Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a mage. A real one who uses real magic in the real world in modern times. He's also a private detective. On the same day he's asked by the police to help with a double murder and by a woman to help find her missing husband, both of which sound more simple than they really turn out to be. By the end of the day, the local mob boss has warned him off the police case. By the weekend, he's neck deep in trouble that tangles both cases and could easily get him killed, if not by the murderer or the mob boss, then by the White Council - the wizard council whose job it is to make sure all mages obey the laws of magic.
Impression:Storm Front isn't overly engrossing and not very complicated, but it is a fun read. The opening didn't draw me in that well, so it was easy to set the book aside. However, as the story built up to its climax, it became much harder to put down. I ended up reading the last half of the book in one night. Harry is an interesting character, the world the story is written is well drawn even with the changes made. However, the "mystery" was a little too easy to figure out (although I admit I didn't have it till closer to the end - I still had it before Harry) and I felt the author's use of coincidence wasn't well explained - it was just to pat. Fortunately, I like the character enough and the story was a fun enough read despite its problems that I will more than likely pick up the remainder of the series. Not a highly recommended read, but one that I would suggest to anyone looking for something not too deep and fun.
Dirk has always known he was different. Living with his grandmother, he has a near perfect life with the beach, surfing, and a red-and-white 1955 Pontiac convertible. But to keep this peace, Dirk believes he must hide what makes him different. He searches for ways to fit in and yet never can. Then, in a night of magic and ghosts, he discovers his past and how love is always right, no matter what form it takes.
Impression: I have to admit, this one had me almost crying and I think is my favorite of the series. In Baby Be-Bop, we are told the story of Dirk, a character who we met in book one, and got to know a little better in book 2, then left behind as Block explored the lives of the children in the unique family she has created for this series. She returns to him and through his story shows how the past is part of what makes us who we are and the importance of self-acceptance and love. From the story she weaves here, we can clearly see how he became the man we see in the earlier books.
While her use of her world's magic is as heavy handed as it was in the past book (and more obvious than in the first 3 books), it is actually much better intertwined through the story, thus making it far more believable. It's also helpful that Block didn't use coincidence as a major part of the plotline for this particular book. It's very well written and a very touching story. While I haven't been too sure about the previous four books, I do recommend Baby Be-Bop. Which makes it a very good thing that it can easily be read without having read any of the previous books in the series.
Angel Juan decides to go to New York City to think, to discover more of who he is, and leaves Witch Baby behind, saying they need the time apart. Torn and lost without him, Witch Baby follows and searches for him in the vast wilderness of N.Y.C. While there, she meets the ghost of her "almost grandfather," discovers a whole different kind of magic that brings the past into the present, and faces one of the many dangers a large city like New York poses for young people.
Impression:Missing Angel Juan took another surprising turn in how it was written - it's the first book in the series written in first person. For the first chapter or so, I felt a little off, having become used to Bolt's third person style for the book. Beyond that, I felt kind of ambivalent about the story. While well written in Bolt's unusual style, the magic she's imbued her world with became far more obvious. And I found it more than a little unlikely that any parent would let a child under 18 run off to New York over the holidays alone, and the number of coincidences that occurred to bring Witch Baby and Angel Juan back together were just a little too much. Once coincidence, sure, two maybe. But in a city as large as N.Y., even that is pushing it, and in Missing Angel Juan, Bolt pushed that number right of the edge of believability. The heavy handed use of "magic" also threw me since the magic of the previous four books has been a lot more subtle. However, despite this, the story was relatively enjoyable. It had more of a fairy tale feel than the previous books. If Bolt hadn't stepped so far out of the usual boundaries for the book, I think I would have enjoyed it much more.
With Weetzie Bat and company off shooting another movie, their children are left to their own devices under the care a friend, Coyote. While they are gone, Witch Baby has fallen into a melancholy and her "almost-sister," Cherokee, goes to Coyote to ask for help in cheering her up. She makes Witch Baby a pair of wings from feathers he has the wind bring in and she gifts them to Witch Baby at her birthday party. Then Angel Juan reappears, having return from Mexico, and the foursome - Angel Juan, Witch Baby, Raphael and Angel Juan - form a band called The Goat Guys. They practice but their first show is a disaster. In an attempt to fix it, Cherokee makes more gifts and soon the band is more successful than they ever dreamed. But they find the temptations of success hard to resist and soon Cherokee and Witch Baby are more unhappy than when they had no success at all.
Impression: This was the hardest of the three books so far to keep focused on. As a result, it took 3 or 4 days to read instead of getting through it in one night. The story is a warning against growing up too fast, too early, and the temptations that surround teenagers in today's world. In the end, the children in the book discover that these things do not make them happy and return back to a more peaceful and fulfilling lifestyle. It remains to be seen if this return to what was before the sex and drugs and rock 'n roll fame has an impact on the youngster - for that I'll need to read future stories, but in this book it was almost too . . . naive. The implication to me was that you can go back and everything will return to what it once was, but this is very rarely a true thing.
Block's writing remained the imaginative delight it has been, with her creative phrasing and unique names, but the story itself needed a little more at the ending. Something to show that scars can remain from such things. Without it, her warning is weak at best, and not to be taken seriously at worst. The theme is good, and a story that gives such a warning is a good idea in an era where it's almost expected that young people will be involved in such things, but it's useless if there's no reason to give that warning meaningful consideration.
Unknown to everyone except My Secret Agent Lover Man and Weetzie Bat, Witch Baby is the daughter of My Secret Agent Lover Man and a mysterious woman who is a part of the "Jayne Mansfield Club." While watching her family celebrate the successful completion of another movie, Witch Baby sees that everyone is paired except her, even the dogs, Slinkster Dog an Go-Go Girl, and she begins to ask the question, "What time are we upon and where do I belong?" From that day on she embarks on a journey to find where she belongs. She meets a young man who could be her love, until he's taken from the country by immigration; is a stowaway to meet Duck's family; and searches the City of Angels to find her place. She works through her feelings of alienation and explores the "darker" side of herself on her way to creating her own sense of "What time she is upon and where she belongs."
Impression: I think I enjoyed Witch Baby more than Weetzie Bat. The story felt fuller and delved a bit deeper into the characters, even though it was only a few pages longer than the previous book. I love how Block covers the "important" issues of most teens in a whimsical way with a bit of magic and a bit of seriousness thrown in. It was easier to see the theme of this book, which was also nice. I like the way she approaches the themes and the imaginative quality of these books so far. The style takes a little getting used to, but it's a very creative way of using language, so that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Weetzie Bat is given three a genie in a bottle by a friend's grandmother and makes 3 wishes: for her friend to find his Duck, for her to find her Secret Agent Lover Man, and for them to all have a house to live in. She gets exactly what she wishes for, but finds even wishes fulfilled have obstacles to overcome on the way to Happily Ever After.
Impression: This first book of Dangerous Angels was a quick and satisfying read. And I do mean quick: 45 minutes. Even so, Weetzie Bat was not what I expected. These books were recommended by a friend, but I wasn't expecting a y. a. book - not to say y. a. books are bad since I do read others, just that it wasn't what I expected. And while I call it a y. a. book, it has the sense of being more between y. a. and adult as it explores issues that some parents may not want the lower end of the y. a. audience exposed to (though I'll more than likely either get my 15 year old a copy or let her read this one when I'm done).
Block writes in a light, quick voice, but uses language in unexpected ways. Her description fell just a little short for me, though this wasn't that much of a problem since the book is set in contemporary L.A., but her other imagery is wonderful and evocative. It'll be interesting to follow Weetzie and her family - Dirk, Duck, My Secret Agent Lover Man, Witch Baby, and Cherokee Bat through the remaining 4 books in this omnibus. The books are definitely unique: growing up L.A. in a series of modern day fables with magical genies and contemporary issues. I probably never could have written anything like this, but it does make me wish I had thought of it. ;)
Anita Blake and her vampire lover receive a too early visit from the representative of the vampire that made Jean-Claude who only wishes to bring him and his back into her fold, or so it seems. But her designs on Jean-Claude and all that is his is only a smokescreen for a deeper desire. While Anita must do what she can to protect the people she cares about, she's finds herself embroiled in a conflict over her newfound sexuality with Dolph, the head of the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team of the police, while trying to solve several grisly murders by men who may have made her a target.
Impression: While not nearly as bad as the previous 4 novels, Cerulean Sins still fails to capture the excitement and jazz of the first 3 or 4 novels. Perhaps I just didn't expect as much with this novel and so it didn't seem as bad, but the book also managed to make me less inclined to give the series up. this was my make or break it novel. Granted, I won't rush out and buy anymore Anita Blake (and I gave up on Princess Merry with the first novel), but I won't mind adding her to the library and reading list either. The book did hold my attention and I did read through it in 2 or 3 days, so that does mean something, even if it wasn't as impressive as the earlier books in the series.
One of my biggest problems with Sins was how the detective aspect of the novel got buried under other plotlines. A vampire hunter detective was a real novelty when I first started reading Anita Blake. It was cool! But this aspect of the Anita Blake series seemed merely tossed in here and there rather than an integral part of the book. It really could have been yanked out of the novel entirely without doing any damage to the story/novel, that's how unimportant it was. I understand that characters change, but this wasn't just a character change, this was a complete refocusing of the series, and not one I liked since it reduces what I buy the series for down to nothing.
However, at least Anita's whininess from the previous few books is gone. She's no longer torn between her two lovers and seems to have accepted her sexuality to some degree. And that sexuality didn't take over the book as it has done in the past.
Final words: Cerulean Sins is okay. Not great, but not as badly written as the previous 3 or 4 novels either. It doesn't quite live up to the dramatic blurb on the inside cover, but it's not a total disappointment either.
A prince is cursed by a witch until he repays her for her white hen he killed, a princess is sent to marry the prince so her kingdom will not be overtaken by his father, a wizard is sent to protect the princess, and a beautiful firebird binds them all. These threads intertwine in a story about accepting what life brings and love. Ronan, the prince, grieves for his dead wife and child, earns the curse from the witch on his way home from war. Arriving at his father's castle, his father informs him that a new wife is on her way and that he will marry her. Later he follows a beautiful firebird and loses himself in a world where his father's palace and wishes no longer exist.
Sidonie, his bride to be, travels from her country to Ronan's father's palace, a sacrifice on the alter of politics, and to a marriage that she does not want and knows will be a loveless one. With her is Gyre, a wizard sent in the stead of another who has been weakened in a battle of wills and magic. When they meet with Ronan, who still follows the firebird, the future intended for them all is both changed and made the same. Gyre tries to gain the princess and Ronan's inheritance for himself, and Sidonie tries to save Ronan from the witch's curse, and all three end in the same place but with far different purposes than what they started out with.
Impression:In the Forests of Serre was an interesting novel, though I wouldn’t call it one of my favorites of McKillip's. The language used is less poetic, although she still uses some very clever and beautiful imagery, and the story itself is interesting enough. It just didn't hold my interest as well as most of the novels of hers that I had read before. As always in her books, nothing is what it appears to be and everything intertwines in unusual ways, but, in a rare thing for her, the ending is almost predictable. While I can't say I would not recommend this book, there are other novels of hers that I would definitely recommend more - Ombria in Shadow, The Tower At Stony Wood, The Changeling Sea, and The Book of Atrix Wolfe.
Magdalen must finally honor her oath to the Renunciates and spend six months in seclusion in the Amazon house in Thendara. It is a time for her to learn what it means to be a Renunciate, a time when her loyalty to her oath is tested, and a time to discover who she really is, what she wants, who she loves. Meanwhile, Jaelle becomes the freemate to Magda's ex-husband and offers to take her place at the Terran base. Both women live parallel lives of culture shock, questioning their choices, and blossoming laran. When the man that Jaelle has been made responsible for chooses to search for a missing Terran on his own, a pregnant Jaelle follows him into a storm. Realizing the other woman's danger through her awakened laran, Magda follows, and the resulting events change both women forever.
Impression: While I don't dislikeThendara House, it wasn't as interesting as most the other novels in the Darkover series. For much of the novel there wasn't much really happening except watching the two women grapple with culture shock and being miserable over their circumstances. It isn’t really until the man Jaelle is supposed to be training takes of on his own that things get interesting, and the events that occur because of that are too brief. My impression was that this novel was mostly to help set up circumstances for the next novel (and possibly other novels that would occur after this one in the Darkover timeline). While this can be useful, even necessary, I think any book with that as a purpose still needs more of a plot arch than this one seemed to have.
Magdalen was born on Darkover to Terran parents, which makes her the perfect agent for the Terran Empire until her ex-husband and partner is captured by a bandit because of his similar appearance to a Darkover Comyn. She chooses to disguise herself as a Renunciate, one of the Free Amazons who have broken from the traditional roles given to women on Darkover, in an effort to mount a rescue mission. She meets with a band of real Renunciates, among them Jaelle n'ha Mellora, a woman raised in the dry towns until she was 12 years old, saved from a life in chains by the Free amazons who came to save her own mother from the man who had kidnapped her. After Megdalen is revealed as the fraud she is, she is forced to take the Amazon oath for real and the two join up to save the man who ends up being important to the both of them.
Impression: I have yet to read a Marion Zimmer Bradley novel I don't like, and the Darkover novels are among my favorites (second only to the novel, The Mists of Avalon, which will always be my favorite of hers). I always love stories with strong, female protagonists, and The Shattered Chain is no different. In addition to overcoming the obstacles of nature and the laws of a world ruled by men, Magda must also learn the rules that define the lives of the Renunciates, discovering in the process that perhaps she was meant to be a Free Amazon. Breaking from what she was to becoming what she sees to be her real heart is no easy task, but one that has its own joys. One of the things I like about Bradley's work is her ability to use minimal description and still managing to make it so you can see the story and be drawn into it. Her writing is spare, perhaps not as spare as most short stories require, but there is little extra to it, a gift and a talent that I think a lot of us writers could learn from. In its own way it's no less beautiful than McKillip's writing.
Sybel was born and raised on Eld Mountain, her only contact with other humans her father. Her playmates were creatures from myth, her learning from the magic given to her father which he passed on down to her. She had no desire to mingle with men until a knight came to her door with a baby boy, a child of a king, to be protected and nurtured. She raised him until one day the knight returned and destiny called her son away, and the plots of the men who lived in the valley kingdoms called her from her mountain. In trying to protect those she loves, she discovers her own humanity, both the good and the bad, and finds the path to wisdom.
Impression: While I enjoyed Beasts, it's not one of my favorites from McKillip. The story is unique, the characters strong, but it was told in a way plainer than the books I count among my favorites. She still has a wonderful story telling style, and pulls you into the story with the action, setting, and characters, it was just less poetic. But even at her least poetic, Patricia McKillip has a way with words that's wonderful.
During the wedding celebration of his king, Cyan Dag, a loyal knight who sees what others do not see, is told that the new queen is a lie created of sorcery by the being who masquerades as her. To save his king, the knight goes on a journey to free the true queen from her tower prison. Along the way he reaches two other towers, makes a deal with a dragon for his enemy's life, saves the life of a selkie, and befriends and helps others as any honorable knight would. While he seeks the queen, the son of a land held as part of the kingdom he serves, seeks a dragon and its gold to find freedom for his people. On his journey towards war, Thayne Ysse finds the man who saved his younger brother from death and learns that not all men who would seem enemies actually are so.
Impression: I loved this books almost as much as Ombria in Shadow. Told in the same poetic style, it's a fairy tale for adults with the same convoluted plotting that marked Ombria. Unlike Ombria, however, McKillip gives an explanation for the ending, which I thought was a nice touch, though the book would have been just as intriguing without it, I think. what's nice about it is that the explanation makes sense and doesn't intrude upon the story. It comes about very naturally. As always the setting is strong. The characters, while following something of an archetype, are still unique in both how they present the archetype and in their own voices in the novel. Another truly enjoyable novel by one of the best authors of fantasy.
The second in the omnibus edition of the Riddle-Master trilogy, Heir of Sea and Fire changes focus and follows three women: Raederle, Morgon's promised fiancé, Tristan, his sister, and Lyra, a guardswoman to the Morgol. Word reaches Raederle that Morgon has died, and the land rule that makes him the ruler of Hed - the sense that ties rulers to the land they govern - has passed to his brother. She goes to inform her brother of Morgon's death and crosses paths with the Morgol, discovering that the day that Morgon died is the day the shapechangers were freed from their shape prisons. Choosing to go in search of the truth, to Morgon's death and the shape changers and why the High One would let Hos own harper betray a ruler, Raederle begins a journey to Erlenstar Mountain, home of the High One. She is joined by Lyra and Tristan on a journey that never reaches the mountain itself, but reveals to her who she is, her ancestry, and the power than both give her.
Impression: While still less poetic than Ombria In shadow, I definitely liked Heir of Sea and Fire better than the first book in the trilogy. I don't know, maybe I have a thing for strong female characters. The plotting is a little more predictable, but the world and the characters are far better revealed. Her writing is stronger as well, and the story is a bit more complex, so you can see the beginning of the incredible author she becomes in her later work. It's as if this early trilogy, written in a more traditional way for the genre, were her "learning novels," used to explore her voice and strength as an author. You can definitely see hints of the author she becomes in them.
Yes, I missed a month, but I read 3 books in February, so I'm okay. ;) It's a busy time for me at the moment, so I'm actually surprised I've gotten much reading in at all! Anyway, on the review . . . .
Morgon is a Riddle-Master and prince of Hed, a small, island country that few pay much attention to . . . until now. Born with three stars on his forehead, Morgon finds himself in the center of destiny when he goes to claim a wife won by a riddle. The ship goes down and he is set on the path of destiny, a path he would rather ignore so he can go home and just be a prince of Hed. His journey brings him to a harp made for him 700 years earlier, also marked with three stars, a sword with three stars, and, eventually, to the home of the mysterious High One who rules over all.
Impression: One of the earliest novels by Patricia McKillip, it lacks the poetic, language rich style of Ombria In Shadow and some of her other books, although a foreshadowing of it can be seen throughout the novel. What is apparent is McKillip's gift for the unusual, for events that are unexpected and yet you can see how you got there when you look back. While not among my favorites of her books, the story was still enjoyable and well worth reading. She's a strong author, with distinct characters and beautiful settings, but this particular book is obviously an earlier one for her and does not show the complexity or full power of her writing as seen in later novels.
Atrus returns to the D'Ni ruins to rebuild, but first he searches the ages to find survivors willing to return. Scouring the ruins he locates the books his father didn't manage to destroy. From these come D'Ni who are willing to leave the lives they've built in other ages to come and rebuild their once great city. Then they find a secret chamber and a new library with more books than they ever imagined. Through one of these they find Terahnee, a beautiful place with a dark secret beneath, and a place which Atrus and and the D'Ni will prove to be both the destruction and salvation of. In Terahnee, Atrus sees the fulfillment of his father's desires, a fulfillment thousands of years old. This horror is only surpassed by the realization that the illness sweeping through Terahnee has been brought by him and his own people, that a microorganism common among his people is the cause of the deaths of thousands of people. In the end he helps the survivors bring about a new order to their world, then leaves, closing again the great library and the link between the two worlds.
Impression: While I still liked The Book of Ti'Ana better, I think this comes as a close second in the trilogy. It was a bit harder of a read in the sense that early in the book I knew something wasn't right, but the tension of that knowing wasn't high enough to keep me motivated to read. Once the dark secret of Terahnee was revealed and the sickness started to sweep through the nation, the story became more intense and kept my attention better. In another turn of bittersweet, Atrus helps set the survivors on the path to build a new society without the slavery of the past, and then chooses to leave them to become what they will become.
On another side note, reading this and the other books of the trilogy give a new light to the Myst games. I've begun to play again (having never managed to complete one yet), and suddenly understand quite a bit I didn?t before. Game play is still as difficult, but the experience is very different.
This is the story of Aitrus and Anna, inexplicably intertwined with the downfall of the D'Ni, the wondrous race of Writers who link to living Ages in their Books. Anna, a human, has lived in the desert with her father, an explorer of the rocks, until he dies. She plans to retire to the nearby city, but becomes sidetracked by a cave she and her father found before his death. Following the underground caverns and tunnels, she discovers the D'Ni. It takes time, but she is eventually accepted by most, she marries Aitrus and participates in his work. They have a son, Gehn. Yet, even as they build a life together, another sets in motion the events that will bring this great society to an end. Aitrus's best friend is framed and brought into the conspiracy, not knowing the twisted plans of those he joins with until too late. In the end, all that is left is Anna and her half-breed son, their survival the last act of the husband she has loved.
Impression: I have to admit, I enjoyed this Myst book far more than The Book of Atrus (no misspelling there, promise - the father's and grandson's names are separated only by a single 'i'). The story comes historically before The Book of Atrus but was actually written after it, while the third (which I've just started, appears to be historically after both books and was the last to be written. Regardless, this book was quite a bit more complex than the first, with more characters and a more involved story. Love, prejudice, hatred, bitterness, the need for revenge, and so much more is interwoven to create a story about a people who, though great in their accomplishments, are just as fallible and human as the humans many of them look down upon as inferior. Yet, even with the complexity of the story, it was easy to read, easy to follow, and I could see how the events came to be, as shocking as they are in many ways. Unlike many stories, the ending is bittersweet, sad even as Anna finds a way to survive with and for her son - the son who eventually turns on her in The Book of Atrus. It was nice to see that there was once something redeemable in the character of Gehn, and the events of this book shed a sad light on those of The Book of Atrus.
Atrus has been raised by his grandmother, Anna, since birth. His life is irrevocably changed when his father comes to claim him after 14 years and take shim to the now desolate city of his ancestors to teach him to be a Writer, one of the D'Ni people who created ages by writing in special books that link to the reality they create. But as he grows older and sees how his father treats the inhabitants of these worlds and his lack of are when creating his ages, Atrus determines that both his father's methods and purposes are wrong, setting him against his father. In the process of ending his father's misuse of the D'Ni Writing gift, he comes into his own and meets his wife, Catherine.
Impression: This is an intriguing look into the background of the Myst games. The characters are fairly well developed, although Gehn comes off as a little too dimensional with few, if any, redeeming qualities. While the ending is fairly predictable, the story itself is entertaining with a few twists of its own, the book is a nice, easy read. I got through it in a few days. I wouldn?t rank it as one of my favorites, but it's still a good read.
Rois is a wld thing, a daughter of a farmer who loves the woods. One day she sees a man appear out of no where. Corbet returns to his father's manor, left by his father when he supposedly killed his own father and was cursed (though none can seem to remember exactly what the curse was), to restore it an live. Rois is fascinated by the man who appears to have no past, her sister Laurel falls in love with him. Then he disappears and a dead man is found in his home. Rois must unravel the mysery of his disappearance to save her sister.
Impression: While all of McKillip's books have places that can be hard to follow, they seem to be more dreams told as stories and far less concrete than most, Winter Rose was the most difficult to follow of them all. I still enjoyed her word play, her descriptions, but I found the story a very difficult read, and, in many ways, I'm still not quite sure what happened in much of it. The writing is all McKillip, but I think I'm going to have to read it again to understand it. This one went just a little too deep for me, I guess.
A friend told me she read this particular book when she had a fever over 100. Man, that must have been pretty surreal!
