The Usurper's Crown / Sarah Zettel

The Usurper's Crown
[ Isavalta (2) ]
by Sarah Zettel

fantasy
copyright 2002
read in July 2013

rated 8: really quite good

An interesting approach to a trilogy: book two is a flashback from book one... And it works. Very well. Though with some strange side-effects...

First -- and this is, I suspect, just me --there's a constant sense of deja vu.

It's a while since I read book one. I've read several books in between. I keep thinking, But wasn't that in book one ?!

No, in sure that I'm reading a different book ! In this flashback... or extended back-story... Zettel uses repetition. That is, people and places from book one are re-visited in book two. They now show why certain things were happening in book one... Same people, same places, different actions. And from the point of view of a different heroine.

All of this makes me wonder, Which book am I really reading ?! But it's all good: I *know* which book I am reading. And I am enjoying book two... even more than I enjoyed book one.

Which leads to the other side-effect...

I prefer to read books with a happy -- or at least satisfying -- ending. From book one I know that certain people will survive... or possibly not. And this gives me a certain sense of peace.

As I read book two I have the comfort of knowing that... not everything will be destroyed. Okay, it's a very limited comfort :-)  But I find it is comfort enough. And it adds to my enjoyment of this book.

On the other hand... I'm going to have to read book one again -- to remind myself what really happened... And to find out why book two really is so very familiar !

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Problems ? Solved

Harry Potter 1 & 2 / J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter...
(1) ... and the Philosopher's Stone
(2) ... and the Chamber of Secrets

by J.K. Rowling

fantasy, young adult

published in 1997, 1998
read -- not for the first time -- in July 2013

rated 9 / 10: really, really good

We were on holiday. Sure, I had brought books to read. But they were in our hotel room and we were drinking tea in the hotel lounge.

There were magazines. And a few books. Including... the first Harry Potter... May as well start reading it, I thought. Won't matter that I won't finish it before we leave, I know what happens...

Well...

What a great book ! All of a sudden I am caught up -- again ! -- in Harry Potter delight ! As soon as we returned home I found my own copy of The Philosopher's Stone and finished my re-reading. Then found Chamber of Secrets and re-read that one. And I may re-read more...

This is an excellent series. Enjoyable, exciting, entertaining. I read the books -- this time -- with a clearer image of the heroes as young children. It adds just a little bit more to my appreciation of the book. And to my anticipation of the characters developing as they grow older.

If you are one of the very few people who do not know the basic concept of the series -- start reading now ! For the rest of the world... What can I say that has not already been said ?

The movies are, I am sure, fun Hollywood movies. The books -- are terrific.

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Problems ? Solved 

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02oct15: 

And again !

Yes, I have just re-re-read the first Harry Potter book... and enjoyed it. Yet again.

Even better, it was pleasant break from some really... rubbish... books :-( Which I may fail to finish.

The Phoenix Guards / Steven Brust

The Phoenix Guards
by Steven Brust

copyright 1991
read in May 2013

rated 9/10: really, really good

28mar24: I have finally read The Three Musketeers.

Brust copies, as he says, that style. He also steals characters and plot. Reading Dumas, I could better understand the main characters because I almost knew them -- from Phoenix Guards.

Brust refers to the style of Dickens and Dumas and prefers Dumas. Brust himself... adds fun and humour. And makes his characters far more likeable.

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Brust tells the reader that this book -- and its sequel -- are written as an homage to Dumas' Three Musketeers. With that in mind I rushed off and began to read the musketeers sequel, Twenty Years After.

What a mistake.

Brust has characters who are loyal, intelligent (or, at least, skilled) and very, very likeable. D'Artagnan is a cunning schemer. He uses trickery to get his "friends" to join him. But enough of Dumas !

Phoenix Guards is a lot of fun !

It is also long-winded, rambling, totally over-the-top... Exactly as Brust intended.

So yes, it can be a little difficult to read. Until you get into the flow of the style. Yet the effort is most worthwhile.

There are complex plots and clever plans and deadly duels. Action and adventure, wrongs righted and justice summarily dispensed. This is the world of Vlad Taltos in a less serious era.

Take a deep breath, clear your mind -- and enjoy the read :-)

early 2023: read it again, enjoyed it again, want to re-read the sequel

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Problems ? Solved

Warsworn / Elizabeth Vaughn

Warsworn
by Elizabeth Vaughn
(Warprize 2)

romance, fantasy

copyright 2006
read in April 2013

rated 6: read to pass the time

The central romance of this book is based on a master-slave relationship. The girl is supposed to be feisty, clever, independent. It's borderline.

She is feisty... until she melts under the strict gaze of her man. She is clever... but kicks herself for not being perfect. She is... not at all independent.

Her role is as a captured queen who is to provide -- when asked -- new ideas for the tribe. She hesitates, hides important facts, threatens to stamp her foot until someone listens to her.

The tribe, meanwhile, do not ask and do not listen to her. Despite the supposed "new ideas" role, her master only wants her for sex. Which, of course, is also the most important matter in the mind of the queen.

Then there's the big "battle" which occupies the bulk of the book.

Actually... it's quite a clever idea for a battle... unusual, a new way of seeing an old problem. I was just surprised at how long it continued.

There is also a series of what I take to be hints, that there is a so-far-unknown cure for a new and deadly plague. Does anyone spot the hints? Nope... Ah well, perhaps in book three...

This is a light and easy to read story, set in a not too unusual fantasy world. An easy book to read if you have nothing better.

I just do not like books which portray a man and woman in a master-slave relationship as though it were such a positive situation.

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Problems ? Solved

Blood Spirits / Sherwood Smith

Blood Spirits
by Sherwood Smith

fantasy, romance
copyright 2011

rated 7: well worth reading

The adventure continues from Coronets and Steel... The fantasy element is more obvious. There's less of the beautiful woman being put-upon by handsome men. It's just as much fun :-)

The target audience is more obviously teenage girls... The heroine is a young woman of marriageable age but there is more involvement by the local schoolgirls: admire the heroine while you identify with the plucky young assistants.

The first book ended with the hero marrying the wrong woman. So how can a second book sort out that rather awkward problem?! It's too nice a book to assassinate "the wrong woman"! I rather liked the solution to that little problem... And it also provided an interesting new direction for the next book. Well done, the author :-)

Some threads on the last few chapters are, I think, somewhat unraveled. (Hmmm... poor analogy. I mean, I can't follow what happened.) I gave up trying to remember who was who amongst the many secondary characters. But who cares!?

This book is a lot of fun. Likeable characters. Not too much tension.

I enjoyed reading Blood Spirits. I look forward to reading more.

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Problems ? Solved

Shadow's Edge / Brent Weeks

Shadow's Edge
(Night Angel 2 /3)
by Brent Weeks

fantasy

copyright 2008
read in March 2013

rated 6 / 10: read to pass the time

Stephen King advises authors to, make their characters suffer. When I first read that, I had just finished writing a simple little short story set in a small country town. I liked my characters. I did not want to make them suffer!

Which is, perhaps, why I'm a reviewer rather than a writer.

Brent Weeks, on the other hand... makes his characters suffer. To a person of gentle sensibilities -- such as myself -- it is depressing.

This is book two of a trilogy. There is an adequate conclusion: a villain is disposed of, though the even-worse villain is just off-screen, waiting eagerly for book three. All quite satisfactory.

But the suffering!

I don't mean physical suffering, though there is plenty of that. I mean mental suffering...

Hero and heroine are dragged apart, families are separated, characters are introduced, then slaughtered... No-one is happy with the way that they are performing. It's all so... glooooomy... :-(

Two hundred pages in and I am thinking, will this story ever end?! I have to double-check the cover, to make sure that it clearly says, trilogy.

"Trilogy" tells me that there will definitely be an end to the story, at the end of the third book. If this turns out to be one of those interminable fantasy epics where the author had no idea how to finish a story -- I shall be most annoyed.

Shadow's Edge is exciting, imaginative, action-packed. It is also depressing. I rate it six, read to pass the time.

But read it only if you can handle a large load of suffering and despair.

And hope that book three will bring some modicum of a happy ending.

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Problems ? Solved

City of Dreams & Nightmare / Ian Whates

City of Dreams & Nightmare
by Ian Whates
City of a Hundred Rows (1)

science fiction / fantasy: steam punk

copyright 2010
read in March 2013

rated 7 out of 10: well worth reading

The young hero fights for his life, discovers that he has special powers, finds that his powers will be central to saving his world... Sound familiar?

Don't worry... It's a familiar plot but in a fascinating new world.

There are complex depths to this world. Lots of different groups yet they all seem to fit into their logical niches. A range from peasant to powerful, interacting -- at arms length -- and all essential to the operation of the city.

There are hints that the peasant class are down-trodden. Certainly, no-one asks them to vote. On the other hand -- and I like this -- they are not miserable.

The various people fight hard to live in their niches. Life is sometimes cheap and short. Yet when there is a fire -- passers-by shout warnings and there is a reasonably effective fire brigade. In the poorest part of the city.

Life is tough but not degraded. Self interest is strong yet there is friendship, loyalty and concern for the neighbours.

It is very easy to empathise with the nicer characters. And quite possible to have some sympathy for the rest. City of Nightmare? I've met worse.

An interesting and likeable world. So what about the plot?

The plot is a little simplistic.

Lots going on, plenty of intersecting threads, no sudden changes of fortune. This book simply keeps rolling along...

... Rolling along, providing interest and action. Very enjoyable. The heroes are threatened but never in any really serious danger. Although, of course, they often *believe* that their lives are at risk!

As a book which is "well work reading" I have only one real criticism: the level of deus ex machina...

Near the start there is a suggestion that several people are pulling all the strings. Towards the end the same people appear, just in time to save the heroes.

String-pullers can spoil a book. If the control is too tight there is no free will -- and no interest for the reader. Whates does not make that mistake... His heroes are set up, then left to take their chances... most of the time.

Having the string-pullers appear just on time to save the day... is a bit weak. It does detract a bit from the strength of the book, from the strength of the heroes. Still, no worries -- the heroes do most of the work.

Overall this book is easy to read and a lot of fun. Enough plot lines are closed off to give a satisfying ending. Enough are left open so that there is obviously more to be written.

I look forward to reading more of the City of a Hundred Rows.

Perhaps in book two... the boy will get the girl :-)

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Problems ? Solved

Coronets and Steel / Sherwood Smith

Coronets and Steel
by Sherwood Smith

fantasy romance

copyright 2010
read in February 2013
rated 7 out of 10: well worth reading

Fantasy, sort of. Romance, definitely. Chick lit, absolutely... Rated seven out of ten? Depends on your point of view!

My original rating was six, read to pass the time. A fun book but not great. Then I thought, what is the point of my rating?

My rating reflects my own opinion of the book. Sometimes I am impressed by how well -- or how poorly -- a book is written. I may notice that characters are well fleshed out -- or as two dimensional as cheap cardboard. Some of my "quality of writing" opinions affect my enjoyment of a book.

My rating is an overall impression of how much I *enjoyed* the book.

I thoroughly *enjoyed* Coronets and Steel!

A feisty heroine, a dashing prince, the amoral and dashing cousin. Set in a country which -- by an amazing set of circumstances -- has maintained the best parts of Scarlet Pimpernel-style courtly behavior. With enough modern conveniences to maintain good health and entertainment.

I read Coronets as a pick-me-up after the tedium of The Wise Man's Fear. Found that Coronets has much of the same descriptive space-filling as Fear. Found that Coronets does it much better... I was skipping lightly through the flowering fields of Coronets verbosity. Where I needed Wellington boots for the swamps of extraneous sludge in Fear.

Coronets is light. It's fun. And you know that the story is progressing towards a satisfying conclusion.

A line from the back-cover blurb is worth quoting, if only in the hope that fantasy writers will take note: "Smith dares to resolve several plot lines, in defiance of fantasy sequel conventions..." Message to other fantasy authors: If you don't know how your story will end -- please do not publish.

Back to Coronets.

There are plenty of references to other books and poems. They do more than show off the author's knowledge... Smith provides enough detail to allow me to Google the work and understand the reference. Thank you! Though one reference did give me a huge hint as to how Coronets was going to end...

On the negative side... I suspect that Smith did not check the meaning of "droit de seigneur"... Or perhaps it's just me... I may be too innocent to accept the heroine's imaginings in this chick lit fantasy of a romantic age adventure...

Great fun, easy reading, an enjoyable novel.

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Problems ? Solved

The Wise Man's Fear / Patrick Rothfuss

The Wise Man's Fear
by Patrick Rothfuss
book 2 of The Kingkiller Chronicles

fantasy
first published 2011
read in February 2013

rated 7 out of 10: well worth reading

There is just one problem with this book: it is tedious.

Look, we started book one with the hero going to magic school. There was a lot of detail but fine, it's a new world, let's get some detail about this new world. But really!

Half way through book two and we are still getting details of life at school... Sure, we know that the hero carries a grudge. His aim in life is to find and kill seven evil dudes. But come on! How many times do we need to be told that no-one knows anything about these evil dudes?!

Okay, there is a second problem. The hero is borderline ratbag. Remember that other book series about a boy at magic school? Remember the one book where Harry Potter was a teenage creep? That was an uncomfortable story -- hard to like the hero -- but it fitted in with a boy growing up -- and it was just one book of seven.

Kvothe, the hero of Fear, is short-tempered. He rejects his teachers teachings. He initiates cruel tricks on his enemy. Okay, that's his style. Doesn't make it any easier to like him though.

So he continues with school for the first half of this book. Then grudgingly accepts the advice of his friends and goes overseas for experience, adventure and letting the heat die down. Has one slow adventure. Goes to another school. Has another relatively quick adventure.

You can see that all of this is building up, to give him the skills to defeat his seven major enemies. Can't it go just a littler faster?!

War, they say, is weeks of boredom interspersed with minutes of mortal fear. The joy of a novel is that the author can say that... then skip past the weeks of boredom. Rothfuss skips very little...

Not that he gives us boredom... But he gives us enough detail of the slow build-up that we -- or at least I -- find it tedious.

I also have a small fear...

Is this book two of a trilogy?

Or will The Kingkiller Chronicles continue on... forever...?

If book three brings a conclusion -- then great, it's a fascinating series, worth the effort of reading. If book three ends -- and the hero had yet to battle his enemies... then I believe that I shall give up.

All very well to build a unique and interesting world. I just hope that there is a point to it... And by that I mean, I hope that there is a story to be told... A story with a beginning, a middle -- and an end.

I have no objection to a story which leaves openings for subsequent stories. But first, I want the current story to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

This book is well worth reading. The series is still waiting to be rated.

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Problems ? Solved

Legend / David Gemmell

Legend
by David Gemmell

fantasy, action
first (or last!) of the Druss / Drenai saga

copyright 1986
read in December 2012

rated 8 /10: really quite good

Started off just a bit clichéd... until I realised that Gemmell may have begun this particular boy-meets-girl, fight-side-by-side, fight-each-other, fall-in-love cliche...

Then there's the cold-looks, scares-baddie, sword-wielding-inspires-heroism-and-loyalty super-hero... Gemmell may have invented this one, too. He has certainly taken the cliches and run with them!

Anyway...

This is a rip-roaring yarn of sword and sorcery. A steady build-up of action. Heroic deeds against insuperable odds. With gentlemanly violence on either side.

You can almost imagine Bertie Wooster telling Jeeves to lay out the best silver: Tonight we dine with the enemy, tomorrow we slaughter them. Pip, pip, old chap!

It's a war of brutality, violence and Queensberry Rules. Fight for life and freedom, give no quarter, respect the enemy. And allow some time for true love to bloom.

Right from the start there is an expectation that the good guys are on a hiding to nothing. There is no way that they can win. Very little chance that they can even survive. And by the end -- nearly everyone is, indeed, dead.

Despite this, the book is positive.

The fighters know why they fight. The dead, gave their lives for a cause in which they believed. The survivors know that they did not fight in vain.

Apparently Lord of the Rings was an inspiration. LotR is an epic battle of good versus evil. Legend is also an epic battle... of good versus good-from-another-perspective. Interesting...

Legend is the tale of a single battle. Made epic by the scale, the people and the overall understanding of what makes a great story.

Legendary.

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Problems ? Solved

The Way of Shadows / Brent Weeks

The Way of Shadows
by Brent Weeks

Night Angel (1)
fantasy

copyright 2008
read in December 2012
rated 8 / 10: really quite good

At the end of this book the author writes that the truly evil part of this story is near the start, in the abuse of children in street gangs. The rest, he writes, is tough and gritty but infused with hope.

Tough and gritty... indeed!

This book -- first of a trilogy -- tells of the hero's rise from child crim and victim, to professional assassin. Sounds bad, I know. Yet this trainee assassin has feelings and principles. The quintessential killer with a heart of gold...

Okay, the concept is a cliche. Implemented well.

The characters are troubled and sympathetic. I think that "conflicted" is the correct word... Sometimes that means that you don't know what they will do next -- nor why. With Weeks' characters you can understand their motivations. And even if you dislike some of their actions, you can see why they acted that way.

The death count rises rapidly in the last third of the book... Some likeable characters are killed. We are, after all, in book one of three. There is death and tragedy -- but not despair. The good guys suffer -- but they are fighting... and winning minor victories.

The characters move from personal suffering, to personal success, to global suffering, to personal survival. Just as they drag themselves clear of personal issues, the global problems take precedence...

As the heroes overcome their personal challenges, I grow to like them. As the challenges grow, I am cheering for the heroes. And the heroes come through...

The book ends with global catastrophe and personal success. A very satisfactory cliff-hanger of an ending...

I look forward to reading book two of this trilogy.

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Problems ? Solved

Dream Stone / Glenna McReynolds

Dream Stone
by Glenna McReynolds

fantasy
follows The Chalice and the Blade

copyright 1998
read in December 2012
rating 8: really quite good

This book is "really quite good" if you like romantic fantasy! I just like adventure, nice characters and a satisfactory ending. This book has all of that.

Dream Stone is a dream of summer, with the richness of life glowing in the glorious sunshine. It's a dream of spring, with love bursting forth in all its heartfelt splendour. It is a dream of autumn, with everyday work to be done in preparation for winter.

And it's a dream of winter, with danger and the threat of death for the unwary.

Does that sound rather poetic? I hope so... because Dream Stone is an epic myth set in blank verse...

Well, not really. What I'm trying to say is, this is a book which reads like an epic poem. Flows and rhythms and images and imagination... Yet so very readable.

McReynolds has written -- it seems to me! -- from the heart. The result, is a story which glows.

Okay, it's not a genre-shattering classic. Yet it is a very enjoyable book.

Tolkien's hobbits are amazed to realise that Elves have lived through three Ages of the world. McReynolds' fairies have lived just as long, yet they are the everyday heroes of the story. It's a different -- and enjoyable -- point of view.

Their everyday lives are included in the story. Not in the sense of, look, I've created a complete world... It's just, life continues on, around the adventure.

The love scenes are over the top... Sex, in the forget-to-breathe style of Twilight. Yet with the reality of not-always-perfect first attempts.

Battle scenes are... vague. Raise the magic sword, charge ahead... then skip forward to counting the dead bodies. This is a fantasy romance, the battles are simply parts of the plot... Devices to provide threat -- and to add stress to the romantic relationships.

This is a simple story which is set in the middle of an enormously complex world history.

This story, is a lot of fun.

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Problems ? Solved

Gardens of the Moon / Steven Erikson

Gardens of the Moon
by Steven Erikson
fantasy / action
book 1 of Malazan Book of the Fallen

published 1999
read in November 2012

my rating: 6, read to pass the time

The book begins with an Introduction by the author. If the introduction does not put you off, okay. The author is smarter than us. He knows what makes a great fantasy book. Everyone else is wrong. So he says.

As one of those wrong people, I believe that an author should provide a story for the readers. A story. You know, one of those things with a beginning, a middle and an end. With plot to link them all. And characters to add interest.

Okay... in this story, Erikson has done that. So why am I complaining? It's not just the patronising introduction...

As I began to read, I began to think, these people are familiar. And yes, I have read another Erikson book. I read it in 2007, before I began this blog. The memory has stayed with me.

Erikson writes that his work is a history. So he can't help out if it's not a neat and self-contained story. What a cop-out! An author too lazy to pick out a coherent storyline, so he claims that it's part of a grander epic.

Just to interrupt this rant... Gardens is a coherent story. Feel free to read and, probably, enjoy.

Do not read later books on the series. Not unless you are prepared to read every book in the series.

My memories of that later book are awfully clear... One group of people battle across a continent, following another, smaller group. The smaller group do nothing much other than the minimum required to keep ahead of the first group. Meanwhile, two other people (?) also set off across the continent. Half way across, one of them is killed. Another person takes his place. The new two carry on.

The two groups do not interact. They never meet each other. The entire book is dedicated to journeys which would be one or two connecting chapters in any more reasonable book. As a single book -- a load of rubbish.

But, as I said, Gardens is more like a real novel. Beginning, middle and end. I have no trouble accepting a to-be-continued end to the book. At least the current adventure reaches some sort of conclusion.

Yet there are still problems with the author's view of his book as one chapter of a history.

Other authors use coincidences to link the plot. You know, the young man with the magic sword just happens to be the lost prince... It can be embarrassing. Done well, the links and coincidences can build to a gripping novel.

Erikson takes a simpler approach... Need to introduce some essential linking action? Just add a new character. Need more tension? Just add a new character. Need a reason for the characters to conquer a city? Introduce a new character who is mentioned in passing but never appears...

Gardens of the Moon is a mass of characters doing a loosely related set of exciting actions. In this book, it all adds up, eventually. In the one later book that I have read, the various actions fail to add up to a story. They remain as chapters of unrelated books. Total fail.

Read this book. Ignore the rest.

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Problems ? Solved

Colours in the Steel / K.J. Parker

An enjoyable book but largely pointless.

There are characters that you can like. Not many that you can dislike. Some are vaguely sympathetic; most, you simply don't care.

The idea of legal cases being settled by sword fights is... interesting... but not a key element of the plot. The hero could as easily have been a fencing instructor, with someone determined to call him out for a duel.

The magic is interesting. Well,certainly the magic practitioners are interesting... If, in fact, any of them are really practising magic! It is still a bit uncertain.

So I read the blurbs for books two and three of the trilogy. And found no evidence of a conclusion! Book one raises some questions, some mysteries, that seem -- to me -- to be essential to the series. The blurbs give no indications that the mysteries are solved. Or even, not, solved.

We reach the end of book one and our hero goes on to... another adventure.

There may be a more coherent plot across the three books... I enjoyed book one enough to want to find out.

I enjoyed the book -- even though a lot of it is a how-to manual for middle-ages war and civilisation! (War and civilisation? Would it be enough to just write, civilisation? It is very hard to separate the two.) A manual with plenty of entertaining social commentary. Anyway...

Parker knows his/her stuff but a lot of the technical detail is too much. The idea of the Fencer occupation is great but largely pointless. The book is a detailed tale of the sack of one great city. I'm worried that the next books will be separate stories rather than a trilogy.

That said... read the book :-)

Despite its faults, it's a good book. I enjoyed it. I look forward to getting hold of the rest of the trilogy.

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Problems ? Solved

Demon Mistress / Yasmine Galenhorn

Demon Mistress

by Yasmine Galenhorn

Otherworld (6)

published: 2009

Fantasy, Romance, Horror?

read in September 2012

rated 6 out of 10... read to pass the time

In the library catalogue this book is classified as both fantasy and horror. Horror?! Well, okay, there's supernatural stuff. And violence. But nothing that would lead to feelings of horror...

The story is based on three sisters, half human and half fairy. (Let's be clear about this. Each sister is half and half.) The sisters are based on Earth, battling against the Otherworld demons who (which?) would like to invade Earth.

To get the flavour of the book:

One sister has magic fire powers which tend to backfire. She also has three husbands and they all like sex at the same time. Sister two can turn into a vicious puma, to fight the demons with tooth and claw... and intelligent sword. She also, when over-excited, can't prevent herself turning into a cute and cuddly kitten. This sister has two lovers. She keeps them separate and worries over which one she will finally choose.

Sister three is a vampire. She is faithful to her lover, that is, she has promised to not sleep with any other woman. Both lovers are pleased that vampire sister is sleeping with a male demon, while lining up another male demon as a future lover. Will she, wonders vampire sister, Ever get true love?

The sex is of the style where his male organ is thrust into the warmth of her golden centre of pleasure, followed by waves of delirious rapture and, She awoke with memories of unforgettable pleasure... The violence may involve disembowelment but, it just happens. It may upset but will not offend.

When the sisters are called to help the police deal with ghouls in the park, they pause only to pick up car keys and purses... If they had also paused by the mirror to touch up their makeup -- I would not have been surprised... It's that sort of book: fun, light, romantic, girly. Very hard not to like it.

Sure, the sisters -- and their friends, and their lovers -- are fighting to save the world from unspeakable evil. Yet their concerns are much more everyday. The war is a major issue, good versus evil. The battles are at the human level and interpersonal concerns are still important.

It's a bunch of very human... supernatural... young women. Being very girly. While risking their lives to save the world.

Not a "great" book. But very easy to enjoy.

Talisman of Blood / Brad Higgens

Talisman of Blood

category: fantasy, author:

Brad Higgens

book 1 of Shadow of the Gryphon
original copyright 2005

read in September 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 4 out of 10, bad but could be read

There are the makings of a good story but it has failed.

Written in a simplistic style with very poor logic. It seems to be a series of incidents thrown together, with not enough thought given to transitions.

The characters are also somewhat flat. Actually... they are quite realistic. So realistic that they are boring.

There is action, there are parallel plots and some interesting characters. Just not very well presented.

Potential... but needs a complete rewrite.

Finally: As I suspected, the publisher is vanity press. For a price, they offer a complete publication service, from go to whoa. This includes copy editing...

And the copy editing has failed.

You pay for copy editing, you expect copy editing. So why are there repeated errors?! Can the copy editor read English? If I were Higgens I would ask for some money back, for failure of the copy editing.

The included-with-your-one-payment critical appraisal process was also weak. Sure, you are really paying to get printed. But was the appraisal truly critical -- or did the author fail to respond to constructive criticism.

Inside Talisman of Blood is the material for a good book. The good book has failed to eventuate.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

A Hat Full of Sky / Terry Pratchett

A Hat Full of Sky

Terry Pratchett

category: fantasy, humour, subadult

published 2004

read in August 2012

rated 8 out of 10, really quite good

note: Review written on a tablet PC, with limited knowledge of how to edit!

... then updated on a "real" PC !

A "young adult" book... Which means that anyone can enjoy it. And I did.

There is a very strong message running through this book: Be good, be nice. And, perhaps, Be yourself.

Can a book be "good" when the author hammers the reader with such a strong message?

Well, yes.

In Broken Angels, Richard Morgan provides a message to the reader. A warning, as much as a message. The message made me think. Which is not such a bad thing.

Pratchett's message is less subtle but more positive. Delivered with humour rather than violence. Both messages are -- in my opinion -- worth delivering. Both messages add depth to the story... something beyond the basic characters and plot. Each message targets its book's intended audience.

Okay, Pratchett does go a little over the top, occasionally. Not (necessarily) with the message. With the fairytale mysticism behind the story. All part of the fairytale story :-)

Abandon cynicism. Enjoy the book. Pratchett at his breakneck and humorous best.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting.  For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Evening's Empire / David Herter

Evening's Empire

category: fantasy, author:

David Herter

original copyright 2002

read in August 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10, read to pass the time

I quite enjoyed this book. I'm just not sure what to make of it...

The local library has classified it as "horror". Okay, I can see why: mysterious small town, mysterious villagers, mysterious deaths and disappearances. But that's about it. There is no actual horror.

The book's blurb calls this a "fantasy". I could live with that. Though mysterious cities built by alien creatures usually imply science fiction. Except that there's no real science. Unless you count the central theme of cheese-making.

And it's that cheese theme that really has me confused! I kept expecting it to mean something! Or perhaps it does... The aliens are mistaken for rats.

Does this sound just a bit confusing? Well... it is. Especially when you throw in a Jules Verne opera, a river under the ocean, Captain Nemo, very peculiar villagers, the Anti-Cheese League...

Perhaps there are just too many ideas?

Full marks for building the mood. Full marks for a faithful following of traditional scary novels. Then the scary ending... just fades away.

Okay, it's fun. I enjoyed it. I liked the characters: the good ones, not the weird ones! The good characters acted for the general good; I like that. Just not sure what to make of the whole book! Perhaps it's too far out of my usual genre.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Awakening / Lara Morgan

Awakening

category: fantasy, author:

Lara Morgan

book 1 of The Saranthium Twins
original copyright 2008

read in August 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10, well worth reading

I like the idea that "serpents"... dragons... are an intelligent race sharing a world with humans. Living within the terms of an agreement, for each race to support the other. The two races work together but do not share any common understandings.

Other than that -- Awakening is a reasonably standard fantasy-with-dragons. I like the characters, enough to want to read more. The story itself hangs together well, with some excitement but little suspense. Which is fine by me: I rather like a book where characters have a fair chance of living past the end.

In reading the book I went through two distinct phases -- and it may well have been the book, rather than me. First, it is a developing story of two people -- the Twins -- and their journeys from an "ordinary" life to the life of fantasy hero and heroine. An interesting world, with several distinct (human) cultures.

Half way through the book I slowly began to feel the effect of the trilogy...

The book -- or my reading -- shifted, from, Will they win? to, How far will this book get them on the way to winning? That is, the feeling grew that this really is, book one of a trilogy. Not just the first book of a series of three.

Sure enough, the book ends with cliff-hangers.

Yet there is also a satisfactory ending!

The main characters are scattered, some are unaccounted for. Yet the ones that we care about, are safe. Clearly, that is safe -- for now. Which is what I like to see.

This book is the opening scene of a war. It ends, with the heroes resting between battles. Yes, there will be more. But for now, we are safe at home. With some mysteries resolved and others yet to settle. No conclusion, but a satisfying point at which to take a break.

Okay, I'd rather have a complete story. But Awakening is good enough to read on its own. And good enough to have me hoping to read the next instalment...

With an added bonus: The author is from Western Australia, from my part of the world!

There are several good fantasy writers in Australia. Morgan is now one of them. Enjoyable, imaginative, entertaining. If the next book is as good, I will be happy. If it is even better -- then I will be very, very pleased!  And then...

I searched the web... It would seem that book 2 is published but no longer available in Australia. Book 3 is still being written -- in German, for the German market!  Ah well, it's tough in the world of writing.

Good luck, hope it all works out -- and I'll keep an eye out for a copy of Saranthium 2 and -- eventually -- three.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Evil for Evil / K.J. Parker

Evil for Evil

category: fantasy ?, author:

K.J. Parker

book 2 of Engineer Trilogy
original copyright 2006

read in July 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 4 out of 10, bad but could be read

This book is second of a trilogy. Perhaps there is something positive to say about the third book; perhaps some of the gloom and misery is dispelled in a somewhat happy conclusion.

Happy conclusion ? Who am I kidding ! If anyone is still alive -- anyone vaguely likable, that is -- if any likable character is still alive at the end, I would be surprised.

Let's consider the "category" of this book. The library identify it as science fiction. I've settled on fantasy. What is it really ?

There are the various city-states which are destroyed. Standard medieval places, with princes, cavalry, archers, foot soldiers with swords and pikes. Other than being not from our own history, there is no "fantasy" element to these places. No science fiction, either. Boringly standard, really.

There's a city-state where everyone operates to rules. Very strict rules, where trying to improve is punishable by death. Okay, could be fantasy or science fiction. They produce some machines which are apparently quite sophisticated. btw: This place is due to be destroyed in book three.

It's not just cities and states which are destroyed. Characters are also destroyed. Either physically or mentally or morally.

What if you asked Cormac McCarthy to write a "fantasy" novel -- but with less of the cheerful positivism that failed to grace The Road... You could end up with Evil for Evil.

What if you asked Woody Allen to define characters for a "fantasy" novel -- self-pitying, whining, ineffectual -- but with less reason to like them and with no chance of self-improvement... You could end up with Evil for Evil.

Characters do something, go somewhere, look as though they may just make a fair go of their lives. Then they are dragged back to an even worse situation. Or they just hang around, doing nothing. And are dragged down. Or killed.

Sometimes, the characters talk to themselves, for pages at a time (or so it seems; it drags). They explain to themselves how absolutely useless they are. How everything they do is wrong. Then they carry on being useless and doing the wrong things.

There is one central character (the eponymous engineer?) who is central to everything. He is willing to kill hundreds of thousands of strangers, to kill people who trust him, to kill people who are almost friends. He is also happy to destroy cities and countries. This is the central character of the series... Really, he sets the miserable tone for this story.

Forget it.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index