Although it is my favorite genre, I will freely admit that there is some truly horrid and poorly written fantasy out there, and I had the misfortune to read one such book so far this month. The others, however? Fabulous. This is why, although I am all about pimping books, I'm no book slut when it comes to buying. Before I buy a book for myself, I need a blind date first. Thank God for libraries! Once I am totally enamored with a particular author or book series, then I have no qualms in buying both the "analog" and eBook version for my future reading pleasure.
All the books I read this month were library books, but I will probably purchase Jacqueline Carey's books (natch) and the Anne Bishop series I started reading.
All the books I read this month were library books, but I will probably purchase Jacqueline Carey's books (natch) and the Anne Bishop series I started reading.
Ready to go steady:
1) Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
This book could not be more different than the tales set in Terre D'Ange. It is urban fantasy with a sort of post-apocalyptic feel to it. The prose is much different than Carey's lyrical voice in all of her other works that I have had the pleasure to read, but it is still compelling. It has more of a gritty, American author feel to it. Although the book is not an epic fantasy, Carey is still a wordsmith, and Loup's voice is as unique as the tale. I would give this book six stars if I could, and I can't wait to get Saint's Astray from the library!
2) The Black Jewels, Book 1: Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
This is actually a re-read, but I am SOOO glad that I got back into this series. I love Anne Bishop's work, in particular the Ephemera series, which is a little less dark than the Black Jewels series. I started re-reading because I saw that a new book was published about this universe, and, having made the mistake of reading The Omen Machine without having re-read the rest of that series, I wanted to make sure I got back into the world of Terreille, Kaeleer and Hell.
Although this is set and cast on the shadowy side of things, in Anne Bishop's universe, this does not equate to evil. The darkness represents power, while, in many cases the light is exemplified by envy and truly evil deeds. This disparity between conventional notions of dark and light and Bishop's is made patently clear by the central plot of this book.
While I love nearly everything about this book (memorable characters, engaging plot, court intrigue), I must voice one gripe. I find the names Bishop chose for the characters in this book annoying. I find myself wanting to rename the characters for her, because it can get kind of hard to take the book seriously with all the ridiculous names she uses. Apart from that, I very highly recommend this author and series.
Although this is set and cast on the shadowy side of things, in Anne Bishop's universe, this does not equate to evil. The darkness represents power, while, in many cases the light is exemplified by envy and truly evil deeds. This disparity between conventional notions of dark and light and Bishop's is made patently clear by the central plot of this book.
While I love nearly everything about this book (memorable characters, engaging plot, court intrigue), I must voice one gripe. I find the names Bishop chose for the characters in this book annoying. I find myself wanting to rename the characters for her, because it can get kind of hard to take the book seriously with all the ridiculous names she uses. Apart from that, I very highly recommend this author and series.
3) The Black Jewels, Book 2: Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
Loved it even more than the first book in the series. This book also has all the hallmarks of that 'middle' book/movie in a trilogy. I NEED the next book. Now. Not when the one copy at my local library is available. NOW.One thing that I realize all my favorite authors share - the characters grow and change, and they are imperfect, but with REAL imperfections (not things like crippling clumsiness). The changes that Bishop's characters go through in this middle installment of the series are profound - they heal from old wounds, and receive new ones as they grow and change. I am anxious to see how they deal with their new challenges in the next book in this series, Queen of the Darkness.
Sign me up for seconds:
1) Godslayer Chronicles, Book 1: Shadowfall by James ClemensWhile this book certainly had themes similar to other fantasy books, the telling of the tale was quite unique. And I must say, if a book has quotes in the author's own made up language, its a good bet that the book will kind of rock. I was not disappointed. Shadowfall has very real characters who grow, change, love. It is filled with action and humor - everything you could want in a fantastic tale. There was even a nice little twist that left me desperate for book 2.
The only thing that had a little bit of an 'ick' factor for me was the 'humors' of the gods. Imagine, if you will, a whole set of immortal beings whose various humors have special properties. These beings come to Myrilla and are worshiped as gods and goddesses, and they have various handmaidens and men to collect their 'humors'. Blood and tears, I totally get why those are powerful. Semen too, is understandably powerful, and I suppose I can buy menses as the female counterpart to semen, even though that is kind of gross. Likewise, I can deal with the idea that a god's sweat has special properties, and their spit, even though I'm not in love with the idea. I draw the line, however, at imagining the useful properties of phlegm, yellow bile (aka urine) and black bile (aka #2). I'm not sure how Clemens settled on those humors, and I confess to chuckling at the idea that someone would be honored to be chosen as the Hand of Black Bile (that's right - the person whose honor it is to collect and store a god or goddesses' poo). Thankfully, discussion of the humors is fairly infrequent, so it doesn't really detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.
2) Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, Book1: The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Sort of hard to get into at first, because the author chose to write the voice of the protagonist in a sort of uneducated sounding vernacular, but once I got used to the style, I really enjoyed it. The adversity/challenges started really building rather late in the book, with the most devastating plot points happening in the last 75-100 pages. I'm cool with that though - I've read books by Terry Goodkind - the master of the 11th hour plot clusterfuck that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The very last scene just really grabbed me as kind of horrible and abrupt, and I must get my hands on the next book, stat.Just friends:
1) The Disillusionists Trilogy, Book 1: Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
Intriguing urban fantasy novel, but it was a little complicated at times. It was kind of like X-Men meets Inception - the protagonist is a hypochondriac who learns how to project her fears into the minds of others (the Inception part), under the tutelage of a "highcap" who can see an individual's psychological road map (the X-Men part). There was also the right amount of titillation and humor mixed in to boot. Complicated plot aside, I enjoyed the book and will likely be reading more from this author.2) Maledicte by Lane Robins
I came upon this book by way of one of those "If you like this, try this" websites, when looking for books similar to those by Jacqueline Carey. While I can see why these authors were compared, I was not so immediately enraptured with the prose in this book. I also found Maledicte to be overbalanced on the violence side of the sex/violence scale. Nevertheless, it is still a story with delicious schemes that also manages to wind together a coming of age of sorts and a love story. At several points in the story, I wanted to throw the book and scream at the protagonist, "You FUCKING idiot! The answers are right in front of your FACE!", but, in the end, my patience was rewarded. I can see myself exploring additional works by this author, but not right away.Bad dates:
1) Divine by Mistake by PC Cast
I will never get back the time I wasted on this book. Thank GOD it was only about two hours. Now, I did see from reading the back that there was going to be sex. I'm no prude, I like sex. Likewise, I enjoy reading books that include some degree of titillation (see pretty much every other book I read the first half of this month). I thought, "Bring it on!" Boy was that a mistake.
The protagonist in this book is married off to a centaur. Yes, he can change himself into a man to celebrate the more carnal aspect of their marriage, but for much of the book, only his head, arms and torso are that of a man. I could have lived my entire life without having to read about how he could pleasure the protagonist (who is all human) WITHOUT shape shifting.
Now, had this been the only shocking part of the book, I could have dealt with it - after all, the plot was interesting: Modern day Oklahoman is magicked away to a fantasy realm where she is the living embodiment of a goddess, battling a pestilent foe with her people to protect the sanctity of their way of life. So much potential there. Having read the book, I can only say that I am appalled that this author was once an English teacher. If I had turned in papers this poorly written, surely I would have failed out of school. Bestiality AND badly written? I suggest you skip this one over when you are making your reading selections. If you are after fantasy and sex, do yourself a favor and read something by Jacqueline Carey. You won't regret it. I promise.
The protagonist in this book is married off to a centaur. Yes, he can change himself into a man to celebrate the more carnal aspect of their marriage, but for much of the book, only his head, arms and torso are that of a man. I could have lived my entire life without having to read about how he could pleasure the protagonist (who is all human) WITHOUT shape shifting.
Now, had this been the only shocking part of the book, I could have dealt with it - after all, the plot was interesting: Modern day Oklahoman is magicked away to a fantasy realm where she is the living embodiment of a goddess, battling a pestilent foe with her people to protect the sanctity of their way of life. So much potential there. Having read the book, I can only say that I am appalled that this author was once an English teacher. If I had turned in papers this poorly written, surely I would have failed out of school. Bestiality AND badly written? I suggest you skip this one over when you are making your reading selections. If you are after fantasy and sex, do yourself a favor and read something by Jacqueline Carey. You won't regret it. I promise.
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