A friend of mine very highly recommended this to me, on two separate occasions... I really wanted to love this, but it was distinctly "just OK" for me. I was so disappointed that I didn't love this, I didn't even really like this book... for a number of reasons.
The premise of the story is that the world is impoverished after a huge economic crash, and to cope with the desolation, everybody now lives in large part in a virtual reality called the OASIS. When the original creator of OASIS died, he launched a game where the grand prize is the entirety of his fortune and controlling interest in the company that runs OASIS. Because of the giant stakes, everybody is heavily invested in this game. However, the game is also hard, so it takes 5 years before the main character - Wade, aka Perzival, finds the first key. In order to win, you must find 3 keys, and navigate through a series of 80s themed immersive VR games.
One of the reasons I might not like this book is because it's written in first person. It's been a long time since I read a book in first person. Since it was in first person, it limited the POV to one character, one that I didn't relate to nor like very much. Perzival, is understandably obsessive compulsive and indifferent to the real world around him, but it also makes it very hard to like him. His one humanizing quality is his interaction with Art3mis and Aech, but that's not enough considering they don't spend very many scenes interacting with each other.
The other thing was the pacing of the book was weird. And it was on purpose. Cline decided that it would take 5 years before anyone would discover the first key, so he decided that subsequent keys could potentially take the same amount of time and exploits this by throwing in a montage of Perzival trying to woo Art3mis. It's a sad, pathetic montage... because it is just a montage of him telling you how often they hung out, and the only scene you get to read about in full is the one where she rejects him.
The whole 80s theme is kind of annoying. It's almost like Cline is super nostalgic and wanted to find an excuse to write about the things he enjoyed in his childhood. At the same time he's worried that his YA audience won't know the references and spends a huge amount of time explaining things. It got tiresome. And it didn't make sense that the game creator didn't incorporate anything outside of the 80s theme. The game is based on his life! Surely he would have found something interesting and worth using in the game from the 90s and 00s.
Most of all, I didn't like this book because it wasn't new. I agree that nothing is new anymore, but the writing made it hugely obvious that it wasn't new. Sometimes you forget how much copying there is if the writing is good, or the characters are relatable... this book was not. The economic devastation and the way people live in the real world in this book is reminiscent of Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. The immersive VR has been used numerous times - in Snow Crash, in the Otherland series by Tad Williams, in the Matrix movie, in Sword Art Online the anime. The game aspect is also similar to Sword Art Online, and more directly to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Compared to both stories, the consequences of this game are significantly less dire, and therefore I find it harder to care about who wins.
All in all, I found it to be a shadow of the better stories that it's based on. I don't think I'll read it again... and I kind of dread talking about it to the friend who recommended it.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
I was wrong about the sex... There was 2 extended sex scenes in this book. Nothing terribly gratuitous, kind of like Nora Roberts romance novel type... but still, two extended sex scenes.
In other news, this is the book where all the PoV characters we've met so far converge.
At the beginning of the book, Aelin and her court arrive in Terrasen to meet with the remaining nobles, and get a tongue lashing by the most powerful lord at the moment. Lord Darrow basically tells her that no one is going to acknowledge her if all she does is waltz in and say "Hello, it's me, Aelin. I'm back!". He refuses to acknowledge her as his queen until she brings in some soldiers to fight the war. He would not give her any of their resources until she proves that she's worthy. This strikes a serious blow to Aelin's confidence of course, but she spends the rest of the book scheming about how she would deliver this. Since she totally understands why he said that.
To start, she leads her band of merry men to Skull's Bay to coerce the Pirate King to give her his armada. On the way there, they hear that Rifthold has been attacked, and she sends Rowan to save Dorian and to meet them in Skull's Bay. While she goes to by way of Ilium with Lysandra and Aedion.
At Skull's Bay, they encounter Gavriel and Fenrys, who are in town looking for Lorcan. The two fae warriors decide to stay with her after she reveals that she has the wyrdkeys that Lorcan is looking for, so he would come to them eventually. Gavriel gets to meet his son Aedion. The relationship is angsty at best, but Gavriel seems genuinely glad to know Aedion. It is during the battle in Skull's Bay (the Volg follow them there), that we are shown how Lysandra is basically Aelin's ace in the hole. She takes on the shape of a sea dragon, and embodies the legend that would convince the people of Skull's Bay to join their cause. The pirate king is not so easily convinced, but this attack becomes the big arm twist to give Aelin his ships.
Next, they sail for these secret islands off Ellywe to find the lock that would bind the keys and seal Erawan away forever. On their way there, Manon falls out of the sky on to them. She was severely injured, and she told her wyr to take her somewhere safe... and he decided to take her to Aelin.
Manon had been punished and banished from the Ironteeth clan because she saved Dorian in Rifthold before Rowan arrived. She's named a traitor and her matron reveals to her that she's actually the child of a Crochan and an Ironteeth.. or the prophesied queen who would break the witch curse and allow them all to return to the wastes. While on the boat, Manon and Dorian get together. Not sure if it's love, but definitely feels like a rebound connection... as they have their world view ripped apart, and find comfort in each other. The thirteen have no idea where Manon is... but Abraxos brings them to her at the end of the book.
Elide and Lorcan meet up early in the book, and he escorts her to meet Aelin. Elide shows herself to be clever, and has excellent survival skills. Lorcan slowly falls in love with her, and starts to question his role in Maeve's court. Their paths intersect with Aelin's at the lock location. Aelin and Aedion are overjoyed that Elide is alive, but they don't get to spend much time together because after they find the lock that is really a mirror that explains how to make the lock, they are attacked by Maeve's armada.
They fight on the sea. Rowan manages to convince his family to join them, so 1/3 of Maeve's fleet turns on them... but that isn't enough because Aelin is trapped in the mirror during this fight and isn't able to help. The tide finally turns when Manon's thirteen arrive to end the battle.
When Aelin returns from the mirror, Maeve traps her, and forces Aelin to surrender herself or Elide's life is forfeit. She agrees, and is masked, chained and locked inside an iron box before anyone can save her. After she is gone, the remainder of her allies arrive... the silent assassins from the south, and the Ashryver army from Wendlyn. Ansel of Briarcliff is also there, but she arrived earlier with Melisandre's armada. To keep the army that Aelin cobbled together, Lysandra takes Aelin's shape and leads them north back to Terrasen with Aedion (who's bloody pissed about all this). Rowan, Lorcan, Gavriel and Elide are to set out to save Aelin. Manon, Dorian and the rest of the witches are off to look for the remaining Crochan witches to bring them into the fold. And that's how this book ends.
The next book is meant to be the last book in this series. Out 2017. So I've got at least another year before I'll find out how this all ends.
In the mirror, Aelin and Manon find out that the only way to end this war is to create a new lock... which requires Aelin to burn through all of her power and die to construct it. They went out of their way to mention that it must be of Elena's bloodline, so Dorian also qualifies... so I think Dorian will sacrifice himself instead in the end. But who knows... maybe Maas will come up with a Deus Ex Machina that prevents either of them from dying. However, besides the lock sacrifice, another character must die in order to use the lock... who that will be remains to be seen. If Aelin creates the lock, then Rowan is the most obvious answer - since neither would want to live if the other dies. If Dorian creates the lock, I have a hard time imaging Manon sacrificing herself for his sake when she has so many other things to live for... Maybe Fenrys? or Gavriel.... just trying to think of all the side characters who could do it...
In other news, this is the book where all the PoV characters we've met so far converge.
At the beginning of the book, Aelin and her court arrive in Terrasen to meet with the remaining nobles, and get a tongue lashing by the most powerful lord at the moment. Lord Darrow basically tells her that no one is going to acknowledge her if all she does is waltz in and say "Hello, it's me, Aelin. I'm back!". He refuses to acknowledge her as his queen until she brings in some soldiers to fight the war. He would not give her any of their resources until she proves that she's worthy. This strikes a serious blow to Aelin's confidence of course, but she spends the rest of the book scheming about how she would deliver this. Since she totally understands why he said that.
To start, she leads her band of merry men to Skull's Bay to coerce the Pirate King to give her his armada. On the way there, they hear that Rifthold has been attacked, and she sends Rowan to save Dorian and to meet them in Skull's Bay. While she goes to by way of Ilium with Lysandra and Aedion.
At Skull's Bay, they encounter Gavriel and Fenrys, who are in town looking for Lorcan. The two fae warriors decide to stay with her after she reveals that she has the wyrdkeys that Lorcan is looking for, so he would come to them eventually. Gavriel gets to meet his son Aedion. The relationship is angsty at best, but Gavriel seems genuinely glad to know Aedion. It is during the battle in Skull's Bay (the Volg follow them there), that we are shown how Lysandra is basically Aelin's ace in the hole. She takes on the shape of a sea dragon, and embodies the legend that would convince the people of Skull's Bay to join their cause. The pirate king is not so easily convinced, but this attack becomes the big arm twist to give Aelin his ships.
Next, they sail for these secret islands off Ellywe to find the lock that would bind the keys and seal Erawan away forever. On their way there, Manon falls out of the sky on to them. She was severely injured, and she told her wyr to take her somewhere safe... and he decided to take her to Aelin.
Manon had been punished and banished from the Ironteeth clan because she saved Dorian in Rifthold before Rowan arrived. She's named a traitor and her matron reveals to her that she's actually the child of a Crochan and an Ironteeth.. or the prophesied queen who would break the witch curse and allow them all to return to the wastes. While on the boat, Manon and Dorian get together. Not sure if it's love, but definitely feels like a rebound connection... as they have their world view ripped apart, and find comfort in each other. The thirteen have no idea where Manon is... but Abraxos brings them to her at the end of the book.
Elide and Lorcan meet up early in the book, and he escorts her to meet Aelin. Elide shows herself to be clever, and has excellent survival skills. Lorcan slowly falls in love with her, and starts to question his role in Maeve's court. Their paths intersect with Aelin's at the lock location. Aelin and Aedion are overjoyed that Elide is alive, but they don't get to spend much time together because after they find the lock that is really a mirror that explains how to make the lock, they are attacked by Maeve's armada.
They fight on the sea. Rowan manages to convince his family to join them, so 1/3 of Maeve's fleet turns on them... but that isn't enough because Aelin is trapped in the mirror during this fight and isn't able to help. The tide finally turns when Manon's thirteen arrive to end the battle.
When Aelin returns from the mirror, Maeve traps her, and forces Aelin to surrender herself or Elide's life is forfeit. She agrees, and is masked, chained and locked inside an iron box before anyone can save her. After she is gone, the remainder of her allies arrive... the silent assassins from the south, and the Ashryver army from Wendlyn. Ansel of Briarcliff is also there, but she arrived earlier with Melisandre's armada. To keep the army that Aelin cobbled together, Lysandra takes Aelin's shape and leads them north back to Terrasen with Aedion (who's bloody pissed about all this). Rowan, Lorcan, Gavriel and Elide are to set out to save Aelin. Manon, Dorian and the rest of the witches are off to look for the remaining Crochan witches to bring them into the fold. And that's how this book ends.
The next book is meant to be the last book in this series. Out 2017. So I've got at least another year before I'll find out how this all ends.
In the mirror, Aelin and Manon find out that the only way to end this war is to create a new lock... which requires Aelin to burn through all of her power and die to construct it. They went out of their way to mention that it must be of Elena's bloodline, so Dorian also qualifies... so I think Dorian will sacrifice himself instead in the end. But who knows... maybe Maas will come up with a Deus Ex Machina that prevents either of them from dying. However, besides the lock sacrifice, another character must die in order to use the lock... who that will be remains to be seen. If Aelin creates the lock, then Rowan is the most obvious answer - since neither would want to live if the other dies. If Dorian creates the lock, I have a hard time imaging Manon sacrificing herself for his sake when she has so many other things to live for... Maybe Fenrys? or Gavriel.... just trying to think of all the side characters who could do it...
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
This is basically the last book in the first trilogy of the series.
Everything that all the characters worked towards in the first two books come to a head in this book. All the chess piece moving that I complained about in the last book, check mate in this book. It could end here, and I would be satisfied, but the next trilogy of the books begins in the next book. And according to Maas' website, the series will end after book 6.
Celeana is back in Rifthold in this book to tie up all the loose ends from her life as Celeana.
A couple surprises - Lysandra, Celeana's enemy for Sam's attention in the very first book (prequel), is actually an ally. A very cool ally with a unique skillset. And an amazing jewellery who does amazing things, almost deus ex machina like. And Rowan comes to Rifthold, following Lorcan, one of the fae cadre who comes here on the pretext of finding the wyrdkeys to prevent Maeve from destroying the world. You don't really know why Lorcan is there because you can't trust anything he says... but he's very conveniently there for Celeana to manipulate into doing a couple things for her, that she can't fix on her own without magic.
After she destroys Arobynn, she stops using Celeana as her name. She fully takes on the mantle of Aelin and works with Chaol, Aedion, Rowan and Lysandra to destroy the glass castle and free magic, kill the king and save Dorian.
Interspersed throughout the book are a couple chapters from Dorian's point of view, and you see how awful it is to be inhabited by the Valg.
Maas also introduces a new character in this book, Elide, Aelin's nurses's daughter. Who is also a Lady of Terrasen. She's been imprisoned by her uncle for the last 10 years, and has basically been doing what she can to survive. She still holds hope that Aelin is alive and will save them all. She's in Morath with the Ironteeth witches, and somehow earn their loyalty after Manon discovers that Elide has some witch blood in her. Through Elide, you can see how Manon's storyline is going to intersect with Aelin's. They do actually meet in the last third of the book, and Aelin saves Manon after an epic beatdown. However, their encounter is brief. You get the sense that Manon will eventually breakaway from the Matron and join Aelin. But that probably won't happen till the end of the next book.
The biggest revelation, I think, in this book, is that the king is a pawn for the Valg king. During the course of this book, you discover that the biggest baddie that was supposedly killed 500 years ago, was actually only imprisoned. And Lord Perrath freed him with the King of Adarlan's help. But the Valg king took Lord Perrath's body, while the King of Adarlan has only been a pawn the whole time. If you recall, Lord Perrath is the creepy bastard that I didn't think much of and didn't bother to talk about in my post about Throne of Glass. And Kaltain is still with him, but she ends up freeing herself from him in the end. Not in a pretty way, and you feel so bad for her, but she finally got to exact some of her revenge. Also, you find out that Roland, Dorian's cousin, was used as a test run before they snapped the collar on Dorian. Roland gets killed by Manon, and is happy about it.
At the end of the book, Aelin and crew head for Terrasen to begin the next book, Dorian is King of Adarlan, Chaol is paralyzed from the waist down from the boss battle and is going to the South to get healing/start diplomatic relations for the war, Elide is on her way to Terrasen to meetup with her family, and the witches remain with the baddies for now.
After I finished reading the book, I kind of realize the difference between a YA and an adult fiction book is just the way sex is portrayed and the length of the denouement. There is sex in YA books, but its vague and more emphasis on the value of waiting for the right time. And the denouement in this book was almost 100 pages. That's a whole novella. Everything was wrapped up so neatly. Whereas in adult fantasy, there are no qualms about just cutting everything off and let people suffer the terrible cliffhanger. Or maybe it's just Maas who does that.
Everything that all the characters worked towards in the first two books come to a head in this book. All the chess piece moving that I complained about in the last book, check mate in this book. It could end here, and I would be satisfied, but the next trilogy of the books begins in the next book. And according to Maas' website, the series will end after book 6.
Celeana is back in Rifthold in this book to tie up all the loose ends from her life as Celeana.
- She resolves her relationship with Choal. Chaol is still stupid and thickheaded, but he's coming to terms with that. He doggedly refuses to kill Dorian, and refuses to acknowledge the truth about his kingdom. SO thickheaded that he can't see how his second in the rebellion, Nesryn, is kinda in love with him. But that works for him in the end.
- She works with Arobynn to save Aedion from the dungeons. She still hates Arobynn, her former Master, but knows him well enough to realize when she's being played. And she does fabulously in playing him as well. And the reunion with Aedion is wonderful.
- She destroys Arobynn.
A couple surprises - Lysandra, Celeana's enemy for Sam's attention in the very first book (prequel), is actually an ally. A very cool ally with a unique skillset. And an amazing jewellery who does amazing things, almost deus ex machina like. And Rowan comes to Rifthold, following Lorcan, one of the fae cadre who comes here on the pretext of finding the wyrdkeys to prevent Maeve from destroying the world. You don't really know why Lorcan is there because you can't trust anything he says... but he's very conveniently there for Celeana to manipulate into doing a couple things for her, that she can't fix on her own without magic.
After she destroys Arobynn, she stops using Celeana as her name. She fully takes on the mantle of Aelin and works with Chaol, Aedion, Rowan and Lysandra to destroy the glass castle and free magic, kill the king and save Dorian.
Interspersed throughout the book are a couple chapters from Dorian's point of view, and you see how awful it is to be inhabited by the Valg.
Maas also introduces a new character in this book, Elide, Aelin's nurses's daughter. Who is also a Lady of Terrasen. She's been imprisoned by her uncle for the last 10 years, and has basically been doing what she can to survive. She still holds hope that Aelin is alive and will save them all. She's in Morath with the Ironteeth witches, and somehow earn their loyalty after Manon discovers that Elide has some witch blood in her. Through Elide, you can see how Manon's storyline is going to intersect with Aelin's. They do actually meet in the last third of the book, and Aelin saves Manon after an epic beatdown. However, their encounter is brief. You get the sense that Manon will eventually breakaway from the Matron and join Aelin. But that probably won't happen till the end of the next book.
The biggest revelation, I think, in this book, is that the king is a pawn for the Valg king. During the course of this book, you discover that the biggest baddie that was supposedly killed 500 years ago, was actually only imprisoned. And Lord Perrath freed him with the King of Adarlan's help. But the Valg king took Lord Perrath's body, while the King of Adarlan has only been a pawn the whole time. If you recall, Lord Perrath is the creepy bastard that I didn't think much of and didn't bother to talk about in my post about Throne of Glass. And Kaltain is still with him, but she ends up freeing herself from him in the end. Not in a pretty way, and you feel so bad for her, but she finally got to exact some of her revenge. Also, you find out that Roland, Dorian's cousin, was used as a test run before they snapped the collar on Dorian. Roland gets killed by Manon, and is happy about it.
At the end of the book, Aelin and crew head for Terrasen to begin the next book, Dorian is King of Adarlan, Chaol is paralyzed from the waist down from the boss battle and is going to the South to get healing/start diplomatic relations for the war, Elide is on her way to Terrasen to meetup with her family, and the witches remain with the baddies for now.
After I finished reading the book, I kind of realize the difference between a YA and an adult fiction book is just the way sex is portrayed and the length of the denouement. There is sex in YA books, but its vague and more emphasis on the value of waiting for the right time. And the denouement in this book was almost 100 pages. That's a whole novella. Everything was wrapped up so neatly. Whereas in adult fantasy, there are no qualms about just cutting everything off and let people suffer the terrible cliffhanger. Or maybe it's just Maas who does that.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas
With this book, the Throne of Glass series enters epic fantasy territory. Maas starts writing from multiple points of views, and adds parallel story lines. We're introduced to a couple new character POVs - Rowan, Aedion, Sascha and Manon.
Rowan is tied to Celeana, Aedion is tied to Dorian (atm) and Sascha is tied to Dorian. But Manon is tied to no one at the moment. She is an Ironteeth witch who has been recruited with her clan to ride the wyrvn that the king has been raising in secret. Her clan is rival to Baba Yellowleg's, the woman that Celeana killed in the second book to protect Dorian. Her story shows that the king is planning something big, but maybe the king is not in as much control of everything as he thinks he is. Whether or not Manon's story ends up supporting Celeana's story remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Celeana is in Wendyl feeling sorry for herself. But is discovered by Rowan, who is a fae warrior sent to train her before she is granted admittance into Doranelle, the fae kingdom. Celeana's relationship with men inevitably start in a trainer/reluctant trainee situation. So much so that Celeana mentions it to herself a few times. The cyclical nature of this makes me think that Rowan will inevitably replace Chaol in her heart. However, she still clings to Chaol through most of this book, at least her memory of him. It's not until the end of the novel that she decides to let him go. In this book, you get more of why Celeana broke up with Chaol. It's her knowledge that he would never really truly accept her as she actually is - a powerful fae warrior, who would be queen. While Celeana trains in Wendyl, we learn how powerful she is, as she learns to control her power over fire.
Rowan, I don't have much to say about him. He's there. He's crotchety. Yes, he's suffered a lot, but too crotchety right now for me to say much about him. He definitely cares about Celeana, or Aelin as he insists on calling her. But otherwise... I think we will need to wait for the next book to see what he's really like. In this book, it was mostly just watching him thaw to her, and he's there as her therapy tool to get over the events of the previous book.
Back in Rifthold, Chaol's goal in life is still too small, and his world view too narrow to see all that is going on. He becomes allied with Aedion - Celeana's cousin when he returns from abroad. But the only reason Chaol is allied with Aedion is because he's trying to protect Celeana and Dorian. Everyone keeps trying to make him pick a side, but Chaol can't choose because then he would have to admit that his world view is flawed. And that only happens at the very end of this book.
Not much happens to Dorian in this book. He's still cranky at Chaol for helping too much without helping at all. The major thing that happens to him is that he meets Sascha, a secret rebel who falls in love with him and helps him hide his magical powers.
Now that I think about it, not a lot happens in this book - no, lots happen in this book, it just doesn't contribute to the overarching plot that connects the books. I call this an "inbetween" book, where everybody is just being set up for the events that will happen later. While everyone is being moved around the board, and their allegiances are being defined, we learn a little bit more about the king's plans. Besides the wyvrn and the witches, the king is revealed to also have Volg in his arsenal. The Volg are the legendary enemies of the fae. They're a cross between a doppelganger and a Dementor (from Harry Potter). And Dorian ends up being inhabited by one at the very end after Sascha gets beheaded and Dorian is forced to reveal his magical powers to save Chaol. His father snaps a Volg collar on him... (I've started reading the next book, so I know that we'll get to see his POV of living with a Volg - not far enough to know who wins yet tho).
But yes... all the earth shattering events happen at the very end of this book to set up the next one.
Rowan is tied to Celeana, Aedion is tied to Dorian (atm) and Sascha is tied to Dorian. But Manon is tied to no one at the moment. She is an Ironteeth witch who has been recruited with her clan to ride the wyrvn that the king has been raising in secret. Her clan is rival to Baba Yellowleg's, the woman that Celeana killed in the second book to protect Dorian. Her story shows that the king is planning something big, but maybe the king is not in as much control of everything as he thinks he is. Whether or not Manon's story ends up supporting Celeana's story remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Celeana is in Wendyl feeling sorry for herself. But is discovered by Rowan, who is a fae warrior sent to train her before she is granted admittance into Doranelle, the fae kingdom. Celeana's relationship with men inevitably start in a trainer/reluctant trainee situation. So much so that Celeana mentions it to herself a few times. The cyclical nature of this makes me think that Rowan will inevitably replace Chaol in her heart. However, she still clings to Chaol through most of this book, at least her memory of him. It's not until the end of the novel that she decides to let him go. In this book, you get more of why Celeana broke up with Chaol. It's her knowledge that he would never really truly accept her as she actually is - a powerful fae warrior, who would be queen. While Celeana trains in Wendyl, we learn how powerful she is, as she learns to control her power over fire.
Rowan, I don't have much to say about him. He's there. He's crotchety. Yes, he's suffered a lot, but too crotchety right now for me to say much about him. He definitely cares about Celeana, or Aelin as he insists on calling her. But otherwise... I think we will need to wait for the next book to see what he's really like. In this book, it was mostly just watching him thaw to her, and he's there as her therapy tool to get over the events of the previous book.
Back in Rifthold, Chaol's goal in life is still too small, and his world view too narrow to see all that is going on. He becomes allied with Aedion - Celeana's cousin when he returns from abroad. But the only reason Chaol is allied with Aedion is because he's trying to protect Celeana and Dorian. Everyone keeps trying to make him pick a side, but Chaol can't choose because then he would have to admit that his world view is flawed. And that only happens at the very end of this book.
Not much happens to Dorian in this book. He's still cranky at Chaol for helping too much without helping at all. The major thing that happens to him is that he meets Sascha, a secret rebel who falls in love with him and helps him hide his magical powers.
Now that I think about it, not a lot happens in this book - no, lots happen in this book, it just doesn't contribute to the overarching plot that connects the books. I call this an "inbetween" book, where everybody is just being set up for the events that will happen later. While everyone is being moved around the board, and their allegiances are being defined, we learn a little bit more about the king's plans. Besides the wyvrn and the witches, the king is revealed to also have Volg in his arsenal. The Volg are the legendary enemies of the fae. They're a cross between a doppelganger and a Dementor (from Harry Potter). And Dorian ends up being inhabited by one at the very end after Sascha gets beheaded and Dorian is forced to reveal his magical powers to save Chaol. His father snaps a Volg collar on him... (I've started reading the next book, so I know that we'll get to see his POV of living with a Volg - not far enough to know who wins yet tho).
But yes... all the earth shattering events happen at the very end of this book to set up the next one.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
Wow, so many things happen in this book.
Spoiler alert. Turn away now.
To be fair, I try but inevitably always give spoilers. I like them. It gives me something to look forward to. If you don't like them, you'd be reading the Amazon summary and not any of the reviews, much less Googling other people's opinion of the book.
But wow. In the following chronological order:
Celeana and Chaol get together.
Nehemia dies.
Celeana and Chaol break up.
Dorian discovers that he has untapped magical powers.
Celeana is actually fae and the lost heir of Terrasen.
The first part of the book is adorable. Celeana and Chaol are so cute together. Dorian is super jealous of them, but who wouldn't be when you watch two people first fall in love. But of course, things are not meant to be. Chaol gets kidnapped and Celeana has a flashback of what happened to Sam and goes mental to save him. But after she saves him, she finds out about Nehemia...!!!
All this occurs because of various political machinations. Celeana isn't too concerned about these yet, so I won't go into it until it matters to her. But she gets sucked in by the King, by Nehemia's allegiance to the rebels, by Elena (the first fae queen's ghost)... She feels like a pawn, and can't help by notice that what happened to her before is happening again on a bigger scale.
Nehemia's death affects Celeana severely. She keeps blaming herself, blaming the world and ultimately Chaol for losing her best friend. Chaol, on the other hand, I totally sympathize with. He was just doing his job, like she was. Only she'd been betrayed by people in power before and has since started thinking for herself. Whereas, he has not had to suffer the terrible misfortune of a bad boss who took advantage of him (until now... maybe).
In the meantime, Dorian is all lonesome in his discovery that he has magical powers. He's scared witless because he knows his dad may kill him for it. So he tries to research stuff on his own until he accidentally reveals himself to Celeana. They sort of try to help each other for a bit, but they're a little too wrapped up in feeling sorry for themselves to be effective.
For the last point, only Chaol knows because Celeana revealed herself to save him from a bump in the night that shows up near the end of the book. Finding out that she's fae caused Chaol to get super worried and works to send her away to the last fae allied kingdom in the world, to keep her safe from the king. And just before she leaves, Celeana reveals the last part to Chaol in an obscure way, but he finds out before the end of the book... and cause him to worry some more.
And that's when the next book starts.
!!!
Spoiler alert. Turn away now.
To be fair, I try but inevitably always give spoilers. I like them. It gives me something to look forward to. If you don't like them, you'd be reading the Amazon summary and not any of the reviews, much less Googling other people's opinion of the book.
But wow. In the following chronological order:
Celeana and Chaol get together.
Nehemia dies.
Celeana and Chaol break up.
Dorian discovers that he has untapped magical powers.
Celeana is actually fae and the lost heir of Terrasen.
The first part of the book is adorable. Celeana and Chaol are so cute together. Dorian is super jealous of them, but who wouldn't be when you watch two people first fall in love. But of course, things are not meant to be. Chaol gets kidnapped and Celeana has a flashback of what happened to Sam and goes mental to save him. But after she saves him, she finds out about Nehemia...!!!
All this occurs because of various political machinations. Celeana isn't too concerned about these yet, so I won't go into it until it matters to her. But she gets sucked in by the King, by Nehemia's allegiance to the rebels, by Elena (the first fae queen's ghost)... She feels like a pawn, and can't help by notice that what happened to her before is happening again on a bigger scale.
Nehemia's death affects Celeana severely. She keeps blaming herself, blaming the world and ultimately Chaol for losing her best friend. Chaol, on the other hand, I totally sympathize with. He was just doing his job, like she was. Only she'd been betrayed by people in power before and has since started thinking for herself. Whereas, he has not had to suffer the terrible misfortune of a bad boss who took advantage of him (until now... maybe).
In the meantime, Dorian is all lonesome in his discovery that he has magical powers. He's scared witless because he knows his dad may kill him for it. So he tries to research stuff on his own until he accidentally reveals himself to Celeana. They sort of try to help each other for a bit, but they're a little too wrapped up in feeling sorry for themselves to be effective.
For the last point, only Chaol knows because Celeana revealed herself to save him from a bump in the night that shows up near the end of the book. Finding out that she's fae caused Chaol to get super worried and works to send her away to the last fae allied kingdom in the world, to keep her safe from the king. And just before she leaves, Celeana reveals the last part to Chaol in an obscure way, but he finds out before the end of the book... and cause him to worry some more.
And that's when the next book starts.
!!!
Saturday, October 29, 2016
The Assassin's Blade / Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Read "The Assassin's Blade" first.
I'd started reading "Throne of Glass" because it was the first book published. But I quickly realized that I was missing a lot of information. So I did a quick Google search to see what "The Assassin's Blade" was about. I knew it was supposed to be a series of prequel novellas, but didn't want to read it if it didn't tie into Throne of Glass at all. Luckily I found out that Throne of Glass starts where The Assassin's Blade ends, so happily started reading that instead... However, I had just read the first chapter of Throne of Glass and knew something bad happens for Throne of Glass to begin, so kind of read through Assassins' Blade with a lot of dread.
Maas reveals some of the background info in Throne of Glass, but seems to assume that you would know things about Celaena's past.
But yes, read The Assassin's Blade first.
The Throne of Glass series follows the story of Celaena Sardothien and her quest to survive. She was found as an orphan by the lead assassin in the country when she was 8 and was then trained to be his heir. Her training is brutal, but he treated her as well as he could. At first, I was a little annoyed by her because she was always like "I'm the best" and "I'm beautiful". But you later realize that she's just repeating what people have always said to her. Not that it's untrue, but for her, her skills and her beauty are just tools for her to survive the world that she ends up in.
In Throne of Glass, the story goes as summarized in the book jacket. She is pulled into a competition to be the King's Champion (aka, personal assassin), and enters into a bit of a love triangle with the Crown Prince (Dorian) and the Captain of the Royal Guard (Chaol). I'm totally shipping Celaena and Chaol. Dorian is like the pretty boy you always crush on because he's gorgeous and knows how to talk to girls, but you ultimately know that it's too good to be true (no matter what he thinks at the time). Whereas Chaol is sturdy and takes care of you, and is still gorgeous AF. And gets you. Anyways, I'm not sure Celaena can handle another relationship yet after Assassin's Blade. Throne of Glass is a year and a couple months after Assassin Blade, so... she's still a bit scarred.
And if you ask, "Why are you reading a Young Adult novel? There's no sex in it" - I will reply "EXACTLY". The novels I've been reading have been a bit too focused on that lately and there's been very little character development. Also, I've been annoyed at how short the good books have been (I look at you Ilona Andrews - averaging 250 pages). Maas's books are around 350 pages so far. Harry Potter and Tamora Pierce's book are even longer. I've missed having a full proper plot. Although I haven't missed the mass of characters that are a symptom of fantasy epics - I don't think I could read Robert Jordan again or even attempt George RR Martin just yet.
I'd started reading "Throne of Glass" because it was the first book published. But I quickly realized that I was missing a lot of information. So I did a quick Google search to see what "The Assassin's Blade" was about. I knew it was supposed to be a series of prequel novellas, but didn't want to read it if it didn't tie into Throne of Glass at all. Luckily I found out that Throne of Glass starts where The Assassin's Blade ends, so happily started reading that instead... However, I had just read the first chapter of Throne of Glass and knew something bad happens for Throne of Glass to begin, so kind of read through Assassins' Blade with a lot of dread.
Maas reveals some of the background info in Throne of Glass, but seems to assume that you would know things about Celaena's past.
But yes, read The Assassin's Blade first.
The Throne of Glass series follows the story of Celaena Sardothien and her quest to survive. She was found as an orphan by the lead assassin in the country when she was 8 and was then trained to be his heir. Her training is brutal, but he treated her as well as he could. At first, I was a little annoyed by her because she was always like "I'm the best" and "I'm beautiful". But you later realize that she's just repeating what people have always said to her. Not that it's untrue, but for her, her skills and her beauty are just tools for her to survive the world that she ends up in.
In Throne of Glass, the story goes as summarized in the book jacket. She is pulled into a competition to be the King's Champion (aka, personal assassin), and enters into a bit of a love triangle with the Crown Prince (Dorian) and the Captain of the Royal Guard (Chaol). I'm totally shipping Celaena and Chaol. Dorian is like the pretty boy you always crush on because he's gorgeous and knows how to talk to girls, but you ultimately know that it's too good to be true (no matter what he thinks at the time). Whereas Chaol is sturdy and takes care of you, and is still gorgeous AF. And gets you. Anyways, I'm not sure Celaena can handle another relationship yet after Assassin's Blade. Throne of Glass is a year and a couple months after Assassin Blade, so... she's still a bit scarred.
And if you ask, "Why are you reading a Young Adult novel? There's no sex in it" - I will reply "EXACTLY". The novels I've been reading have been a bit too focused on that lately and there's been very little character development. Also, I've been annoyed at how short the good books have been (I look at you Ilona Andrews - averaging 250 pages). Maas's books are around 350 pages so far. Harry Potter and Tamora Pierce's book are even longer. I've missed having a full proper plot. Although I haven't missed the mass of characters that are a symptom of fantasy epics - I don't think I could read Robert Jordan again or even attempt George RR Martin just yet.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Touch the Dark / Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance
Remember when I mentioned post traumatic LKH syndrome? Well, Karen Chance brought on a full spasm worth. I only managed to read the first two books before I had to stop because it reminded me too much of LKH.
If you like LKH, you will probably like Karen Chance. Of what I've read, Karen Chance is at least better plot wise - there's more action to the story. They are very similar in that they throw in lots of violence, lots of sex and borderline rape scenes, and very little character development.
The main character of Karen Chance's series is Cassandra Palmer (Cassie), and she is a clairvoyant who was raised by vampires. She is human when the series begins, but according to the subsequent book summaries, she eventually becomes a god. When you meet her, she's been on the run for a few years, after having escaped the vampire mafia that raised her. Somehow, she was raised by the one ugly vampire in the entire series because she is soon kidnapped and forced to endure the attentions of multiple sexy vampires. And of course, ALL the sexy vampires want to have sex with her for one reason or another.
The first book was very fast paced, action packed with very little explanation for what was going on until two thirds of the way through. At which point, the action stopped and there was an extensive dialog between Cassie and the sexy vampires. Of course, this wouldn't be required if Cassie had any skills at listening. Instead, she is extremely stubborn and refuses to acknowledge the danger she's in and constantly runs off to do side missions with very little rationale. She basically annoyed the hell out of me.
The only reason I read the second book is that the first book ended in cliffhanger, and I went for it to see what happened. Story in book two continues a couple weeks (months? it's not clear but definitely not within days of the first book) later, and all I could think was, WHY ARE YOU STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BAD PLACE! And why haven't you been caught yet? Why are the sexy vampires letting you wander off being a fucking idiot with no skills. BTW, they don't tell you why.
There are certainly interesting ideas in there - UN of supernatural creatures, Jack the Ripper is now a vampire, and tattoos that hold spells. If only the main character wasn't so annoying and showed so little growth despite all the things that happen to her.
Also, there is time travel.
There's just too much going on in this series and I have trouble caring for the welfare of the main character. Cassie keeps saying she doesn't want to be Pythia, but keeps running into the fray to use the Pythia's powers. Make up your damn mind woman! She's so fragmented that she doesn't seem like a real person.
Anyways, I won't be reading anymore of this series. Just writing this made me angry at how pointless Cassie Palmer is as a person.
If you like LKH, you will probably like Karen Chance. Of what I've read, Karen Chance is at least better plot wise - there's more action to the story. They are very similar in that they throw in lots of violence, lots of sex and borderline rape scenes, and very little character development.
The main character of Karen Chance's series is Cassandra Palmer (Cassie), and she is a clairvoyant who was raised by vampires. She is human when the series begins, but according to the subsequent book summaries, she eventually becomes a god. When you meet her, she's been on the run for a few years, after having escaped the vampire mafia that raised her. Somehow, she was raised by the one ugly vampire in the entire series because she is soon kidnapped and forced to endure the attentions of multiple sexy vampires. And of course, ALL the sexy vampires want to have sex with her for one reason or another.
The first book was very fast paced, action packed with very little explanation for what was going on until two thirds of the way through. At which point, the action stopped and there was an extensive dialog between Cassie and the sexy vampires. Of course, this wouldn't be required if Cassie had any skills at listening. Instead, she is extremely stubborn and refuses to acknowledge the danger she's in and constantly runs off to do side missions with very little rationale. She basically annoyed the hell out of me.
The only reason I read the second book is that the first book ended in cliffhanger, and I went for it to see what happened. Story in book two continues a couple weeks (months? it's not clear but definitely not within days of the first book) later, and all I could think was, WHY ARE YOU STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BAD PLACE! And why haven't you been caught yet? Why are the sexy vampires letting you wander off being a fucking idiot with no skills. BTW, they don't tell you why.
There are certainly interesting ideas in there - UN of supernatural creatures, Jack the Ripper is now a vampire, and tattoos that hold spells. If only the main character wasn't so annoying and showed so little growth despite all the things that happen to her.
Also, there is time travel.
There's just too much going on in this series and I have trouble caring for the welfare of the main character. Cassie keeps saying she doesn't want to be Pythia, but keeps running into the fray to use the Pythia's powers. Make up your damn mind woman! She's so fragmented that she doesn't seem like a real person.
Anyways, I won't be reading anymore of this series. Just writing this made me angry at how pointless Cassie Palmer is as a person.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews
I ran out of books to read, and finally got around to trying Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series. It keeps coming up in my recommended reading lists, but I just wasn't sure I was up for another Vampire + Werewolf series where the lead is a kickass woman with undocumented super powers... I have post traumatic LKH syndrome. If you don't know, LKH is Laurel K Hamilton, and she writes the Anita Blake series. I read her books in high school, some of them were very good, but most of them had poor character development, random but frequent sex scenes, and very little plot development. But features Vampre + Werewolf + kickass woman with undocumented super powers.
Lucky for me, Kate Daniels was nothing like that. First, vampires are not sexy in this series at all. They are ravenous zombies that can be controlled by necromancers. Second, Were Lion. Third, her super powers are documented, she just has to acknowledge the truth of her power and the current limits to her power... so it's not like Anita Blake who just inexplicably becomes more powerful with each book.
I ended up loving this series. Powered right through the first to most recent one. Super entertaining, with good character development and plot. I like it when long series have individual plot within the novel and then an overarching plot that spans the series of books. It gives you something to look forward to, and you're rewarded for reading all the books in a series. Sherrilyn Kenyon also does that really well.
The relationship between Kate and Curran is very truthful. I was initially afraid that their sexual tension would go on forever without any resolution, but thankfully, the authors were kind and brought them together in the fourth book. I love that they did that, because you get to see more of a partnership dynamic where they must suffer and rely on each other. I feel that's more true to life, and certainly what you hope a good marriage would be like.
Lucky for me, Kate Daniels was nothing like that. First, vampires are not sexy in this series at all. They are ravenous zombies that can be controlled by necromancers. Second, Were Lion. Third, her super powers are documented, she just has to acknowledge the truth of her power and the current limits to her power... so it's not like Anita Blake who just inexplicably becomes more powerful with each book.
I ended up loving this series. Powered right through the first to most recent one. Super entertaining, with good character development and plot. I like it when long series have individual plot within the novel and then an overarching plot that spans the series of books. It gives you something to look forward to, and you're rewarded for reading all the books in a series. Sherrilyn Kenyon also does that really well.
The relationship between Kate and Curran is very truthful. I was initially afraid that their sexual tension would go on forever without any resolution, but thankfully, the authors were kind and brought them together in the fourth book. I love that they did that, because you get to see more of a partnership dynamic where they must suffer and rely on each other. I feel that's more true to life, and certainly what you hope a good marriage would be like.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston
Update, I read book two of Shelly Laurenston's Crows series.
1. Not about Erin. It's about Jace Berisha, the berserker girl in the first book who likes to hide in closets and read depressing books.
2. Better than the first book.
Now that the world has been established in the first book, she spends less time explaining things, which is nice. And you get to see more of the group dynamic between the different viking clans, which is where the humor comes into play.
My only complaint, and this is a big one, is that she introduces the most amazing backstory about Jace and doesn't go into it in more detail. It ends with Jace walking into her grandmother's house for dinner. FULL STOP. Discovering Jace's back story was the best part of the whole book, including how amazing her grandmother is. The second best part being how cute Ski Eriksen (the love interest) is.
I hope there's going to be a whole book just on Jace and her family...
1. Not about Erin. It's about Jace Berisha, the berserker girl in the first book who likes to hide in closets and read depressing books.
2. Better than the first book.
Now that the world has been established in the first book, she spends less time explaining things, which is nice. And you get to see more of the group dynamic between the different viking clans, which is where the humor comes into play.
My only complaint, and this is a big one, is that she introduces the most amazing backstory about Jace and doesn't go into it in more detail. It ends with Jace walking into her grandmother's house for dinner. FULL STOP. Discovering Jace's back story was the best part of the whole book, including how amazing her grandmother is. The second best part being how cute Ski Eriksen (the love interest) is.
I hope there's going to be a whole book just on Jace and her family...
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