Feb - 1st Half

Well readers, my book consumption is woefully low the first half of this month, and this post is woefully late. Why? Two reasons:

1) I keep making my way up the corporate ladder at work, basically due to my overall awesomeness and workaholic tendencies. No, seriously. I started this post at 10PM on a Wednesday. At my desk. At work. On a night the security guards kicked me out at midnight and made me go home.; and
2) (and this is the main reason, really) I have discovered the joys of wasting an entire afternoon on Pinterest. What can I say? I enjoy spending time looking up random crap on the Internet, and the day slips by really fucking fast when you have StumbleUpon, Pinterest and Polyvore at your fingertips. Not only have I barely read a word, I am almost to the point where I will have worn every single piece of clothing that I own (and sprayed a few with febreeze and recycled them since they weren't really that dirty) unless I do my laundry in the next few days. I may need an intervention.

The books I did manage to read, however, were delightful. Well, two of them were delightful and the third was merely entertaining and thankfully tied up some loose ends.

1) Godslayer Chronicles, Part 2: Hinterland by James Clemens

This was delightful number 1 this half of the month. Sequel to Shadowfall, this book further chronicled Dart, Tylar and Kathryn's lives as the realm of Myrillia falls further into chaos. After reading Shadowfall, I couldn't wait to get my mitts on Hinterland; Shadowfall had SUCH a cliffhanger ending!! If I thought this book would pick up where Hinterland left off, I was mistaken - that part didn't get resolved until quite a bit further along in the tale.

The beautiful bronze boy, just a minor character from Dart's school, who shared a fleeting glance with her before they were chosen to serve their respective gods, plays a more central role in this book. Thus, the story opened with him. Maybe it is because I totally heart Terry Goodkind, but I do so love it when a seemingly minor character emerges as a principal in a new book. It brings such an interesting perspective to what you are reading.

The conflict and tangle in Myrillia and all the character's lives unfolds in ever growing complexity in this installment of the Godslayer chronicles. Tylar faces increasing peril, and his resolve and understanding of his nature is tested. Laurelle, seeming so hateful at first in Shadowfall has done a complete 180, displaying strength and grace I wouldn't have placed in that character - I have a feeling she will be featured even more in whatever is to come. Delia faces some interesting choices and losses, and Dart blooms into a fierce young woman who begins to discover love.

Not only are the relationships between the characters being tested as they war with the requirements of duty versus the revelations of love, the plot with the Cabal and even the gods themselves thickens. And, in what I hope to be par for the course for this author, the little epilogue/plot twist chapter in this tale was simply delicious.It was a thrilling read, and I can't wait for the next installment. Whenever that may be, as I understand this author has many irons in the fire.

2) Kingmaker Kingbreaker, Book 2: The Awakened Mage

I had such high hopes for this book, but, sadly, it was my mediocre but necessary read this half of the month. The best thing about this book was that it tied up all the loose ends left over in The Innocent Mage. The worst thing was that I realized that this author wasn't nearly what I had hoped for after reading the first installment. In possibly the most irritating opening ever (you know, that I made it through - had this not been book 2 in a story that I really wanted to have resolved, I probably would have put it down), the author essentially retold the last chapter of the previous book.

OK, so she told it from another character's perspective, and it did get rid of the also annoying plot device in sequels of the 'rehash' of all previous events. But, it was a bad idea. It was annoying and frankly sort of confused me. Was it a memory? Was Asher having a bad dream? Oh, nope. The author went right ahead and retold the last chapter. Did she have some sort of promised page limit? I mean, it wasn't as though she left off with something confusing that needed retelling.

A somewhat minor but still enjoyable plus was that The Awakened Mage gave me a bittersweet ending, tempered with the kind of happiness I have come to realize I love - in the end, the guy got the girl. Not that this was a surprise. There was no tension like there is, for example, in Hinterland. The pacing in the book was rather slow overall - Asher's purgatory seemed to drag on forever - and the conflict between Gar and Asher didn't really have a satisfactory resolution before the end. Also, the part that would have been very interesting to me - Asher's training - was sort of just skimmed over and crammed into a single day. It seemed like the author spent too much time on mundane details and not a lot of time on the interesting ones.

If you are interested in a tale about an unlikely mage coming into his own, read the Codex Alera series. It is better in every way - better character development, more interesting races, more unique magic, and tells a story with proper, dynamic pacing. Also, no wasting of words on this level of retelling.

3) The Hum and The Shiver by Alex Bledsoe

Word of advice - take an afternoon and read The Hum and The Shiver (delightful number 2 this month). If ever a fantasy book could become a classic, this is it. The writing has a lyrical, magical quality to it. It weaves its mystery into the simple and backward life of Cloud County, nestled in the woody hills of Appalachia, and could be either the New World or the Green Country.

When I first started reading the book, I couldn't decide if it was set in the past or the present - the characters and the story both had a timeless quality. The Tufa inhabitants of Cloud County seemed to like it that way. They keep their ways rooted in a hidden past, and keep their secrets with a smile - revealing just enough to draw you in close - like a word stuck on the tip of your tongue. The story itself was like that - beautiful, delicate, hushed - full of song and magic.

In addition to a subtle melody of the story, Bledsoe's words make the story into a symphony. This book was like poetry. Anyone who loves fantasy books, especially musicians who love fantasy - MUST read this book. Do it now. Seriously.