The Well at the World's End / William Morris

The Well at the World's End

by William Morris

fantasy

copyright 1896

read (in part) in February 2017

rated 5/10: readable but only if there's nothing else

I'm on a long sea voyage. Plenty of time for reading. Nowhere near enough time to read this monstrous tome.

It's slow moving. Verbose. Full of trivial detail.

You know how you watch a clock and it never seems to move? Well, I'm watching the percent read for this book -- and it never seems to move. Less than one percent. Will it never end?!

I manage to reach the end of "book one" of four. 2.4%. Why did the "books" break there? No idea, there's no logical break in the story.

Sure, there does seem to have been some minor progress towards a story. If this really is the story -- it's obvious, pointless and... boring. Could any hero be so oblivious to the obvious trap? Not in an interesting book.

I skip to the end of the book. Find that the hero has married a woman that I have not yet met. That he's about to save the day. Again, apparently.

Ho hum.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers
   

Rogue / Julie Kagawa

Rogue

(Talon Saga #2)

by Julie Kagawa

fantasy, young adult, romance

copyright 2015

read in January 2017

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

A light-weight, easy-to-read romantic fantasy, with dragons. It follows Talon but there is no real need to read Talon first. Rogue is a complete story with its own beginning, middle and end.

It has its own end -- despite the cliffhanger ending. The actual adventure is all wrapped up. There are larger issues to be tackled but this adventure is complete. The "cliffhanger" deals with the uncertainty of the three-way romance... It's that sort of book :-)

This is a book for teenage... girls. That's the target audience. I enjoyed the book and I'm neither teenage nor girl.

There's violence, threats, sudden death. Still, it's rather sweet. Centred round a sweet teenage girl that you just have to like. And her two boyfriends, the human and the dragon. Plus the loyal, surly, super-smart side-kick, for when being super-cool is just not enough.

It's written to a rather satisfactory formula. Occasionally unbelievable, even within the modern-day fantasy genre. One scene sticks in my mind, as a different type of unbelievable:

The heroine and a boyfriend are in a crowded casino. Security spots them. They avoid the guard... he walks past them, searching... they avoid eye contact, look casual... the guard does not spot them.

This girl has a wild mass of fiery red hair... Is the security guard blind?!

But, hey, it's all a lot of fun. It's fantasy with dragons. Modern young characters who make me wonder if the author gets out much. The scene in the drug den is definitely anti-drug. And there's a young adult cliche which was not obvious to me for quite a while...

The cliche is, deliberate adult suppression of young innocence. Where the world would be a better place -- if only the evil older adults did not force the teens and younger adults into a cruel attitude to "the enemy".

In other books, I've had this trope smashed in my face. Kagawa does it a little better, with a bit more subtlety. Or, at least, with a little less of the attitude that adults are cruel and evil *and* stupid.

It's fun. It's easy to read. I enjoyed it.

June 2018: 

Read this again... Didn't mean to, just picked up a book, started reading... recognised it but was quite happy to read to the end. It's that sort of book: pleasant, exciting, light... enjoyable.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers
   

The First Bird / Greig Beck

The First Bird

by Greig Beck

thriller

copyright 2013

read in January 2017

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Copyright 2013? Really? It seems older than that. No matter.

This book is wall to wall cliche.

The hero's big-breasted girlfriend starts in a bikini. She wears shorts into the jungle. She rips her shirt off... several times.

The hero is cool. Clever. Long tousled hair. No, it's not designer stubble, he's just too unselfconscious to remember to shave. Though this forty year old academic does get into a teenage-boy snit when another man muscles in on his girl. Who, incidentally, is also his student. A big no-no in any academic circle.

The monster is about to eat the beautiful women -- until it is attacked by another monster. Oooo... that was close.

The plot is driven by stupidity.

We're almost to safety! But I need a pee! Quick, get out of our armoured vehicle and drop our pants behind the only bit of cover for miles! Is it a spoiler to tell you that the vicious villains are hiding in that very same bit of cover? Have the heroes never heard of peeing just on the other side of the vehicle?

We're almost home! Just keep driving, in this armoured vehicle... But wait! there's a cute little girl ! We must stop -- risk the safety of the entire world -- to pick up that cute little girl ! Surely she's far too cute to infect us with that nasty disease... (Oops.)

On the bright side, the cliches are varied.

There's the jungle cliche set. There's the lost world cliche set. There's the drive through the US with civilisation failing cliche set. It almost makes sense that this book was originally published as three separate volumes.

Yes, this book is solid cliche. Yes, the characters are almost brainless in their wild leaps into obvious danger. Yes, the final, post-climactic ending is ridiculous. Mostly pointless, scientifically unsupported, absolutely unbelievable.

But it's fun. Slightly better than barely readable. The characters may be embarrassing, the book is not. Not really :-)

Once I accepted that it is a pure-cliche-thriller, I settled down to read. And it was a pleasant enough way to pass the time.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers
   

The Black Gryphon / Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon

The Black Gryphon

(Valdemar / Mage Wars

​#1

)

by Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon

fantasy, romance

copyright 1994

read in January 2017

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

I'm guessing that the three books in one volume -- Black, White & Silver Gryphon -- are a "complete" series. That is, a complete story about gryphons. Yet book one (Black) is clearly the continuation of -- presumably -- the Mage Wars. Which may be set in an even broader Valdemar group of stories.

​ ​

[later: I've checked Wikipedia. No, this is not a continuation of an earlier series!? Black Gryphon is "the first novel in the chronological timeline of the Valdemar Saga". It just happens to start at the end of a very long war. With a whole lot of characters who apparently need no introduction.]

What this means is, there is a situation -- a mage war -- and lots of characters -- including a gryphon -- who will be well known to readers of the earlier books.

​

[Or not.] This makes it a challenge for the reader to start with this book.

On the other hand... the authors have done well. Yes, it's clear that this is in the middle of a continuing saga. Yes, it's clear that many of these characters already know each other. But really, there are not too many key characters.

I quickly get to know the key characters. There are some surprises as I discover new aspects of some characters, new aspects that would have been known to readers of earlier books. Yet I seldom feel confused. Sufficient backstory is included, I don't know if it would all be old hat -- or brand new -- to regular readers of the series.

So this book reads very well as a standalone book. Even the end, is satisfactory... The end, with a new development to be explored rather than a loose end to be followed. For me, this is an excellent introduction to the continuing series.

The story itself is fantasy. Set in a major war. Yet it is romance. Almost chick lit. The emphasis is on the characters, their problems, their interactions. There's at least as much psychological analysis as there is action

Don't worry, I enjoyed it. The analysis is interesting. It helps me to care about the characters. The war supplies some action -- and a lot of pressure for the characters to be strong, resilient, supportive... etc, etc, etc. And I mean that in a nice way -- I enjoyed this book.

If I were already a fan of the series I may rate it a seven. If only for the continuing development of the overarching saga and the continuing characters. As a standalone book, it is still... quite enjoyable

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers
   

The Masked City / Genevieve Cogman

The Masked City

(Invisible Library

​#​

2)

by Genevieve Cogman

fantasy

copyright 2015

read in January 2017

rated 9/10: really, really good

Book one was edging into chick lit. This book still has some chick lit aspects -- handsome heroes, unrequited lust, good clothes and a heroine who doesn't realise how attractive she is

​.​

(

​Attractive ​

in a somewhat non-traditional way

​, of course.​

) City, however, is very much fantasy *adventure*.

And what a great adventure it is :-)

First up, the reasons are all good. Rescue a friend. Prevent a war. With a subplot of freeing a slave. While making potential friends -- and actual enemies -- across the fantasy universe. Wotta gal !

The universe is incredibly complex -- and easy to understand. A scale from chaos to order, with dragons preferring one end and fae the other. Humans are at every point on the scale, adapting to chaos or order. The Library supports stability for humans with (I think) a preference for order.

I particularly like the Sherlock Holmes character. When I met him in book one, I was inspired to (re)read a few Sherlock Holmes stories. So, having recently re-read The Hound of the Baskervilles, I was totally unsurprised by one of this City character's key actions.

Better yet, Holmes is only a support character. Sure, you could rewrite Hound, with Holmes gallivanting across a fantasy world. Cogman has done so much better: used Holmes' skills to ably support the heroics of the heroine.

The heroine is... likeable, admirable, moral, loyal... strong. She is physically strong and, more importantly, mentally strong. She does not give up fighting for what is right. And she has quips and observations which make me smile. I like her :-)

The story starts with a prologue which is -- thankfully -- clearly related to the rest of this book. There is action and adventure from the start. Which ramps up, about half way through. Then continues -- through several "are we there yet?" climaxes -- right to the end. It is very difficult to stop reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Okay, I am still recovering from Wuthering Heights, I wanted a lighter book.

City is lighter -- but not light. The universe is fantasy. The battles involve magic. The challenges and responses are real... The characters involve us in their problems and successes.

A really, really good book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

===

08mar21: And I thoroughly enjoyed reading it... again :-)

... and again... 09mar24

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers
   

Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Bronte

romance

copyright 18

​47

read in January 2017

rated 7/10: well worth reading

... Though, to be honest, a six out of ten would be the rating -- if not for the book's status as "a classic".

I don't often read "a classic". Nothing against classics, just that not many are science fiction or fantasy. I read Wuthering Heights because of interesting references in a book by Jasper Fforde. The Well of Lost Plots made me wonder, Is Wuthering Heights "a masterpiece or turgid rubbish".

Over the top, melodramatic. A small group of protagonists who are either brother and sister or married to each other. And the marriages are not "made in Heaven"! Neither are the characters: they are either weak fools or nasty villains. Though not a single person is all good -- nor all evil.

Perhaps everyone else already knows about Heathcliff and Cathy? Their doomed love affair? Sorry if this review includes spoilers.Yet -- in my opinion -- the pleasure of this book is not in the final results, it's in the process of getting there. If you disagree, please stop reading.

For the most part, the story-line is clear. Despite Joseph's attempts to confuse the reader :-) Are the occasional lapses due to assumptions that a modern reader does not make?

The only lapse that sticks in my mind is the illness and subsequent death of a female character.

​The character

 dies... soon after giving birth!? What, was she pregnant?! Was there some word, some widely understood -- at the time -- expression that hinted at pregnancy? Or did the author simply forget to mention the pregnancy? No matter. The baby is essential to further plotting.

The strength of the book is (perhaps) the motivations of the key character.

For most of the book I'm thinking, this Heathcliff character is evil. I'm not too worried, his enemies -- at the start -- deserve what they get. Then he extends his revenge further afield

​ and​

I get upset. Innocent people are getting hurt. I'm relieved when one character dies happy... even if his happiness is due to ignorance.

Heathcliff, however, is still my least favourite character (in this book). Until I suddenly realise: Heathcliff could have been good or bad, Cathy drove him to be bad. Heathcliff does evil things -- because Cathy

​i

s a thoughtless fool.

Suddenly, there is more depth to the story.

Perhaps this book really is worth a rating of seven.

It's still over the top and melodramatic. With the sunshine and gloom of the moors providing a suitable -- now cliched -- match to the ups and downs of the characters.

A somewhat long-winded book. Still easy to read. Enjoyable just as a book to read. With the bonus, that I find out what sort of book is still a classic, a

​lmost

 two hundred years after it was written. And decide that it may be turgid. But it is definitely not rubbish.

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers
   

The Well of Lost Plots / Jasper Fforde

The Well of Lost Plots

(Thursday Next

​ #3​

)

by Jasper Fforde

fantasy, humour

copyright 2003

read in January 2017

rated 9/10: really, really good

Really, really good. And I don't say that just because the book was a Christmas present. Nor because I chose it myself. It is just a really, really good book.

There are terrible puns and clever literary references. There are clever literary puns. There

​is

 humour, adventure, suspense and a happy ending... sort of.

Central to this book is a problem which was created in an earlier book. It causes more problems in this book, problems which are resolved. The original problem is still there, though with the certainty that it *will* be solved. Eventually. The problems are serious but not pushed too hard. I want the major problem to be resolved but I am willing to wait, for a book or two.

Then there is the central idea of this series: that there is a parallel world where books and their characters are created. Where the

​y​

exist, with lives of their own. Constrained largely by the need to be in the correct place when their book is being read.

Is this series an entire, sustained *pataphor* ?! (Or, more correctly, is it an entire, sustained *!pataphor*...) A metaphor uses one object or idea to exemplify aspects of another. A pataphor treats the metaphor as being the real thing. I think...

This is a book which I immediately want to re-read. But I will hold off... for a few weeks. It is a book which needs to be read within easy reach of a reference work on literature. The internet, for example. Did David Copperfield really murder Dora Spenlow? How did Jane Eyre really end? Is Wuthering Heights really full of such bitter and twisted -- and weak and miserable -- characters? I need to know! I need to know -- while I am re-reading The Well of Lost Plots.

I enjoyed this book. I believe that I will enjoy it even more, on a second and more informed reading :-)

====

A bit later: I'm reading Wuthering Heights. Boy! has Well of Lost Plots captured that lot nicely :-)

====
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
====

"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers