Jessica Strider
Pros: interesting dystopian world, sympathetic protagonist/
Cons: gaps in the worldbuilding that experienced readers will pick up on but others probably won't care about, ending doesn't hold up to the book's internal logic/
In a city where kids are raised in one of 5 factions (Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Erudite and Dauntless) nothing is more scary than being factionless. Beatrice and her brother are both at the age when youths get to choose their factions. They can either stay in Abnegation, or move to one of the other factions. Whatever they choose, there's no going back. Beatrice wants to be in Dauntless, the faction of the brave, but is she brave enough to turn her back on her family and try something different?
The novel has a unique divisionary structure. After a war the people decided to separate into the group best suited to their personality, which is opposite the trait that group felt caused the war. The warning being that anything taken to extremes is bad.
The dystopian world is fairly well fleshed out, but more discerning readers will find strange gaps in the worldbuilding. For example, the Erudite want more cars and luxury items and Beatrice is surprisingly wasteful when it comes to clothing (throwing out pants because of blood stains). Yet, when Ms. Roth described what jobs each faction performs, no one's said to be in manufacture. Amity grows food, Dauntless police, Abnegation does road repairs and charity word, Erudite are all teachers and researchers and Candor's full of lawyers. It also seems strange that they would need so many lawyers when there appears to be no justice system. When one of Beatrice's fellow initiates seriously injures another, no one steps in to find out what happened.
Beatrice is an interesting protagonist who has to make difficult decisions and learns that the world isn't a very nice place. The author does a great job of letting the reader experience everything Beatrice goes through.
Readers who like romance will enjoy Beatrice and her beau's attempts at coming to terms with who and where they are in life.
I found the ending very problematic, with events not holding up to the book's internal logic.
Pros: tense, good pacing, compelling
Cons: heavy subject matter for younger teen target audience, but author does a great job with it
Ever since the Treaty of Treason following the Dark Days when the 13 districts rebelled against the capitol and lost, the remaining 12 districts have given 2 youths as tributes for the yearly Hunger Games.
This year, district 12 is sending Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Along with their counterparts from the other districts, these two will fight to the death in the Gamemakers' arena, for the entertainment of those in the capitol.
The Hunger Games is a teen reimagining of Koushun Takami's Battle Royale. With some important changes. The Hunger Games takes place in a post-apocalyptic America. In The Hunger Games everyone understands the purpose of the games (in Battle Royale this is only revealed at the end, where it has a bigger psychological impact), and there's a LOT less violence. Battle Royale depended on the shock value of its extremely graphic content to get its point across. The Hunger Games does a surprisingly good job of keeping the violence to a minimum given the novel's plot. And what violence there is, is fairly tame. Still, this is a book which I'd recommend parents read first and judge if their child is mature enough to handle what happens, and then discuss the contents with them afterwards.
The novel is very fast paced and compelling. being a teen book it's also a very quick read. I can't wait to finish the series and see what happens.
Pros: colour photo center spread, tips at the start of each section, ‘make a meal' box on recipe pages, lots of recipes
Cons: recipes require lots of ingredients and can be time intensive, some ingredients are hard to find
To review this cookbook I tested 6 recipes. Of those, only one wasn't worth the effort (time or taste wise). The other 5 turned out great and required me to use ingredients I've either never cooked with before or only done limited things with in the past.
Based on the recipes I tried, it's a great cookbook for people with intermediate or advanced cooking skills, as the recipes required more preparation and effort than those of other books. But the extra effort is worth it for the taste combinations this book will teach you.
Pros: excellent pacing and tension, nifty creatures
Cons: technology gets farcical, fun but stereotypical protagonists
For Parents: some violence
Will appeal more to kids than to adults. While it was a fun romp that made good use of the blog post format to help with pacing and tension building, by the end of the story the unbelievable technology and crazy creatures were a bit much for me.
Doug's guardian, Antie M, works for a secret weapon's laboratory. One night, while she's working late and he's playing videogames in the staff room, evil Dr. Roach and a group of mercenaries break in and steal equipment. Their goal: to digitize all the people in the world and create a utopic society using the protocal program and hotlink created by the lab.
As the first book in a series, this book introduces you to thirteen year old Doug - a boy who's not so good in school but rocks at videogames, and Jamie - a computer genious who wants to be a scientist when she grows up, and their Cyberskunk protectors.
The intended audience (10 and up) will love reading Doug's blog posts about how he's not responsible for the bombing of the medical facility near his town (actually the high tech weapon's laboratory). They'll love learning about the creation of the Cyberskunks and hearing about how Doug faces Dr. Roach and mercenary commander Hund. They'll sympathize with him when his digitized aunt comes online to tell him he has to finish his homework before doing another post.
Adults... well, it is a fun read, with some violence but otherwise no objectionable content. The short blog posts format helps create and maintain the tension in the story that's pretty intense anyway.
Pros: lyrical writing, intricate and complex plot, exotic setting, Can's bitbots are cool
Cons: have to pay close attention (sudden flashbacks/memories, lots of minute details), minor character & place names are unusual and similar enough that they're easily confused when jumping between so many storylines (Ogun Saltuk, Selma Ozgun, Oguz, Ozer)
The novel is set in the Istanbul of 2027. Turkey is part of the EU. Nanotech is used to give people a mental edge, especially in businesses like trading and finance. And the lives of the people from the Dervish House at Adem Dede Square are about to change.
It all starts with a tram bomb. Necdet's on his way to work and is horrified when a woman blows her own head off. Traumatized by the event, he doesn't realize how badly he was affected by it until he starts seeing djinn everywhere.
Can Durukan, a 9 year boy, sends his computerized bitbot robots to the site of the bombing to see what he can see. Another robot attacks his and he's thrust into a mystery he's determined to solve.
Meanwhile, Ayse, an art dealer is offered a million Euro to find a legend, a Mellified Man.
Her husband has a deal of his own, a deal that could make him millions, or land him in jail.
Their stories and more intertwine to form a dazzling mosaic through 5 days in Istanbul. It's a sensory explosion, of names, places and actions. The plot becomes intricate fast, so pay attention when reading.
My only complaint was that so many names were similar enough between places and people, that when they were mentioned again I often couldn't remember who they were.
If you liked the lyricism of Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven, you'll love The Dervish House.
Pros: political intrigue, gritty realism, great setting, lots of plot twists, gorgeous cover
Cons: so much is happening I didn't get to connect with any of the characters as much as I'd have liked
It's Venice, 1407. Marco IV, ‘the simpleton', is Duke in name only. His mother, Duchess Alexa, co-rules with her hated brother-in-law, the Regent, Prince Alonzo.
One thing they agree on is the upcoming wedding of their niece Giulietta di Millioni to King James of Cyprus. But Lady Giulietta is 15 and unwilling to wed. And Alonzo has sinister reasons for agreeing to the nuptials.
Meanwhile, the numbers of Venice's royal assassins have dwindled. Their head, Atilo il Mauros, needs an heir and fins potential in a chance meeting with a pale faced, silver haired young man. A young man named Tycho, who was freed by chance from a special prison aboard a Mamluk ship.
The plot changes focus frequently, dealing with the politics of Alexa vs Alonzo, Atilo and his new apprentice, Giulietta and others. In this book alone are: werewolves, a vampire, a stregoi, several fights (including a naval battle), unrequited love, frustrated love and true love. Many people die.
The Venice of the story is gritty, dirty and dark. The underside is better detailed than the palace scenes, which are brutal in their own fashion.
While going back to the origins of his creatures (Tycho can't abide sunlight or cross water comfortably), he still makes them unique.
The one downside to the book is that scenes change so fast you can't really connect with the characters. On the other hand, this makes it easier to move on when principle characters start dying.
A fantastic novel.
Pros: examines real life issues, sympathetic protagonist who gains inner strength
Cons: ending seemed too simplistic given the problems the protagonist faced
For Parents: minor sexual content and descriptions of self-inflicting wounds
Melissa Miller is a cutter. It's the only way she can deal with the emotions surrounding her. She knows others wouldn't understand. Her ex-boyfriend called her a freak when he saw her scars, and broke up with her.
Even so, she doesn't take it well when the personification of Death arrives with a package and tells her her blade's going to slip. Death knows the worst is yet to come for Missy and he's chosen her as the new incarnation of WAR.
Though this book is better written than the first of the series, Hunger, in terms of characterization and details, I found myself unable to properly understand Missy's reasoning for cutting herself. She was entirely sympathetic as a protagonist and yet, while without being anorexic I could relate to Lisabeth Lewis, I had a harder time relating to Missy's way of dealing with her problems. I imagine this will not be as much of an issue for most teens (who are deep in the trials of high school), whether they're at risk or not.
I also felt the message here overshadowed the story more than in Hunger.
I found the ending problematic. Things got wrapped up too quickly for me to feel that the character was honestly going to change how she dealt with things, learn to trust others and become a strong woman in control of herself and her life. I imagine cutting yourself for psychological reasons takes a fair bit of time and effort to overcome. With her parents continuing their neglect of her and the few weeks of intense pressure at school due to the incident that causes her blade to slip, I can't see her rehabilitating as quickly as the ending seems to suggest.
On the other hand, the protagonist does start to deal with her problems and learns that she can't overcome some things by herself. She learns there are time when you must trust friends and learns to believe in herself. In addition to this, it has a good message for youth and adults alike, and treats a difficult issue that's relatively ignored when it comes to fiction.
Pros: old style SF feel, VERY fast read, quick paced, suspenseful
Cons: leaves you wanting more
For Parents: no content, a great SF primer for newcomers
0.4 (Human.4 in the U.S.) is a book written in the style of classic science fiction writers like H.G. Wells and John Wyndham in that there's a narrator explaining strange events that have already occurred. In this case, the narrator is Kyle Straker, a teenager whose 3 audio tape recordings have been found and heavily analyzed by historians of the future. This written transcript (the book itself) is edited by Mike A. Lancaster.
Kyle has a fantastic story to tell. At the annual talent show on the village green he agrees to be a test subject of a friend's attempts at hypnotism. When he wakes up from the trance a few minutes later the world has changed.
The novel is best read knowing as little as possible about it. It reads very much like a Twilight Zone episode, the pleasure coming both from the suspense and in trying to guess what's going on. And the editor's asides about 20th Century phrases and cultural norms are quite interesting. Aside from the cassette tapes (the use of which is explained within the text) the technology mentioned is modern.
This is a fun, quick read with TV style pacing and a story that will keep you guessing about what's really going on. If you're trying to introduce a young reader to science fiction, this makes the perfect primer.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary Pearson, tells the story of 17 year old Jenna, who's recently woken up from a terrible accident many years into our future. It was an accident that's left her amnesiac about her life. Her parents assure her that she'll remember who she is in time, but she's not sure they're telling the truth. Or that they even know the truth. As a means of remembrance, Jenna watches videos of her former life. Videos of a much adored girl. A perfect girl. A girl she's not sure she is anymore or can ever be again. Things in Jenna's life spiral out of control as she tries to create her own identity and learns the truth behind the accident and what her parents did after it in order to save her life.
The novel examines the meaning of identity, the law, and the lengths parents will go to to save their child.
It's well written, thought provoking, delightful and gut-wrenching. A great science fiction read for teens (even younger ones, as there's no ‘content' issues with this book) and adults.
Pros: protagonist experiences real growth of character
Cons: Trella recovers from severe injuries surprisingly fast
For Parents: no content issues or language, mild violence
Trella knows their world is a cube. Though she's a scrub, and relegated to a life of drudgery cleaning the ducts on levels 1 and 2, she's snuck to the upper levels often enough.
Now her skill at navigating the ducts and breaking the rules is going to get her into trouble. Her only friend is convinced that Gateway - a door to an outside world - exists. To prove him wrong she must retrieve something from the upper levels. Only the authorities have set a trap and she's about to spring it.
While neither the idea of a two-tier society nor an enclosed environment are unique, their combination and lack of known history by the inhabitants makes this story interesting.
Trella's do it herself mentality could be grating, but it's not. She's a teen who wants more from life and who's willing to change as her world expands. She does heal much faster than I believe is possible, and functions well under high amounts of pain, but that's becoming common in teen dystopian fiction.
And she's given time to think about events and see the consequences of her actions, allowing for true character growth.
Pros: good pacing, interesting story, realistic relationship development
Cons: Trella manages to do an awful lot despite injuries and being tracked at one point
The Pop Cops are in the brig and a committee now runs Inside. But the scrubs aren't happy and most have stopped working. Trella's still reeling from the events of Inside Out and doesn't want more responsibility. So she's only a consultant to the committee, which is ignoring all of her suggestions. After a blast destroys a key system and injures a lot of people, Trella discovers that it was not an accident but caused by saboteurs. How could things have gone so bad so fast?
Ms. Snyder's forte is with relationships, and this book shows off her skill in that regard. Trella's relationship with Dr. Lamont begins strained and slowly develops into something new. Her relationship with Riley also progresses at a natural pace, with her reckless behaviour causing him stress and hesitation with regards to taking things further.
As with the previous book, Trella makes mistakes and grows as a person when she acknowledges them.
Lots of unexpected twists will keep readers on their toes. While Trella does endure more pain and injuries, again recovering remarkably fast, she remains a fun, flawed character.
The World More Full of Weeping is a 77 page novella told from two points of view. The first is the view of Jeff Page, as he discovers his son hasn't returned from playing in the woods. The second is that of the son, Brian, as he meets a girl in the woods who shows him marvelous things.
It's a sweet, compelling story of love and loss. And a reminder that doing what you believe is best for someone doesn't usually take into account their own preferences on the matter.
Pros: good writing, fast paced, nifty concept, true to life high school atmosphere
Cons: takes a while to understand the school/game setting, plot twists were often obvious
For Parents: there's a little swearing, minor violence, no sex
In a future where corporate sponsors run school as a game, a group of kids wants to reclaim their privacy as the Unidentified.
Katey Dade (@kidzero) is in the pit when the Unidentified pull off their first publicity stunt. Her interest in the act propels her into the limelight, where she has no desire to be, and forces her to make important decisions regarding her future.
A refreshing change from the weightier, more violent YA books I've read recently (The Hunger Games, Chaos Walking), this is a quick, entertaining book.
Told from Kid's POV, it captures the ups and downs of high school perfectly. I could easily imagine a future where schools are run by corporations sponsoring events and certain ‘in' students. And the willingness of the kids to have public lives is something facebook attests to today.
The plot focused on Kid's desire to remain low key despite the advantages (depending on your outlook) of being branded. The language is easy despite a few futuristic curses and expressions (Oh Google). There's minor swearing, a tiny amount of violence and no sexual content for parents to be concerned about.
The game took a while to take shape. Mariz drops you into the story with no preparation. I liked trying to figure out how the game worked but some readers may find it a chore to piece together what's going on.
Ultimately it's a well told story about the importance of choosing friends wisely, of privacy and the freedom to be yourself.
Pros: creepy premise, strong writing, good pacing, interesting family mystery
Cons: unlikable protagonist, didn't feel like a horror novel
Stevie is an unreliable narrator.
She remembers her father, a cop, as a good, quiet man. Others remember him differently. He was the kind of cop who didn't like to see the guilty get away with their crimes, even when there wasn't enough evidence to convict them.
Stevie was 18 when her mother died, passenger in the car Stevie was driving. The accident gave Stevie her third near death experience. Before, she'd been too young to understand what happened. This time she realized that when you die you enter a room. A dark room. A dark room where those you've slighter want to hurt you.
The book is presented as a horror novel and the premise is quite terrifying. But in execution, it's less about horror than it is about the mystery of who Stevie's father was and what death actually holds for her. And while she runs from the first mystery, wanting to believe her father was a great man, she runs towards the second, trying to get back to her room to see if it changes.
As a protagonist she's a thoroughly unlikable character. She's rude, disrespectful and goes out of her way to anger the people in her life. And yet, her story is fascinating and she somehow remains sympathetic.
The writing is strong and the pacing good, doling out enough clues to keep you interested.
One word of caution, try not to read the synopsis on the back of the book. It contains a spoiler that makes part of the mystery a lot easier to figure out. If you want to get a sense of the book, read the first few pages.
Pros: several complex plot lines that all get resolved satisfactorily, interesting characters that develop over the course of the book, detailed world building - for the planet Grass as well as Earth and the rest of the universe (even though the rest of the universe isn't mentioned much)
Cons: can't think of any
Grass is a planet with no reports of plague victims in a universe of worlds dying of the plague.
Lady Marjorie Westriding Yarier and her family are sent by Sanctity, the dominant religion in the universe (though they are old catholics), to see if it really is free of plague, and/or if there is a cure for the plague on the planet. They are chosen because the nobles on Grass ride the hunt, and the Yarier family is good with horses.
Unknown to them, the bons ride Hippae, and the Hippae are not horses. They are malevolent creatures with unknown motivations.
The green brothers live on Grass, digging up the ruins of a civilization that died out centuries before. A race that may have died of the plague.
There are a lot of politics and a lot of revelations you won't be prepared for. It's a creepy novel at some parts, a tragic one at others. It is well worth the read.
Pros: fast paced, good dialogue, a fair bit of action
Cons: last 30 pages rely more heavily on previous books for climax and denouement and contain spoilers for the earlier books (only a problem if you haven't read those books)
Savannah Levine's running her guardian's P.I. agency while they're on vacation. When another P.I., Jesse Aanes, drops a murder case that has hints of occult activity in her lap, she's ready to prove she can solve a case solo. So off she goes to Columbus, a small town that now boasts 3 murders. With two obvious suspects and several people offering help (including the brother of one of the victims, an out of town detective), it seems like an easy case. But nothing's as it seems and when someone else dies Savannah realizes that going solo isn't as fun as she thought it would be.
Savannah's an interesting character. She's got a lot of streetsmarts and a no nonsense attitude. She's not quite the kick ass character urban fantasy is known for, but not far off either. Magic is her first line of offense, though she knows some martial arts too. She avoids being a Mary Sue by asking for help from a senior member of the P.I. agency and by occasionally making potentially stupid decisions (like meeting a possible suspect alone without telling anyone where she's going).
This is the first Otherworld book by Armstrong that I've read. I assumed Savannah was a minor character in the other books so the first book dedicated to her would be a good place to jump into the series. There were occasional references to her past throughout the book that were easy to understand until 30 pages to the end. Suddenly someone from her past who was never mentioned in this book shows up. The climax's ‘ah ha' moment was more of a ‘what?' moment for me. Since I didn't know who this character was I had no idea what was coming. The ending wasn't ruined by this. Armstrong explained enough about who the character was that a new reader could follow along. But I knew I'd missed the real surprise of the scene.
Still, it was a fun, quick read. And, from what Armstrong tells about Savannah's past, those who have followed the series will likely enjoy seeing Savannah grown up.
Spoiler Warning This is book 5 in a 5 book series, therefore even the synopsis will have some spoilers if you haven't read the previous books.
Pros: great wrap up for the series, satisfying battle scenes, down time between fight scenes allowed for continued character development
Cons: while Wilson was willing to kill off a few characters, there were too many last minute saves, which reduced overall tension
The Eld have begun their attack on Celaria. King Dorian and his wife are more at odds than ever and Rain, banished from the Fading Lands, is nearing bond madness.
This book starts directly after the events of Queen of Song and Souls. There is a brief recap of that book's conclusion, but you might want to skim it again before starting this book.
With war imminent, there's less time for romance. Wilson manages to squeeze in a few love scenes, but they're not as detailed as the ones in previous books. Crown is more focused on battles and Wilson does a great job of narrating battlefields.
In this book we learn more of the Elves and see some creepy creatures of evil that Vadim Maur has prepared for this war.
There's a long denouement after the climax which clears up a lot of things. Rather than feeling overlong, it makes for a satisfying conclusion.
While it seemed like she was willing to kill characters, too many named supporting characters are saved in the nick of time. Similarly, Rain and Ellysetta are almost captured and/or killed so often some of the tension was lost (as you know they'll be saved). Having said that, Wilson definitely puts her protagonists through the wringer.
If you've enjoyed the series thus far, you'll find this a satisfying conclusion.
Pros: fascinating characters who develop a lot throughout the course of the book, interesting (if terrifying) religion
Cons: the ending makes it feel more like a set up for the next book than a novel in its own right
The Left Hand of God is an interesting book. It's packaged like a fantasy novel, but reads more like an historical fiction. It's not really either. The book takes place on earth - from what I could tell - but not the earth of our history. The religion of the Redeemers is similar to the Catholic church, if the Catholic church went to extremes that even the inquisition would find horrific.
Thomas Cale entered the Sanctuary when he was a child. Now, a few years from manhood, he understands how to avoid beatings and other punishments. That doesn't stop him from getting punished as the Redeemers who run the Sanctuary believe every act is sinful. He's been trained from youth to be a killer and he's the best at what he does.
When two non-friends of Cale's (friendship is discouraged, and if discovered, punished) find and open a sealed off door, their lives are forever changed.
There's a lot happening in the book. The only problem being that the ending makes you realize the entire book was simply to put Cale in a specific position in relation to the Redeemers. It's fascinating how he gets there (about half way though I started wondering where the book was going, but the characters were so interesting it didn't bother me that I couldn't figure out the author's aims). A few characters near the end also make choices that seem odd given the circumstances. These are minor points though, and don't marr the enjoyment of the story.
The narrator is slightly sarcastic, especially with regards to medicine, making the book a lot of fun. When things get too serious the narration itself provides a bit of tension relief. There's a lot of character development - much of it fun as the three boys have never seen a woman before leaving the Sanctuary and don't know how the world outside the Sanctuary works.
Bottom line, it's a great set up and I can't wait to see where the next book takes the story.
This is a novel full of plots, poison and dragons. Part of the fun of the novel is trying to figure out who is betraying whom and why. With some characters double crossing their partners, it's not clear until the very end what everyone's goals are.
Though all of the characters had logical reasons for their actions, I found it hard to like any of them and cheer them towards their goals. There was no ‘good' character. Just a bunch of people trying to achieve something. Normally that would kill a book for me (I like at least one person I can empathize with). But Mr. Deas has created such an intriguing set of plot twists that I couldn't stop reading. Is Jehal really poisoning his father? Is Hyram going to honour his clan's agreement to make Queen Shezira the next speaker (and thereby ruler of the Nine Realms)? Who attacked the white dragon's entourage and what happened to it? Who are the mysterious Taiytakei people and what do they want? And what's in the bottle the sellswords Kemir and Sollos stop a group of dragon knights from selling in the prologue of the book?
It reads like a Joe Abercrombie novel, only with less swearing and fighting and more political scheming. The book does end in a way that suggests there will be a lot more warfare in the sequel.
Well written, often surprising, and definitely worth picking up.
I'd heard that The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon, was a rewrite of Flowers of Algernon by Daniel Keyes, only with an autistic man rather than a mentally handicapped one. In one respect this is true. At the beginning of the novel the protagonist of The Speed of Dark is pressured by his company to be a subject testing a drug ostensibly designed to get rid of autism. But the novel itself is about so much more, to the point that the fear of having to participate in this medical procedure almost takes a back seat to all of the other issues facing Lou Arrendale. Issues like: what is normal? What is the nature of personality (if he has this treatment will he cease to be himself? Will he still like the same things? Will he be able to do the work he enjoys?). What is the speed of Dark? (Is it the absence of light or does it travel faster than light, thereby arriving first?)
Told mostly, but not exclusively, from Lou's point of view, we get a very well researched idea of how autistic people see the world. A point of view that helps to broaden your own as a reader and human being.
It's a great novel. Well written and with an ending you won't see coming.
Given the negative connotations associated with ‘pulp' fiction, I had unfortunately low expectations coming into this book. It turned out to be a great read. This book epitomizes the idea of ‘escapist literature'. The story was fast paced, remarkably intelligent (especially considering the main character is skilled in sword fighting and ends up on ancient Mars due to a failed physics experiment). The level of description is enough to rival a TV show, with interesting (though admittedly 2 dimensional) characters. Highly recommended if you want to see where SF and Fantasy came from, and why they're both still popular today.
Pros: lyrical writing, interesting characters, detailed history/world, political intrigue
Cons: ending is a bit long
Under Heaven tells the story of Shen Tai, second son of a famous general. Upon the passing of his father, Tai decides to spend his time in mourning burying the dead from a battle site that brought his father sorrow. For this service he is gifted with 250 Sardian horses. This gift propels him into a role of importance in the country, and will either save him from assassination attempts, or create more of them.
The book is patterned off of the Tang Dynasty of China. Kay adds in a lot of historic details (way of life, poetry, class distinction) to make the book feel real. There is a lot of rich detail and imagery.
The intrigue is mostly concerning a few people in power and how the gift of these horses will be used (and if Tai will be killed before he can claim them). There is very little physical action. Most of the tension comes from verbal sparring and trying to grasp Tai's sudden change in status. The novel is very immersive. I missed my subway stop because I'd reached a point in the book where I HAD to keep reading. There are many such points in the book.
The ending is a bit long. Kay tied up as many loose endings as he could, which took a while. This isn't really a problem as the characters are all fascinating and you want to hear how things turn out for them.
If you're looking for action, look elsewhere. If you want court intrigue, poetic writing and a great story, you've come to the right place.
Rather than sitting the characters down for a history lesson they already know, Violette Malan introduces her world through the actions and personalities of her protagonists. And the actions begin with a well orchestrated scape goating campaign by the New Believers, a sect of the Sleeping God's priesthood, against the Marked, those with special abilities to Heal, Find, Mend and See. Enter Dhulyn Wolfshead, mercenary partner of Parno Lionsmane and a carefully hidden Seer. They have returned to Parno's homeland, where unknown to them, the priesthood is coming to greater power. Their job to escort Mar-eMar to the capital takes several unexpected turns involving kidnapping, assassination and mob violence.
Pros: clear writing, fast paced, brutal but intelligent characters
Cons: the story jumps around and with the size of the cast it was sometimes hard to remember who was who
When Sir Galefrid's entourage is ambushed at prayers in Willowbank, on the wrong side of the border everyone, even the villagers, is killed. Only his infant son Wistan and a sellsword, Brys Tyrell, survive.
Brys encounters a young mother and child, away from the village for the day and convinces her to accompany him and help the injured Wistan. The child is hunted by those who killed his father, including a practitioner of blood magic.
Meanwhile, the lord of Willowbank's province asks a visiting Blessed to investigate its destruction in the hopes of avoiding war with neighbouring Oakharn over the incident.
For a debut this book is very well written. The language is clear, the plot fast moving and intricate, the characters interesting. I especially liked how pragmatic the people were. I wouldn't want to know Brys, but he's a great character who knows when the fight or flee, kills without remorse when he needs to, and admires strength in others. Similarly Galefrid's younger brother, Leferic, is a ruthless but intelligent man. Despite how he becomes the acting ruler of Bull's March, it sounds like he really would be a better ruler than his brother.
I was surprised by how easily the village girl agreed to follow Brys, despite having no evidence but his word that Willowbank was destroyed. And I'd expected Leferic to consider the advantages of having Wistan returned safely earlier.
Since the story jumps between plot lines and has a large cast I sometimes had a hard time remembering who everyone was. But this wasn't a big problem.
It was a great read.