[Lisa's Take] Ysabel - Guy Gavriel Kay

I actually jotted a few notes about how I wanted this review to go when I was only half way through Ysabel. Now that I’ve finished the book and come back to those notes, I find them significantly less clever or applicable than I first thought them. The book’s second half and end game were moving enough that I don’t feel the least desire to be glib or dismissive. At the same time, I’m having a hard time getting a full review down, so bear with me.

The basic premise of Ysabel is this: 15 Year Old Ned Marriner is on vacation in Southern France with his father, a famous photographer. While exploring a cathedral that his father is taking pictures of, Ned has a run in with a strange, supernatural man. From there he, his friends and family become embroiled in what seems to be a mystical re-enactment of historical events. The story roams all over the countryside around France’s Aix-en-Provence and explores a number of real events and ruins.

Ysabel is a good book. It reads very quickly, is interesting and involving, has very good characters, and keeps you guessing. That said, I’m still going to have to file it into the “candy” category, rather than the “solid fantasy” category. It’s right on the line, but it just doesn’t quite stand up to the heavy-hitters of the fantasy world... I think maybe if it were billed as YA fiction it would be weighty enough to cross that line, but in the All Growed Up Fantasy league it can’t quite hold its own.

So what holds it back? The biggest glaring thing that put me off is the copious, copious pop-culture references. I understand that the author was trying to juxtapose the current state of the world with the deep, meaningful, historical events, but it detracted overall from the book. Amazon, iPods, Guild Wars, jpegs, google, Coldplay... if you can get over parts of the story sounding like a commercial, you’ll still be left wondering how the book will hold up in 5 or 10 years when this stuff is obsolete. Does he have a draft of the book that has tags MadLibs style? Will a 10^th anniversary edition with updated hip references be printed? I think a similar feel could have been created without being quite so specific.

The other thing that put me off is that the book really did lean towards YA, like I mentioned above. The protagonist is 15, which doesn’t mean the book has to be rated PG-13, but is often the case. Privilege of the Sword is a good example of 15-year-old star that’s definitely still an adult novel. Nix is another that’s more like Ysabel. Cursing was glossed over, sexuality was... somewhat addressed, but mostly in an sideward or askance fashion. A very 15-year-old fashion. These are obviously minor points, but they’re the easiest to put my finger on and explain. They and a few other, harder to define things collaborated to make me less emotionally involved than I obviously should have been – less involved than the author expected me to me. This is often a problem for me in YA fiction. The result is that in the end of the book when I wanted my heart to be aching, when I wanted to be trying not to drip tears on the pages... I was just there. Reading. Absorbing words. Being told by the author what it should feel like, rather than experiencing it myself. It was a bit frustrating, to say the least.

Still, overall the book was very good, and it did pack an emotional punch, though somewhat dulled down. Maybe an emotional shoulder-clip, like when you walk through a door crooked and the frame catches you. The characters were strong, the dialog was excellent, and Kay’s descriptions of the countryside were evocative. I know just wanked philosophical about some the flaws, but don’t let the lengthy discussion deter you from reading it – Ysabel is absolutely worth the (very short) time required to read it.

[Lisa’s Take] Before They Are Hanged: First Law Book 2 (Joe Abercrombie)

My review of The Blade Itself, the first book in this trilogy, was one of the more vicious reviews I’ve written. I really picked the book apart, and probably dog-eared 20 pages with things that irked me so I’d have solid ammunition.

I felt a little bad, ripping something apart like that, especially after a few people whose opinions I usually trust in books said I was being too harsh. So as penance I picked up the second book, Before They Are Hanged, as soon as it hit the shelves. Last week I was out of work with a fairly nasty cold, so I holed up on the couch and ready it pretty much straight through in 2 days. I thought it would be fun to go back through my first review and see how Mr. Abercrombie has progressed in his second stab at the fantasy genre.

Gripe #1 – Mishmashy, undefined plot
After TBI, I complained that the plot was not well defined, that it didn’t go anywhere, that it was predictable, and that it was all set up with no money shot. This problem was absolutely remedied in BTAH. There are three major plot lines, and each one has a good introduction, build up and climax. I think it helped this time around that the distinct groups were well separated from each other, so the author didn’t have worry about them overlapping and muddling each other up. In book 2 you’ve got 3 groups: the unwitting heroes searching for a mystical artifact, the men manning the front of the war in the north, and the Inquisition investigating drama in the south. Each plot line was equally well developed, had good screen time, and (most importantly) was engaging, interesting, and less predictable. I had some vague guesses as to what would happen when and where, but it was much more rare that I’d think “and now X is going to happen!” then turn the page and be proven correct.

Gripe #2 – Crossing the proverbial streams
In TBI the author had a lot of trouble keeping his POV characters separated and straight. This was much less of an issue in BTAH. There were still 3 or 4 times in the book that I got a little turned around, but whether because I had a better handle on the characters or because I was expecting it, I never had to re-read to figure out what was going on. I don’t know if Joe got himself a better editor, or if he’s done with some of the New Writer Blunders – but let’s hope it’s both. He also did a much better time distributing his POV time in book 2... there were no “primary” and “secondary” POV characters – they all got even screen time and actually made contributions to the plot.

I did experience one slightly jarring moment during the book’s end game: throughout the story the author had established a fairly smooth cycle of rotation through his characters and groups of characters – he rarely dwelled on one group for many chapters in a row. Then, during the climax of the book, he got stuck on the group of treasure hunters and stuck 3 or 4 chapters of theirs all together. I understand that it was a necessity, and that he just had extra chapters for them, but... it just broke up the flow of the book again, after such a nice cycling had been established. Tiny gripe.

Gripe #3 – Character Clichés
Boy, I was pretty vicious about the character clichés when I reviewed book 1. Man. I feel a little bad... but then I was pretty displeased after the first book. In book 2 Mr. Abercrombie makes significant improvements in his characters. They are all more solid and (largely) less prone to crazy out-of-character episodes. Bayaz still has some moments that don’t quite seem to follow, but he’s the only one I can complain about. Book 2 also spends a lot of time deepening and expanding upon the characters, so they’re less stereotyped, I think. Contributing to this is the point I mentioned above about the author giving more even face time to everyone, so we get more than just an initial impression.

That said, I did still have one new character gripe in this installment: I felt like some of the characters “reset” at the start of the book. It was as though they had started to develop a little in the first book, then when the second book started they went right back into the rut. Jezal, especially, suffered from this, as did Ferro. Luckily it mostly worked itself out after a couple of chapters from each POV.

I lied: two character gripes. The other problem I had is that Mr. Abercrombie isn’t very adept at making immediately memorable secondary characters yet. I’m a little spoiled – when GRRM creates a secondary character he does so in such a vivid way that the next time the character is mentioned the light bulb immediately goes off. In BTAH there are a few secondary characters that you meet in the beginning of the book, then don’t see on screen again until the end, and in some cases the re-introduction didn’t go smoothly. He got there eventually in all cases, so maybe by book 3 he’ll have it down.

Gripe #4 – Guttural Utterances
I complained in the first book that I was sick of Abercrombie’s characters saying their guttural utterances. Either he got a little better about it in this book, or I just didn’t seize upon it as something annoying. It did bother me how often people replied to questions with “Uh.” as a statement. “Uh” to me is a sound of uncertainty, rather than a reply – I really would rather he went with “Mm.” or “Hn.” or something. At least this time when I’m writing this paragraph I’m chuckling, rather than seething.

Well. I think revisiting all those points serves pretty well for a review. If it’s not obvious by now, I enjoyed the second book much more than the first – almost all of the issues that kept me from getting into the first book were resolved. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the humor, and the surprising twists. I’ll certainly be picking up the 3^rd book – and if you don’t mind having to bull your way though some of the first book’s issues, I’ll revoke my “don’t waste your time” judgment on the series as a whole.

[Lisa’s Take] Temeraire Book 4 – Empire of Ivory (Naomi Novik)

There’s a big dragon plague killing off all of England’s dragons. Temeraire goes to Africa to look for a cure. We also address the matter of slavery a bit, as well as loyalty and honor. Yay we have a plot!

I don’t mean to be too blithe about the premise of the 4^th book in this series, because it was really an enjoyable read – it was just also awfully easy to codify down into a few short words. I don’t think that makes it less of a good book, but maybe a little simplistic.

There really isn’t a whole lot to say other than reiterating that it was a fun book... I feel a little bit like the series has gone down hill since the first installment, but maybe I have my hopes set too high. I think part of the problem is that Temeraire has been less of a major character with each continuing book... he seems to be getting flatter, rather than more developed, and he often takes the back seat to the plot.

Granted I could just be knit picking because Ms. Novik pissed me off at the end of the book – there’s very, very, very little that I dislike more than a jarring cliffhanger. I can handle being left in suspense, but turning the last page of the book and being totally baffled that it doesn’t continue leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Come to think of it, that’s how she started book 4 as well – just jumped right in to what was happening when the last book closed. Hnn.

That came off as harsh, but it should be taken in light of all the other extensive praise I’ve lavished upon her earlier books. I’ll definitely be picking up book 5... it just won’t necessarily be something that requires immediate reading. It can hang out and wait to break up the harder, more grown up fantasy.

Lisa's Take - Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner)

Swordspoint is the precursor to Privilege of the Sword, by Ellen Kushner. I don’t want to call it a “prequel” because they’re certainly not directly intertwined by any stretch – you can absolutely read Privilege first, then go back and read Swordspoint. In fact – that’s what I’d recommend.

I recommend reading in the reverse order for a very simple reason: I guarantee that if I had read Swordspoint first I would have put it down in disgust after a few chapters, and never picked it back up. As a result, I never would have read Privilege, and that would have been an absolute shame, since it was very enjoyable. You see... Swordspoint is SO very much a First Novel. It’s a little painful to read. I’m not even sure I can quite explain it... it’s like the author doesn’t describe or connect well enough. Some of it is just bad editing – POV jumps that aren’t differentiated, for instance. Other bits though... it’s like she’s expecting the reader to infer more is reasonable. She’s got her court intrigue and her implications all set up, but in some places it’s like you’re missing puzzle pieces or overtones that would make conversations and motivations make sense.

The result is that the first half of the book is rather disjointed and kind of frustrating to wade through. Luckily I was entertained enough to be reading about familiar characters that I stuck with it – and by the second half of the book she started hitting her stride and telling the story well. I’m not sure if she just got smoother as a story teller, or if I got enough grasp on the characters to fill in the holes.

Either way, I was very much enjoying the story by the end... and it entertained me so much that I’m currently re-reading Privilege. It’s pretty awesome to have some of the back story that’s implied (but never elaborated upon) brought to light, and it really gives a much more exciting tone to some of the scenes – particularly between Duke Tremontaine and Lord Ferris. I remember when I read Privilege for the first time that whole scene struck an odd note with me... but this time it makes so much more wicked sense.

So. If you enjoyed Privilege, by all means read Swordspoint. It’s good by the end, and certainly worth consuming if only to get some great back-story and have a greater appreciation for some of Privilege’s characters. Just don’t read it first, as it would be a shame to be entirely turned off of the entire series, solely because of some new-writer issues.

Lisa's Take - Sir Apropos of Nothing (Peter David)

A few months back a friend tipped me off on a book title that she found entirely hilarious, called Woad to Wuin. I also got a pretty good chuckle out of it, and figured that with a title that entertaining, I should probably think about picking it up. I came across it by chance a couple of weeks ago, and discovered that Woad to Wuin was actually a sequel to a book called Sir Apropos of Nothing. Feeling obliged based entirely upon the clever titles, I decided to pick the first book up.

A quote on the front of Sir Apropos of Nothing calls is “excellent fantasy satire.” But I’m not entirely sure that’s what it is. It’s certainly fantasy (sword fights, fantastic creatures, damsels in distress, magic, phoenixes, the works!) and it has some satirical qualities, I suppose (the main character hijacking his best friends’ destiny, knowingly and reflectively). Still, calling it satire makes it feel more clinical than I think it deserves. Maybe I’m just over thinking things, though.

Anyway, Apropos is born the son of a whore, but his mother is just sure he has a great destiny, since she swears up and down she saw a phoenix being reborn just before Apropos was brought into the world. He grows up largely being jaded and put upon, though he’s mentored by an orphan he meets in the woods. Eventually the plot contrives to have Apropos end up at the palace, where he accidentally gets to become a squire, and he sets out to retrieve the king and queen’s daughter from a life of seclusion.

If the plot sounded hackneyed, I assure you that it’s knowingly so, and does its best to laugh at itself as frequently as possible. It also makes ample use of opportunities to make horrible, horrible puns, which is always entertaining.

However, the most entertaining thing about the book, but what a Grade A ass Apropos is. Seriously – it’s pretty rare to get a bad person as the main character of a book, and it’s even harder to really do it well (*cough*ThomasCovenant*cough* …sorry, uncalled for, but I couldn’t help it). Sure, some of George R. R. Martin’s main characters are pretty nasty, but he’s got good ones to offset. Outside of him, I have a hard time coming up with anyone – even Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards aren’t bad bad – they’ve got loyalty and honor to each other and the cause and all that.

But no – Apropos really is as much of a self-serving jerk as you can get… and it makes for an incredibly entertaining read. I won’t get into potential for salvation and all that, since I could go on (even) longer and would risk spoilers, so let’s just leave it at this: I really appreciate how well Peter David wrote (and stuck with) Apropos’ flawed personality.

I’m rambling; I better get to a bottom line here. Sir Apropos of Nothing is definitely worth reading, especially if you’re starting to feel some drudgery in the fantasy genre. It’s got great characters and fantastic wit – and it will certainly read quickly, in spite of being 600-odd pages long.

[Lisa's Take] Fire Study - A follow-up

I accidentally got stuck with nothing to read shortly after I set Fire Study aside, and as a result I picked it back up. One sitting had me read far enough that my favorite character in the series was introduced, so I actually ended up finishing the book, figuring that it didn't really cost me anything just to git 'er dun.

I don't really have anything positive to add - the plot didn't pick up, the story didn't become more compelling, and I continued to not give a damn about what was going on - but I did finally manage to place my finger on why the book was so bland and empty compared to Poison Study.

Maria V. Snyder doesn't re-introduce her characters, nor does she really do much to support them or change them once they have been introduced.

Take Valek, one of the major protagonists. I know what he's like from the first book, and I know why he's awesome. But when he showed up in this book, the author did NOTHING to describe him. You got no physical description. You got next to no backstory. You might be able to imply “boy he sure is sneaky!” from the way he showed up, but that was about it. Looking back, I started to realize that was the case for ALL of the characters. If they’ve shown up in a previous book, they get absolutely no loving attention to their personalities as far as memory-refresh or further development. Additionally, they don’t change AT ALL. The one guy’s a dick. The other guy’s a joker. The other one is mysterious. I don’t think she even bothers to use different adjectives to describe them. It’s really bad.

So, there’s my observation. I feel vindicated for finally being able to point concretely at what was pissing me off. Woo.

Lisa's Take - Black Ships (Jo Graham)

Man, I need to take that “be careful what you wish for” thing to heart. I was ruminating recently that I hadn’t read a single book that really got me riiiiight there since Lies of Locke Lamora. In general I was a little grumpy about the lack of emotional impact in the majority of the books I’d been reading – there were a number of books that were good at it, but not great.

Black Ships got me right there. I can only imagine how I looked sitting in the cafeteria snuffling and wiping away tears over the remnants of a Clementine.

This book is a re-telling of Virgil’s The Aeneid from the perspective of an oracle who traveled with Aeneas. Usually I shy away from historical fantasy, but I figured this one was set far enough back and had enough of a gods-and-magic twist that I’d give it a try. I’m supremely glad I picked it up, because it was an extremely enjoyable read. The characters were fantastic, the pacing and story telling just right, and the prose was lovely and evocative.

This was Jo Graham’s first novel, but it really didn’t feel like it at all. As she mentioned in her acknowledgements, she’s been working on it since she was a teenager, which I imagine gives you lots of time to perfect. I wouldn’t have guessed this was a first novel just from reading it, though, which is always an accomplishment.

So, if you want some good character-driven fantasy, pick this book up. Even if you don’t read many books based upon actual historical settings, I promise this one is excellent – you can just squint your eyes a little and pretend there are no real places involved. Black Ships is definitely well written, and I’ll absolutely be watching for Jo Graham to publish more books. I’m just going to go back to my melancholyish bittersweetfull malaise now, don't mind me.

Lisa's Take - Sabriel (Garth Nix)

So every time I finish a book, I open up a template for a review of it. I usually keep them in my Drafts folder on gmail, as a way to remind myself to get it done in a timely fashion. This particular review has been sitting in draft-form for well over a month now, and I haven't come up with any interesting or witty ways to approach it. I feel kind of bad, because it was an enjoyable book - I just don't know that I have a lot to say about it. Part of the problem is that this book is YA, which I'm proving to be pretty awful at reviewing. Maybe I should have done a mini-review. Feh.

Ok, enough stalling, let’s get going on the review. This is a great little book, and it's got some very interesting ideas. The main character, Sabriel, is the daughter of a necromancer, and has learned his trade - being able to walk the rivers of death, and using bells to control the souls there. This particular variety of necromancer is good, rather than bad, as they keep demons and restless spirits from making trouble in the real world.

The short of the story is: father goes missing, Sabriel goes to find him and inherits the role of her family namesake - Abhorsen, the leader in the fight against the underworld. She's helped out by all sorts of interesting magical contraptions, accompanied by a demon-cat, and falls in love with a random dude she finds trapped in statue-form, who was instrumental in some historical event that lead to the current trouble with wild magic. There’s drama, adventure, and a couple of climaxes. Yay.

The book is short and a quick read – I took it out in an afternoon or two. There are some really cool settings and vivid images painted. In general the characters are good and believable, and the story is absorbing. I liked it. My one gripe is that the whole love-interest thing was waaaay predictable and almost… out of place? I think I would have had more respect for the author if he had pulled a Scot Lynch (re: Sabetha). Still, that’s a pretty small gripe.

Overall, I’d put Sabriel at the top of the list of YA I’ve read lately, and I’ll definitely be picking up the sequels at some point. Tasty stuff.

Lisa's Take: Fire Study (Maria V. Snyder)

I should have known. I should have known when I couldn’t find this book on release day and I had to ask the nice shop attendant to show me where it was and he led me to the freaking Romance section. That should have been a dead give-away, but did I listen? Nooo, I had to be optimistic and shove all my other reading aside so I could consume the third book in this series as soon as it came out.

I made it almost half way through - a good 170 pages or so - before I threw this book aside in disgust. The first book in this series was so very good! It took me completely by surprise – I wasn’t expecting anything deep when I picked it up, but I got some really gritty themes, interesting characters, novel and surprising situations, and even a number of plot twists that I didn’t see coming until I was caught up in them. Did I mention the extremely compelling love interest? The second book had a marked downward slant in terms of quality and impact, but it was still a fairly worthwhile read. The characters had stagnated a bit, and the new introductions just weren’t that interesting. It felt very middle-school.

Fire Study can’t even claim that much. This is like… a 14-year-old’s first stab at a novel. If I went back and re-read the 150-odd pages of the book I tried to write as a teenager, I bet it would read juuuust like this. “It’s so exciting! And then THIS happened, but she was really awesome so it was ok! And then THIS happened, but she’s got these amazing powers, so she beat it. And then THIS happened but she’s a natural leader, so it was ok, too. Oh, she might have used her powers for evil, but it's for the greater good, so she's totally over accidentally killing those guys. And oh, boo hoo, isn’t she a tragic figure, so very outcast and exiled?” Christ. I’m not even exaggerating here, I swear. I recently read a rant by Ms. Snyder about how she doesn’t understand that people sometimes call her main character a “Mary Sue.” At the time I agreed with the MS-ness a bit, but not too much. Fire Study, however, had proven just how very much her main character epitomizes what it means to be a Mary Sue. It’s kind of pathetic.

I’m struggling to find anything at all good to say about this book. Um. I guess I’d rather see it in the YA section than in the Romance section. I mentioned in my review of the second book that it read like Mercedes Lackey, but better… the third book is definitely more of “it reads like Mercedes Lackey, but worse,” yet I still think it would be marginally entertaining for younger readers. Well, except for Snyder’s propensity for rape and killing – maybe not so much with that for 13-year-olds. Though, I guess I did start my little sister on Martin when she was 15ish, so I could just be overly prudish.

Right, I need to stop wallowing in the mudpit of self-pity formed from seeing a great series turn to crap. Don’t waste your money on this book, it’s boring, flat, and useless.

Lisa's Take: Otherland Book 2 - River of Blue Fire (Tad Williams)

River of Blue Fire. Let me ‘splain.... no, there is too much. Let me sum up.

…Oh wait, there’s too much for that, too. This book is so huge, it’s ridiculous. Just to name a few of the worlds/genres that are touched upon in this particular installment of Otherland: there’s Oz, War of the Worlds era London, Xanadu, Venice during the Renaissance, near-future sci-fi, hard fantasy, ancient Egypt, and a cartoon kitchen-land populated with characters from various brands of food and cleaning supplies.

You see why I can’t sum up. Instead, let me gush a little. Good gods does Tad Williams ever have an imagination in him. This series of books defines “multi-genre” in a way I can’t even express. It’s really damn impressive, and consistently entertaining. Perhaps even more impressively: he has these really incredible worlds that (incidentally) also have really engaging characters in them. I know! Imagine! He probably has a core cast of 12-15 major characters, and they’re all distinct, colorful, well-defined, solid, and any other adjective you can use to describe excellent characterization.

At first I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this second book in the series – I waited a year before starting it, because I was feeling wishy-washy – but it was definitely worth it. I would recommend spacing the books out a bit, so you don’t burn yourself out. Luckily the author provides a very good 10-page summary at the start of each book, highlighting the big important events (and some events you didn’t necessarily realize were important) so you can take some time off but still be drawn back in.

My single, solitary gripe is that none of the big reveals in River of Blue Fire really caught me by surprise. There was one plot point in particular where Mr. Williams was leading the reader reeeeal hard down one pathway of thinking, and that in itself clued me in that I should be suspicious.

Still, the Otherland books are definitely worth reading. I look forward to the 3^rd book – after a nice healthy break for some candy and/or strict fantasy.

A Week of Mini Review - In Closing

Well! That about finishes off the week of mini reviews. Between the two of us we knocked out miniature-ramblings on 18 books! I'm very glad to have my queue clear so I can stop feeling bad about missing so many.

From now on: a full review for every book! ...At least until I get lazy and fall behind once again.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - Wild Sheep Chase (Haruki Murakami)

(What's up with this review?)

This book was a great break from my usual fantasy-only regimen, and I’m quite glad it was forced upon me. The plot was surreal and intriguing, with enough fantasy elements to keep me hooked, but still plenty of deep implications and a literature-bint. Ironically, Murakami is known for trying to sound American when he writes (in his native Japanese), but the translation sounds very japanese to me in it’s phrasing. Maybe I’m crazy.

I’d definitely like to hit up some more Murakami in the future, especially when I’m looking for something a little more deep.

The Bottom Line: Thumbs Up

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - The Gentleman Bastard Series (Scott Lynch)

(What's up with this review?)

Lies of Locke Lamora

JD has already reviewed this, so I’ll keep it short: This was the BEST book I read in 2006. Easily. Hands down. I cannot be more thrilled that Scott Lynch has a lot more planned.

Red Seas Under Red Skies

A solid continuation from Lies. I had a few more gripes this time (mostly because I was able to get over my awe and look at the book critically). For instance – The Bastards go galavanting off in the middle of one heist to take care of another (they’re compelled, to be fair) and then when they come back to the first heist, the end-game is very rushed. I’m pretty sure Lynch just hit his page-limit and had to cut back *shrug* Still, it’s freaking phenomenal. Consume it like the amazing, gritty candy it is.

The bottom line: it don't get more thumbs-up than this.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - Un Lun Dun (China Mieville)

(What's up with this review?)

Hmm. I’ve restarted this review about 4 times. Nothing I say about it comes out quite right. Un Lun Dun was a good enough book I guess, but it was still YA fiction, which almost always lacks a punch for me. I was trying to review it without the YA slant… but it just wasn’t working.

Anyway, like all of Mieville’s work, this has some really neat ideas. Very creative. But… it’s still YA. I didn’t really care about the characters, and there was very little emotional tie-in. Who knows, maybe if I were 13 I would have thought differently *shrug*

The bottom line: skip it and read The Scar instead.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters (Gordon Dahlquist)

(What's up with this review?)

This book was a very pleasant surprise, and yet another novel that deserves a full review. Ah well, maybe if that slacker JD ever reads it he can give it the review it deserves.

Glass Books is kind of a Victorian, steam-punk, fantasy hybrid. You know – canes with swords inside, masquerades, dirigibles, huge machines with lots of gears, monocles, &c. It’s also POV driven – you get chapters each from the perspective of one of the 3 main characters.

The book is really quite entertaining and excellent. I wasn’t expecting to like it – I nearly stopped after the first chapter – but in the second chapter things really pick up. I’d suggest if you get off on the wrong foot to make sure you read each of the first 3 chapters so you can be introduced to each of the main characters. It’s highly worth the read!

The bottom line: Thumbs up! Read it!

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – Briar Rose (Jane Yolen)

(What's up with this review?)

A bunch of sci-fi fantasy writers got together a few years ago and released a series of novellas that were classic fairy tales crossed with some sort of other story. I had no idea that’s what was going on when I picked up Briar Rose – I honestly just grabbed it because it was short and because I loved Jane Yolen when I was a tween. Turns out Steve Brust also did one of these, as did a number of other authors I’ve read. I kind of wish they’d release them in compiled volumes – I’d definitely pick them all up.

Anyway, I’m divided about Briar Rose overall. I noticed this problem when I reviewed The Kite Runner. I get kind of stand-offish about books that deal with real-life content that the reader is required to feel emotional about. Briar Rose is about a Holocaust victim – of course it’s going to be painful and touching. You can’t do anything about it, and if you review it callously, you’re going to get your stuffing ripped out.

So I’ll divide it up.

• The parts of the book that dealt with the Holocaust were very well handled and very touching. I would have had a favorable impression of the book if the section that was a character re-telling his Holocaust experience was the entire story.

• The parts of the book that dealt with the telling of the fairy tale are… interesting. At least somewhat engaging.

• The parts of the book that dealt with the main character searching for the history were entirely useless. I didn’t give a damn about her, and I didn’t really care if she succeeded. Her love interest was bland and predictable, and all the secondary characters were either flat or obnoxious.

The Bottom Line: ….I really don’t know. The book got a lot of critical acclaim, so maybe it’s just me. Still, I’d say skip it unless you’re looking to depress yourself, or just want to debate with me about it.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – Neuromancer (William Gibson)

(What's up with this review?)

So when I said that George Alec Effinger had ruined me on Cyberpunk, I was pretty much referring to Neuromancer. I know, I know, Gibson did it first and he deserves kudos for defining the genre. But… after reading Effinger and his fantastic characterizations that meshed so well with his incredible world… I just couldn’t get into Neuromancer. This was before I imposed my 100-page rule on books (give it 100 pages before you give up on it) so I put down Neuromancer after a few chapters and have had zero initiative to pick it back up. Really, if my 100-page-rule had been in place, I would have already been through half the book, so I could have finished it easily and reviewed it. Alas! ...or not.

The Bottom Line: If you want good Cyberpunk, read George Alec Effinger. If you want to reconnect with the roots of cyberpunk or you’re brand new to the genre, read Neuromancer. Otherwise, skip it. Thumbs down.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – When Gravity Fails/Fire in the Sun (George Alec Effinger)

(What's up with this review?)

George Alec Effinger has ruined me on cyberpunk. Holy hell, he’s SO DAMN GOOD. Seriously. I just want to cram all of his words into my brain all at once… it’s a trial to space them out.

So. These books are CyberPunk, near-future, with an Arabic twist. They have extremely interesting and plausible technology (people chip-in “moddies” to give themselves extra information, or whole new personalities). It’s pretty cool. But perhaps the most impressive part is that while the technology is definitely highlighted, the characters are still the major focus. Effinger creates some really impressive, emotionally involving characters… all very realistic and sympathetic and flawed. I kind of get a twinge in my chest thinking about them. Everything about these books is just smooth and incredible and engaging.

My one caution with these books is that they can be extremely brutal, much like some of China Mieville’s work. Particularly in the second book there’s a scene where Our Hero takes a fairly vicious beating, and I actually had to put the book down for a while and calm down. It wasn’t just gore or vivid descriptions – the books are just that evocative; you really get that involved in the characters. For better or for worse.

The Bottom Line: It sucks UNIMAGINABLY that Effinger died, because I have never read better cyberpunk. You absolutely must read these books.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - The Wolfblade Chronicles: Wolfblade, Warrior, Warlord (Jennifer Fallon)

(What's up with this review?)

Much like 100 Years of Solitude, these books deserved their own individual, full-on reviews… but I am a big slacker and put it off too long to do them justice. I suppose it’s not quite as big of a slight as it was for 100 Years… after all, these books are just fantasy, not literature. But enough justification: the reviewing!

Jennifer Fallon is the new Robin Hobb. Those of you who have read some Robin Hobb will know that means Ms. Fallon is a Mistress of Angst. Oh gods does she ever know how to set up the impossible situations and pluck the heart strings. Couple that with a very interesting story, a solid world, great characters and enough wit to make you chuckle from time to time… and you’ve got an excellent trilogy. Several excellent trilogies, if you want to count her older work. Did I mention that I love her take on The Gods?

My only complaint: you know when I complained in my review of The Gunslinger about authors wishing they could go back and revise previous works? I specifically had Jennifer Fallon in mind. This trilogy falls chronologically before her Hythrun Chronicles, even though the latter was written first. The Wolfblade Chronicles also deal with a lot of the secondary characters from HC. And to be frank… some of them feel very different than the initial impressions I got in the HC – a danger of prequels, I fear. It’s not a big deal, but since I brought it up recently, I thought it worth a mention.

The Bottom Line: If you haven’t read any Jennifer Fallon, pick up The Second Sons trilogy (Lion of Senet, Eye of the Labyrinth, Lord of the Shadows) first, because it’s a bit better than this trilogy. Still, The Wolfblade Chronicles are definitely interesting and worth the read.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – Nightwatch/Daywatch/Twilightwatch (Sergei Lukyanenko)

(What's up with this review?)

I picked these books up because I loved the movies so much, and it turns out they’re really much more worthwhile than the films. Don't get me wrong - the movies are fantastic and entertaining and interesting, but like most movies-based-on-books, they just fall a little short.

The books have a lot of interesting themes, and in general are much more thought-provoking and philosophical than the Nightwatch and Daywatch movies. The plot is fairly similar for the first book, then diverges quite a lot for the next 3 books. I’m definitely looking forward to Final Watch coming out this summer.

Bottom Line: Read ‘em and weep. (That's a good thing, right?)