Of Patterson's four novels and novellas, I liked Wind Weaver the best. It's set in a different world than the previous three, Greek and Gaul 3.5 stars
Of Patterson's four novels and novellas, I liked Wind Weaver the best. It's set in a different world than the previous three, Greek and Gaul and Arab-inspired fantasy with magically-gifted descendants of demi-gods (although the only two kinds we see here are wind mages and magically beautiful people).
Xanthe is the requisite poor relation in her uncle's household; she's also a wind mage. Ashkar is a ship's captain who needs a wind mage so he can get to Myrmekion ASAP. The ship parts are really fun, and I liked the wide range of characters. The romance subplot was nice if slightly underbaked/developed offscreen, but I felt like the miscommunication trope that fueled most of it wasn't necessary once (view spoiler)[you added in all the drama about Xanthe's Shadow (hide spoiler)].
If Patterson wrote another story in this world (especially about the girls!) I would definitely check it out....more
Daughter of Wolves didn't really feel like a novella, more like a rushed novel with chunks missing. I liked that we learned some more about the KhotaiDaughter of Wolves didn't really feel like a novella, more like a rushed novel with chunks missing. I liked that we learned some more about the Khotai and their customs, but the villainous Khotai in this one were a pretty nasty group. Javaneh was likeable, but neither of the leads were particularly fleshed out. Probably would have liked this one better if it was novel-length, with room to breathe....more
I read the Riddle-Master trilogy years ago in my preteens, and while I know I liked the books I didn't remember any of the details. So when Kobo had aI read the Riddle-Master trilogy years ago in my preteens, and while I know I liked the books I didn't remember any of the details. So when Kobo had an ebook omnibus of the trilogy on sale earlier this year, I decided to revisit these books.
So much of The Riddle-Master of Hed is Morgon confused about what is happening and why, and the reader shares in that confusion. I kept having to refer to a map of the world, because McKillip would mention a place and I'd be like "ah yes, Osterland, that is.....north-ish."
Morgon ping-pongs back and forth between continuing his quest and learning more about his destiny, and trying to run back home to Hed. I think that works very well for the pace--except Morgon knows about people and places even if he's never met them, and the reader does not. It is a very discombobulating reading experience.
The first book also ends on a cliffhanger, so you better have Heir of Sea and Fire handy to get any answers. ...more
Nobody's Son was recommended to me as a book about what happens after the end of the fairy tale.
The first lengthy chapter is Shielder's Mark braving Nobody's Son was recommended to me as a book about what happens after the end of the fairy tale.
The first lengthy chapter is Shielder's Mark braving the Red Keep and breaking its spell; the rest of the book is what happens next. Mark has to learn how to be a grown-up, how to lay the memory of his father's abandonment to rest, how to be a leader, and how to live in a world vastly different from the one he grew up in.
Mark and other "older" characters speak in an antiquated kind of English which can be hard to parse; it reminded me of Laura Kinsale's commitment to quasi-middle English in For My Lady's Heart, but I can see how it would be off-putting to some readers.
I wish that Stewart had developed Gail a little more, because while her fears and desires were completely understandable they are at cross-purposes with Mark's arc...and after Mark returns to the Ghostwood, Gail changes her mind offscreen and I wish that hadn't happened....more
Elephant Thief is set in the same world as Bride to the Sun, but several hundred years earlier. It's an enemy-to-lovers story about Arisha, a SikhandiElephant Thief is set in the same world as Bride to the Sun, but several hundred years earlier. It's an enemy-to-lovers story about Arisha, a Sikhandi woods mage/elephant trainer and Rhys, the current leader of not-yet-unified Aneirion.
Arisha was a little too perfect for me; despite her faults, she's very good at many things even though she downplays it, and while I wouldn't call her a Mary Sue she was decidedly leaning in that direction. Unlike Bride to the Sun's multiple POVs, we only get Arisha's POV here, which I think works much better for the story.
I loved her elephant Hami, and I liked that the conflict between Sikhand and Aneirion was finally solved with communication instead of a giant battle, but like Bride to the Sun I think that everything in Elephant Thief happened over too abbreviated a span of time. I think the novel takes place over the span of a week? That's a little too fast for everything that happened here, especially when you have a romance between two people from opposing sides who have never met....more
Long ago I read a number of Lia Patterson's LOTR fanfictions, so when she started publishing original fantasies I bought the ebooks--and then forgot aLong ago I read a number of Lia Patterson's LOTR fanfictions, so when she started publishing original fantasies I bought the ebooks--and then forgot about them for years. Oops!
Bride to the Sun is an arranged marriage-ish story between Shay, a former fire priestess in Sikhand (a country clearly inspired by feudal Imperial China), and Medyr, a barbarian nobleman from Aneirion (very reminiscent of the Rohan horseriders from LOTR).
Shay and Medyr are both engaging characters, although their POV sections felt strangely naive. That made sense for Shay, who had lived a very sheltered life, but not so much for Medyr, who had seen and experienced a lot. I think the Imperial-Chinese inspired setting was interesting, but the Aneiry didn't feel far enough removed from their obvious inspiration.
The book was oddly paced: it felt slow, yet everything took place over a period of around five days. The ending also felt a little rushed, and I wish there had more time to discuss things and decompress after all the action.
The villains were telegraphed from the beginning, so having the POV of one specific villainous character spoiled their sudden but inevitable betrayal later on....more
The mystery this time was interesting, because we knew who did it very early on so it become more about why he did it, and how. There is a level of grThe mystery this time was interesting, because we knew who did it very early on so it become more about why he did it, and how. There is a level of grotesqueness to this world that is just on the verge of "ew no" for me, though, so not sure whether I will continue with further books.
(Also, Bennett is very clearly yelling "kings and strong men are bad" in this book, fair enough, yet the Empire is presented by Bennett as a positive force for development and he doesn't question that??)...more
The Tainted Cup had a slow start, and while I found Bennett's worldbuilding interesting it was also very...dense, I guess? There were a lot of detailsThe Tainted Cup had a slow start, and while I found Bennett's worldbuilding interesting it was also very...dense, I guess? There were a lot of details and terms and foreign ideas thrown around, and combined with the slower pace I felt a little overwhelmed.
The plot took off for me about a third of the way through the book, and I enjoyed the mystery. I guessed most of the revelations, but some I didn't! But all the characters felt flat to me, even Din, and I couldn't shake the feeling that they existed to propel the plot rather than reverse (the plot serving to flesh out the characters)....more
Volume 8 looked a little thicker than the other volumes, which promised more chapters than usual. Alas, no: there's a lengthy Policure chapter in the Volume 8 looked a little thicker than the other volumes, which promised more chapters than usual. Alas, no: there's a lengthy Policure chapter in the bonus section, and I really only care about that fictional manga/anime in relation to Miku and Tacchan's antics....more
A cute little sequel to Emma, but with more murder and the return of the poultry thief! It's not an Austen pastiche as Kelly doesn't try to c2.5 stars
A cute little sequel to Emma, but with more murder and the return of the poultry thief! It's not an Austen pastiche as Kelly doesn't try to copy Jane Austen's voice, but I felt like most of the characters were recognizable. The pace, though, was glacially slow, and Kelly easily could have shaved 100 pages off--the murderer's motives are explained at the end, but it took an awful long (plodding) time to get there....more
Lots of cats in volume 7, plus two rather good chapters (the hospital visit and Tacchan and Masa's amazake craze). I'm noticing that every chapter endLots of cats in volume 7, plus two rather good chapters (the hospital visit and Tacchan and Masa's amazake craze). I'm noticing that every chapter ends super abruptly, though--it's like the author dreads denouements and instead abandons everything immediately after the punchline....more
Best snippets in volume 6 were definitely Tacchan trying to get the special disc for Miku, and his determination to get into the women's association.Best snippets in volume 6 were definitely Tacchan trying to get the special disc for Miku, and his determination to get into the women's association....more
Sunrise on the Reaping hits a lot of the same points as The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, just with the added pain of "you already know how3.5 stars
Sunrise on the Reaping hits a lot of the same points as The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, just with the added pain of "you already know how this ends." (I rather get the sense that Suzanne Collins thought people got the wrong message from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and wanted to drum it in that everything about Panem is messed up.) I also felt like Collins was trying to shoe horn a few too many characters from Catching Fire and Mockingjay into the story here, whether it worked or not. (For instance: I think Wiress or Mags would make sense as the District 12 mentor, but not both.)
Was I emotionally invested in this story? Oh god yes. Maysilee was a standout character to me. Do I wish though that it had been about Haymitch's time as mentor after the 50th game instead of the second quarter quell itself? Also yes. I think that something along the lines of "These are the Names" by FernWithy would have been more interesting, focusing specifically on the mentors and the rise of the inter-District rebellion, but I do admit that this story was probably an easier sell to Scholastic....more
A good ending to the Icarus series--Zahn left very few loose ends dangling and dedicated a lot of time to explaining everything about the his3.5 stars
A good ending to the Icarus series--Zahn left very few loose ends dangling and dedicated a lot of time to explaining everything about the history of the Icari and the portals. Going into book #6, I wasn't sure how he was going to pull it off! I think the best bits involved Roarke and Selene trying to figure out the mystery surrounding Bubloo.
More than any of the other books, there were a lot of "Roarke explains his plans offscreen and then we see them unfold," but I enjoyed how those scenes played out.
I do think that this series benefits from being read consecutively without breaks in between, because the beginning had so many references to past characters and events that I didn't completely remember that it felt a little sloggy. I also wish that Zahn hadn't hinted at a possible romance between Roarke and Selene in the earlier books only to completely chicken out at the end, but alas. (That is a common issue I've found with Zahn's books: he either shies away from romance subplots, or they happen abruptly and rather dispassionately.)...more
Not up to the level of Wharton's other works like The Age of Innocence, which is not surprising since The Buccaneers as it exists is a rough draft thaNot up to the level of Wharton's other works like The Age of Innocence, which is not surprising since The Buccaneers as it exists is a rough draft that Wharton only completed up to the 2/3's mark before her death. Wharton's best works are subtle and tightly constructed, and this one felt much more loosely sketched out. However, some of the characters (like Laura Testvalley) jump off the page, and I wish she could have developed them even further.
The transition from Wharton to Marion Mainwaring after Chapter 29 is very obvious; while Wharton left behind an outline of how she wanted the story to end, Mainwaring's style isn't even close to Wharton's and isn't a convincing a Wharton pastiche. ...more
