Stiletto / Daniel O'Malley

Stiletto

(Rook #2)

by Daniel O'Malley

fantasy

copyright 2016

read in April 2017

rated 8/10: really quite good

I've just read two books which were so good that I immediately read each one again. The other (Arcadia) rated nine. This book rates eight. I rate on my own enjoyment... So why the difference?

Arcadia is intelligent, it makes me think. Stiletto is clever. Both are incredibly enjoyable. The "intelligent" rates just a little bit higher. I would happily recommend either book :-)

The Stiletto heroes are heroines. Does that make it chick lit? Nooo... Okay, there are some costume changes, a sign of chick lit. In this book, the costume changes are mostly for fighting, or the result of fighting. With some stripping to underwear for the young male readers :-)

I think... that it's a bit like World of Warcraft: Plenty of young men play as female characters. It's simply a lot of fun to watch young female game characters. Or, in a book, to read about young, attractive, feisty young women. And the characters are extremely likable!

Two young women forced to work together. They hate the *concept* of each other. No surprise at all that they grow to like each other.

As with The Rook, the supernatural characters are many, varied, lots of fun. Fun? There's the two "wasp" people, for example... Though there is less supernatural action in this second book. Which leads to a problem with the back-cover blurb:

"Two bitter adversaries: .. the organisation that protects society from supernatural threats, and... The Grafters, a supernatural threat." Except... the Grafters are *not* supernatural. That's a major point of the conflict, the *not* supernatural Grafters!

Oh well, no fault to the author. Just a blurb writer who failed to read the book.

There is action, violence, good will and humour. Good will... the author presents a very positive view of people. Both main characters and minor walk-on roles. The lady walking her dogs in the park, for example. Sweet, positive, very nice :-)

The author seems to be in love with Britain ! His characters -- especially the non-British -- are amazed by the excitement of London and the beauty of the countryside. I couldn't agree more. There are also indications of good research. Including the author's thanks in the final Acknowledgements.

And a minor plus: Some authors slip in facts just to show off their knowledge. O'Malley slips in facts -- then makes it worthwhile. Funny. Enjoyable. Snickelways, for example...

This is an excellent book! Great fun, lots of action -- and excitement. All held together with humour. Both funny humour, and good humour.

I'm looking forward to more books. Hopefully continuing the series. Or in another world, because I believe that the author will write a good book in any, probably fantasy, universe.
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23may19: Yep, I've just read Stiletto for the third time -- and enjoyed it just as much :-) I'm even wondering, Why was I so mean as to rate it as only an eight ?! Ah well, as I wrote in the original review, it's a great book but not quite as great as the one I had also just read. Stiiiillll… think "nine" :-)

Again, I have just read another book. Another excellent book. I looked round for the next book -- and felt the urge to read something familiar, something which I knew I would enjoy. Simple relaxation. Even more enjoyment. I read Stiletto. Enjoyed it. Enjoyed it so much... that I may just re-read The Rook.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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​"Don't fight a battle unless you really have to win it." … good advice from a manager

21jul21: Yes, I read it again. It is still brilliant :-)

I had read my first "pittacus Lore" book. Thought: nice characters but not interesting. Boring superpowers. I would like -- I thought -- to read a fantasy where the superpowers are interesting... so I re-read Stilletto. I was not disappointed :-)

Have I mentioned: at first I thought theses books were written by a woman. For the good understanding of the female characters' point of view. Then realised, the author is a man. Now I believe that the author has done a good job of writing about female characters -- as a man would really like them to be. Well done :-)

Arcadia / Iain Pears

Arcadia

by Iain Pears

science fiction / fantasy? dystopia.

copyright 2015

read in April 2017

rated 9/10: really, really good or... 8/10: really quite good

Is this some pastoral fairytale, with happy peasants living by the sweat of their brow in an oh-so-perfect yet horribly boring world? That was my thought as I read the first few chapters...

But no...

04jan24: I'm a bit undecided about this book.

Since my first (and second) reading my reading speed has slowed down (vision problems). Reading more slowly... I almost gave up after a hundred or so pages. Slow and confusing, I thought. And it is. And yet... it all sorts itself out... eventually.

I almost stopped reading... but was glad that I continued.

But all that uncertainty -- makes me take one point off my rating. Down to eight.

I'm also uncertain about... Is it really fantasy? The rural utopia smacks of fantasy. But no, the time travel (or whatever it is :-) is science-based. No matter how dodgy the science. I do prefer the book's explanation to the more usual parallel universes.

Science fiction? yes. Also dystopia. In fact: double-dystopia. The author sets up a rural utopia (ie Arcadia0 with problems. The social stratification and inflexibility are, to me, somewhat dystopian.

This is compared to the intended science-based dystopia.

Which -- curiously -- have unintentionally created the various renegade-driven u-topias.

All very complicated. A good story laced with pleasant whimsy. Really quite good.

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This is a clever tale of time travel, of a pastoral utopia which is not -- yet -- good enough. Of an efficient, scientific dystopia which rewards people according to their worth to society. With "worth" being measured by those with power.

This is a novel which rejects the multiple parallel universes view of the world... thank goodness. A novel which takes a simpler view and makes a complex and satisfying story with what is then possible.

Some of the science sounds like nonsense. I don't know, perhaps it is a current alternative set of theories? Doesn't matter. It is explained, slowly revealed, eminently satisfying. There seems to be a fallacy in the final resolution... the other 99% of the twists and turns are neatly, nicely and clearly wrapped up.

The characters are all... delightful. With an air of British whimsy that has long been unfashionable. It reminds me of a Dr Who episode, from the days when the Doctor was stuck on Earth due to BBC budget cuts:

The Doctor and friends are battling Cybermen for possession of The Ultimate Weapon. Can you be trusted with possession of The Ultimate Weapon? asks the Doctor. Of course we can be trusted, replies Lethbridge-Stuart, Because we're British.

That's the feeling throughout this book. The calm, polite, honest Britain of the 1960s. Doing what is right because it is right.

Amongst the characters there is one villain, a businessman who will do anything because he believes that he knows best. Everyone else may do unpleasant things but they are, deep down, good people. Nice people. Yet believable.

Underlying the entire story is a gentle sense of satire, some touches of humour and a love of literature. No surprise at all that the author has also written "The Growth of Interest in the Arts in England 1680-1768" :-)

And finally... The book is written as a series of intersecting stories.  Sometimes a person will appear and I think, What?! Then a chapter or two later, from a different perspective, all is revealed. (Oh, and I enjoyed it so much that I read Arcadia a second time. And enjoyed it even more because I now understood -- much sooner -- everything that was happening.)

It's not strictly sequential but then, it is a story of time travel. The complexities -- and the interactions of the various key characters -- are handled very well. I would love to read the Apple App version! Though I doubt that it would really add much to an already excellent story.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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​"If you're too busy to laugh, then you're too busy." … per Ginger Meggs

Doom of the Dragon / Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

Doom of the Dragon

(Dragonships of Vindras 4)

by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

fantasy

copyright 2015

read in April 2017

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

It's a sort of pleasant book. Not too harsh, not too soft. But not, just right. Bland, perhaps. Easy reading.

It's book four of four, though six books were planned. Perhaps the authors recognised that there was not enough material -- or not enough excitement -- for six books.

The dragonship is an interesting concept. It gets away from the need to have a well trained crew on each ship. And it allows for a large dragon without needing space for it to sleep.

The main characters are, essentially, Vikings. And what a silly lot they are... Whenever danger threatens -- they form a shield wall. Any problems? Stand shoulder to shoulder, defend the man next to you, be prepared to die in the front line of the fighting. Perhaps this made more sense in the first books...

For all that -- and despite other physical and magical challenges, easily overcome -- the book is easy to read. Lightweight. Somewhat satisfying.

And a bonus: most of the characters have been introduced in the previous books yet it is very easy to get to know then from just this one book. The few characters who actually matter are easy to distinguish. The plot -- and the few characters who drive it -- can easily be tracked.

On the other hand, the ending is disappointingly satisfactory. Disappointingly satisfactory?! Yes... I suspect that the ending is supposed to be personal sacrifice for the greater good. With limited knowledge of -- and limited empathy for -- the key characters, I found that the ending was satisfactory. Despite the personal sacrifices​.

This book may be part of a good series. Read by itself, it is enjoyable. But it is lightweight. It is not a book that makes me want to read any more in the series.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"Come on… a little hard work must have killed someone!" … per Ginger Meggs
   

The Broken Eye / Brent Weeks

The Broken Eye

(Lightbringer 3)

by Brent Weeks

fantasy

copyright 2014

read in April 2017

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

Disappointing. And unpleasant.

This series began as "young adult" fantasy. There is still a "young adult" main character but the story has gone vicious. Not to be recommended for... anyone, really.

Okay, it's exciting. Non-stop action. Most of which involves serious injury and death. And that is a problem.

Is there a message for the reader? Possibly. And the message is, Might is right. Violence is the best answer. The person who is willing to threaten, kill, torture and maim will be the winner. Oh, and women are weaker so they just have to learn to fight harder.

On top of that -- or should that be, below that -- if one person has good intentions, that person will be blackmailed into evil. Oh, and there's a feeling that all this violence and evil and torture and blackmail is fine... as long as it is all for the ultimate good. Ultimate good in the opinion of the violent, evil, torturing blackmailer, that is.

About a quarter of the way through, one person decides to confide in another. At last ! And a few people do seem to be working together. Finally. Blind faith in the leader -- and  a willingness to die, if ordered, with no understanding why -- is nice for the leader. Nice if you identify with the leader. Otherwise, rather stupid.

The whole world is nasty. There is, for example, slavery. A few of the characters do seem to realise that slavery is wrong. So what do they do about it? They just accept slavery because it's so convenient.

Citizens become slaves to repay family debts. As punishment for minor crimes. By being kidnapped off the streets of the main cities. As punishment for offending a powerful person. And once they are slaves, they are property. With absolutely no rights. Not even the right to life.

Just another part of the nastiness of this book.

Part of my disappointment is that there is no end in sight. That is, no end to "The Lightbringer Series". I started reading with the expectation that it is a trilogy... But no. Not only is this not the final book, it barely has an ending. Sure, no-one is at death's door. But the half dozen or more major characters are all in limbo. Maybe a small step on the way to a conclusion. All heading off (or trapped in) the unknown.

Come on! This is not a novel ! It's a soap opera :-(

I've just checked Wikipedia. Apparently the series will have five books. So say so ! Say up front, this is book three of five. And then offer a *conclusion* at the end of the book. Are you afraid that the book is not good enough to bring a reader back for more? Then write a better book.

Going back a bit, to a rather trivial point... In this book there is thunder and lightning. With, naturally, the lightning being seen before the thunder is heard.

In the previous book there was cannon fire. With the cannonball being seen before the bang is heard. Sorry, that's wrong. You could see the flash of the cannon firing, then hear the bang. And then -- after a relatively slow journey of the large and heavy cannonball -- you will see the cannonball hit nearby.

When sound and light start together, light travels far faster. But both sound and light travel a lot faster than the solid projectile. The cannonball is the last of the three to arrive.

I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the rather ridiculous form of magic in these books. After all, that's part of the fun of sword-and-sorcery fantasy :-) I find it harder to suspend my disbelief in basic physics.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"Come on… a little hard work must have killed someone!" … per Ginger Meggs