set in the present of the same world).

I liked the way Clare set up the love triangle in this series. Unlike some YA books (Twilight is an obvious example), it felt like Tessa had a real choice and up until things came to a head she really could have chosen either boy (whereas Jacob the werewolf in Twilight never had a chance). Also, choices have consequences something which Clare properly explores and will hopefully continue doing so in Clockwork Princess, the final instalment due out in 2013.

I don’t think I can say much more without spoilers. Clockwork Prince is an excellent read and I highly recommend the series to any fans of YA, steampunk or manner-punk. I also strongly suggest starting with Clockwork Angel, the first book in the series.

5 / 5 stars

Beneath a Rising Moon by Keri Arthur

Beneath a Rising Moon by Keri Arthur is a werewolf-heavy paranormal romance. A copy of the book was provided to me by the US publisher for review purposes. I believe it was first published in 2008 (UK/Aus) and the edition I read was a US re-release.
This is the second book of Keri Arthur’s I’ve read, the first being Full Moon Rising, the first Riley Jensen Guardian book. Because I can’t help comparing, I’ll say I enjoyed Riley Jensen more, partly because she kicked more arse, partly because Full Moon Rising was set in Melbourne and partly for reasons I’ll get to shortly.

Beneath a Rising Moon follows Neva and Duncan as they investigate a series of murders in a small werewolf town in the vicinity of Aspen, and discover that they are soul mates.

Neva’s twin sister — to whom she is psychically linked — is head ranger and was attacked by the murderer but survived. While she’s in hospital, Neva decides to do some investigating of her own. As the full moon approaches, she goes to the Sinclair Mansion, renowned for its debauchery, and seduces the one Sinclair she knows can’t be the murderer, Duncan.

Duncan, meanwhile, has returned to Ripple Creek to investigate the murders that are somehow linked to his family (the dead girls were all sexual partners of his brothers). He quickly becomes suspicious of Neva’s motives in approaching him, believing her to be somehow linked with the murderer. So he decides to be an arsehole to her to get her to admit her motivations.

That was the point where the book lost a bit of appeal for me. While I understood what Duncan was trying to do, some of the ensuing sex scenes were a bit rapey (yes, I mean forcing her to have sex with him when she doesn’t want to and also while she’s asleep) and rather put me off. Then later, when everyone works out what’s going on, Duncan feels bad and tries to make amends but at no point does he sit down and apologise and explain to Neva. That she got over it anyway made me like her less as a character, although in general she was pretty good. Apparently they were destined to be together, but I would have liked to have more time spent on them overcoming their issues as a couple rather than just their personal issues (which were also plentiful).

Overall, Beneath a Rising Moon was well written and full of steamy sex scenes (except for those discussed above). If you enjoy paranormal romance and don’t think my qualms above would bother you, then give Beneath a Rising Moon a shot. Personally, I think other Keri Arthur books might be more my thing.

3.5 / 5 stars

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare is the first book in the Infernal Devices series, set in the same universe as The Mortal Instruments but in 1870s London instead of 2000s New York.

Tessa follows her brother from New York to London after her aunt dies but when she arrives it isn’t to find her brother waiting for her. Instead she captured by a pair of warlocks who torture her to force her to use a power she never knew she had. Then she is rescued by a dashing young Shadowhunter — one of the part human, part angels who act like the supernatural world’s police force and protect humans from them — and taken to London’s shadowhunter Institute. And so begins the quest to find her vanished brother and discover why she was captured and where her mysterious power comes from.

I very much enjoyed Tessa as a main character. First, her fascination with books automatically makes her appealing to this book lover. Second, although she can’t run around kicking arse like many YA heroines (because she doesn’t know how and also impractical dresses), she is clever and manages to use that to her advantage as much as (or more, really) than her power. I found it realistic that her attitude at the beginning, when confronted with female Shadowhunters, was “golly women need men to look after them” and enjoyed watching this change throughout the book.

The two male leads, Will and Jem, are both appealing. Will for his alternating snark and charm and Jem because he’s so damn nice. While I know I have at some point been spoiled for which boy Tessa ends up with, I couldn’t actually remember while reading which made it more exciting, particularly since it’s not yet resolved by the end.

Overall, Clockwork Angel was a great, steampunky read which I enjoyed more than I’ve been enjoying the Mortal Instruments series (which is also good). Recommending for lovers of steampunk, YA fantasy, or evil automatons.

4.5 / 5 stars

New Booksies

Since my last New Booksies post a while ago, I bought:

• Blackout by Mira Grant - already reviewed


• Bridge of Swords by Duncan Lay - already reviewed

Both were books I earned through my read-three-buy-one restriction.

Then presents. I got

• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (last book in the traitor spy trilogy - interesting fact, all three books I own in different formats: book 1 is AU trade paperback, book 2 is an ebook and book 3 is hardcover. If you can’t get them to match, make sure they’re ALL DIFFERENT.)
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (first of prequel series to The Mortal Instruments - reviews here)
• The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C Hines (a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while but never got around to)

Yay, books.

Bridge of Swords by Duncan Lay

Bridge of Swords is the first book in Duncan Lay’s second trilogy, Empire of Bones. It is set about three hundred years after the Dragon Sword Histories (The Wounded Guardian, The Radiant Child and The Risen Queen), however you definitely need not have read the first series for this one to make sense. Given the large time gap, there are no common characters and in the interim the face of the world has changed significantly so that even those who have read the first series will find it relatively unfamiliar at the start.

There are three central characters in Bridge of Swords: Sendatsu the elf, Huw the bard and Rhiannon the dancer. Sendatsu found himself inadvertently at the centre of a conflict among his secluded people and travelled into the human world to help resolve it. Throughout the story, he misses and pines for his young children whom he was forced to leave behind. The focus on the relationship between father and young children is not something that is often a strong element of fantasy writing, perhaps to its detriment — in fact the only other example I can think of is in Lay’s Dragon Sword Histories. Lay’s writing shows that positive father figure and heroic fighter need not be mutually exclusive characteristics.

Huw, the bard from Vales, travelled to the Forlish king’s court to play the lute. While there he became enamoured of the talented dancer Rhiannon and also learnt about the king’s plans to subdue and conquer Vales. Compelled to leave court and warn his homeland, he convinces/tricks Rhiannon into coming with him. In the course of events, they team up with Sendatsu and find themselves helping Velsh villages mount defences against the Forlish.

I liked that none of the main characters were perfect people and enjoyed watching them grow throughout the book. As I’m one for moral shades of grey characters, I enjoyed the two men more than Rhiannon. Although she definitely grows during the story, she goes from naïve to more worldly without really doing anything morally ambiguous, unlike the other two.

Something Lay does well is write about the minutiae of battles. I don’t mean the blow by blow account — although that’s good too — I mean the details of the preparation and organisation. I noted in in the Dragon Sword Histories and it shone through again in Bridge of Swords. I really appreciate the attention to detail and the research that obviously goes into the world-building.

All in all, I definitely recommend Bridge of Swords to fantasy lovers, especially those that enjoy fight scenes. And enjoyable read which left me hanging for the next book — especially after that cliffhanger ending, yeesh.

4.5 / 5 stars

Retro review: The Second Sons Trilogy by Jennifer Fallon

Jennifer Fallon is one of my favourite authors and I have enjoyed all of her books. You can read my review for The Dark Divide, her most recent release, here.

The Second Sons trilogy was Fallon’s second trilogy, after The Demon Child Trilogy. It was first published by Voyager AU between 2002 and 2003. It has since been released in the UK in 2005, the US from 2004 to 2005, and I think also in Germany. The covers I’m using in this post are the original Australian ones. And for the record, I’m pretty sure I’ve read the series at least three times.

Book 1: The Lion of Senet
Book 2: Eye of the Labyrinth
Book 3: Lord of the Shadows

Second Sons is set on a world with two suns — a red dwarf and a yellow star more like our sun. The unusual celestial setup means that there is a lot more volcanic activity than on Earth and that it’s never really dark. At night the red sun shines and during the day the yellow sun lights up the world fully. At this stage I should point out that the physics isn’t 100% accurate which bothered me when I first read it but which was easier to ignore on subsequent rereads. I suspect the fact that this is billed as fantasy rather than science fiction (even though there is zero magic and 100% strange other planet) helped me not be as annoyed. That and the excellent story.

The main characters are mostly their parents’ second sons (apart from the women/girls, of course), hence the series title. My favourite was definitely Dirk the main character. In fact, he is one of my favourite male characters in any series because unlike the traditional fantasy hero, he saves the day through wits not by running in swinging his sword wildly. He’s also a bit of an anti-hero, but I’ll get to that.

At the start, Dirk, second son of a duke, is apprentice to the duke’s physician. He is uncommonly smart (can do difficult maths in his head) and really wants nothing more than to pursue his studies. Since his older brother is set to inherit, this doesn’t seem to be an unrealistic hope. Until a wanted pirate washes up on the shore and Dirk gets caught up in other people’s political scheming.

Dirk’s virtue is that he is smart enough to turn the tables against those in power and that he doesn’t mind doing morally questionable things for the greater good. Throughout the series he falls in with groups generally considered dishonourable like drug runners and religious sects. I like morally ambiguous characters (mostly because I tend to find them more realistic and less grating). To top it off, Dirk’s final coup/day saving climax is to die for (well, after you get past the wait what is happening oh my poor defenceless knowledge of physics… oh… OHH. Ahem).

Of course, Second Sons wouldn’t be quite as great without an excellent cast of supporting characters. Jennifer Fallon is great at writing complex and difficult characters in all roles. The Lion of Senet — a king-like ruler — has being blatantly manipulated by the High Priestess of the Shadowdances (an upstart sect that formed in the wake of a time of turmoil when the second sun stopped shining — honest, the physics could be worse) ever since she convinced him to sacrifice his first-born to bring back the light. Now she desperately needs to work out when the suns will do something unusual again and has been trying to crack the mystery left behind in an ancient labyrinth. Cue her interest in Dirk and his mathematical prowess.

My favourite supporting characters were Alenor, crown princess and cousin to Dirk, and Marqel, acrobat cum social climber. Alenor I liked because of her strength in dealing with the people around her, most of whom didn’t really have her best interests at heart. Marqel I didn’t so much like as a person, but I very much enjoyed reading about her antics. She was the kind of character you want to throttle for her blind ambition. In my opinion, any character that makes you want to scream at the page (because of the emotional connection, I mean, not because they’re poorly written) is an excellent character. I particularly liked how polarising she was with the other characters — some loved her and bought into her scheming while others saw through her straight away, but of course they couldn’t convince the former of that.

Thematically, the Second Sons series explores the nature of belief and the whether the end justifies the means. I’ve noticed that most of Fallon’s books interrogate religious ideas (eg Demon Child has atheists encountering gods/magical beings they don’t believe in, Tide Lords is about a suicidal god/immortal) and I always enjoy the way in which she does it.

I highly recommend the Second Sons trilogy to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy, especially of the unconventional variety and to anyone who doesn’t mind their science fiction not being strictly scientifically accurate. Also to anyone who enjoys intelligent main characters.

Talisman of El by Alecia Stone

Talisman of El is Alecia Stone’s first novel and the first book published by Centrinian Press. I received a review copy through Netgalley. It’s marketed as YA, but the protagonists are on the younger side for YA (14 years old), so I expect a younger reader would enjoy it more than a 16-18 year old.

Blurb nabbed from Goodreads:

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?

One Planet.

Two Worlds.

Population: Human … 7 billion.
Others … unknown.

When 14-year-old Charlie Blake wakes up sweating and gasping for air in the middle of the night, he knows it is happening again. This time he witnesses a brutal murder. He’s afraid to tell anyone. No one would believe him … because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died.

Charlie doesn’t know why this is happening. He would give anything to have an ordinary life. The problem: he doesn’t belong in the world he knows as home.

He belongs with the others.

Plot-wise, I was hoping for a fun read with some adventure thrown in. It started promisingly with Charlie, an orphan, living with his new foster-father. At the start he’s mostly concerned with fitting in at school and the adoption going well. That is until the social worker’s back is turned and his new guardian abruptly turns nasty. Then confusing dreams and mysterious strangers lead Charlie and his friends on a quest to find a mysterious world hidden inside the Earth (a la Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne but with more magic).

The writing is clunky and unpolished. At times there were completely wrong word choices (more than just typos, I mean), but the main thing was the lack of flow in the prose, sometimes within individual sentences. Also, the dialogue was unnatural and at times awkward. In the middle, large chunks of dialogue were info-dumps. A stronger editorial hand might have improved the writing, but on the other hand, a crit group might also have helped. As it was, I wanted to get a red pen and start scribbling on my Kobo. Your mileage and sensitivity to language may vary.

The plot started out all right, and I liked Charlie’s grungy friend Alex. She added contrast to both the school bullies and the other girls who liked Charlie (but of whom he was oblivious).

Once the weird things started happening, I didn’t feel that the story hung together as well, most notably the section set in the other world. I liked the way in which Charlie’s abandonment issues are explored in relation to Derkein, an adult that gets involved in the magic quest.

Overall, the book started all right, flagged in the middle and the ending was nice. It had potential but didn’t quite reach it.

2.5 / 5 stars

Retro-reviews

I’ve been having a blast (mostly) reviewing books I’ve read since the start of the year. However, some of my favourite authors haven’t released any books since I started or have a back catalogue that I read close to publication that I can’t reread (because the books live elsewhere).
Since I still want to talk about these authors and books that I’ve loved in the past, I’ve decided to do a series of “retro-reviews” to talk about them. I won’t be rereading before each review (mostly because my copies of the books are in a different country) and instead will be talking about what most stuck with me most. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to review books that I don’t remember. On the contrary, a lot of the list I want to do I’ve read more than once!

 And you know what’s handy about reviewing things that aren’t new releases? The entire series will already be out! Not that I only review new things, but it’s still nice not to have to wait.
So that’s what I’ve got coming up. Stay tuned. :-)

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

Blackwood is Gwenda Bond’s début novel, out from Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot, on the 4th of September.

I loved it.

It’s a dark fantasy story about mysterious events on Roanoak Island. After the original colonists had come from England to settle Roanoak Island, all 114 of them mysteriously disappeared (and that part is actually true, more or less). Now, in the present day, Miranda Blackwood and Phillips are caught up in events surrounding a second disappearance of exactly the same number of people. To top it all off, Miranda is cursed and Phillips hears voices.

I really loved both the main characters in this book. They work well together, playing off each other as equals. Rather than having one be the damsel in distress, both had different talents which together help them save the day. At the start, the transition from wariness to friendship is a bit rapid but I think given the circumstances (and especially since we actually get to see what’s going through both of their heads) it was justified. Both characters are sensible and both keep trying to trick the other into letting them keep them safe, which was endearing.

The other thing that made me happy in this book were the pop culture references. Often when (US) authors are trying to be “now” or whatnot, the references to non-universal brands go meaninglessly over my head, sometimes leaving behind confusion. Bond, however, has both her characters be a bit geeky so their references are to things like Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Obviously, as a geek, I appreciated that, but I also thought they were grounded enough that if you hadn’t seen Firefly, you’d still get the point.

The ending of Blackwood was a bit heavy but all the more meaningful for it. No spoilers of course, but the difficult situation presented and the way it was dealt with is what pushed this book from an excellent 4.5 stars to one of my favourites of the year with 5 stars. The difficult obstacle was handled in a non-superficial way that I haven’t seen that often in YA.

All in all, I enjoyed Blackwood a lot and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for Bond’s future works. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys spec fic YA or wants a short fantasy read.

5 / 5 stars