Alexa

I'm kind of mad at myself for putting off reading Stiefvater for so long. I've had [b:Shiver 6068551 Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) Maggie Stiefvater http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328839272s/6068551.jpg 6244926] sitting on my bookshelf for close to a year, but never got around to it. I only picked up The Raven Boys because it was available at the library when another book I wanted wasn't. I had been hunting for a certain atmosphere for the fall months. Something ghostly and witchy. I had no idea that The Raven Boys was pretty much exactly what I was looking for, it just kind of happened that way.I love the way Stiefvater writes, and am incredibly jealous. Her writing is smart and new and evocative all at once. I was trying to leaf through it to find some of my favorite lines, and pretty much the whole first part of the book is packed with gorgeous prose. The best parts are the introductions to the characters. “Ronan and Declan Lynch were undeniably brothers, with the same dark brown hair and sharp nose, but Declan was solid where Ronan was brittle. Declan's wide jaw and smile said, Vote for me while Ronan's buzzed head and thin mouth warned that this species was poisonous.”Admittedly, Ronan gets some of the best ones. He's easily the most dramatic of characters, and while we never get his point of view, he's on the cover of [b:The Dream Thieves 17347389 The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2) Maggie Stiefvater http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1367060081s/17347389.jpg 21598446] (and I have this image in my head of Chainsaw, his pet raven, all grown up and landing on his shoulder in a flourish of wind and black feathers. Real and unreal), so we have a lot to look forward to.Stiefvater is that kind of YA writer who gets young people so well that she goes slightly beyond their feasibility. I knew exactly what she was talking about when she references Blue's vanity, how she carefully cultivates her weirdness, because I did something similar as a young person, but I was certainly not that aware of it. Her characters are so dynamic, so vividly drawn, and they feel so real that it's like they're sitting next to you, but at same time you wonder, in what awful universe would these people find each other? It's real and unreal, the way fiction should be, in my opinion.This story moves in a strange way. It's not slow, and it's not fast, but at one point I realized that I was more than half way through the book and not sure how I got there, because I had no idea where it was going. While the motivations of the characters were clear, the major conflict was not. It wasn't even clear where the major antagonist was going to come from, if there was one at all. Would it be something supernatural? Something human? Is Cabeswater, the magical forest place they find on the ley line, something to be feared or protected? The book spends so much time contemplating what's going to happen between Blue and Gansey and they're supposed destiny, that the boy that actually is the most pivotal to the story goes mostly unnoticed until the very end. It's a strange unpredictable story and I really really liked it.The atmosphere is delicious. You can feel the magic dripping off the page, and the mystery is like chilly little fingers running up your spine when you least expect it. When you think you've got a hold of it, it twists and squirms out of your hands (Ronan! Ronaaaaan!), and proves you're as good as Jon Snow. And I want more.

If you're into long-winded speculations on morality, free will, and the space-time continuum, than you will enjoy this book immensely because there is not much else going on here. Xenocide is really dialogue heavy, way more than Speaker for the Dead and Ender's Game, even more than the Shadow books I think. And by dialogue I don't just mean conversation, we're talking inner monologues that go one for pages. Some of those can be rather self-deprecating, rivaling Samson Agonistes on the angst-level, but its not unwarranted (Samson was blind, Miro was severely crippled and essentially had everything static in his life ripped out from under him - I think Miro takes that cake). I was a little disappointed that the normal wit used in Orson Scott Card's books was lacking, every once in while it would pop back in and there would be a good laugh and a one-liner you're dying to use on someone, but for the most part things keep pretty serious.

As with Card's ability though, there is still a lot emotional investment going on, and he manages it subtly enough that you don't notice until the anvil drops. I found myself a mess at points asking myself, “Why am I so upset by this? I didn't even like that guy.” There are also a lot of really interesting new characters introduced, keeping things lively, and while some plot points were predictable, it was more satisfying than cliche. So if you're looking for a more plot and action driven story, this is not for you. But if you feel like getting deep into some metaphysical shit, not to mention falling in love with these characters, then have at it.

You'll have to forgive me, but I don't think I've ever gone from Adult to YA with an author before and its a fascinating transition. I'm not sure how many people who enjoy YA would also like Ian McDonald's adult books. There's an added value though in being aware of his earlier stuff when reading Planesrunner. I kept noticing things like how the nanoblade was reminiscent of the Q-blades of [b:Brasyl 278281 Brasyl Ian McDonald http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348348119s/278281.jpg 269900], the street brawl that smelled faintly like a scene in [b:River of Gods 278280 River of Gods Ian McDonald http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348178377s/278280.jpg 2440580]. Then there's the overall geekiness, the use of foreign slang, creating a whole new pop culture (the effort he puts into describing how the cool kids would dress in another universe is adorable to me), and of course use of multiple universes. McDonald has his go-to tropes, and somehow they never get old.There's also a lot of fresh stuff, like the steampunk aspects (or electropunk as Everett Singh mused, which reminded of when McDonald remarked in an interview that we've kind of gone overboard with the whole “-punk” thing), and the light-hearted youthful atmosphere. This is very much an action-adventure. It's quick, it's fun, and Everett's fast brain doesn't dwell too much on melancholic thoughts. He's the type of character that's alive with possibility. When he figures out what his father has asked him to do - venture alone into an alien universe, carrying an impossibly valuable piece of technology while being chased by a conspiratorial order lead by a blonde-haired demon in a pencil skirt, all to rescue him and protect the multiverse - I don't think it every occurs to him that he can't do it. He's a boy genius, an ace goalie and a damn good cook too. Why shouldn't he be able to save the world?In his adult works, McDonald doesn't waste time on exposition, and generally leaves his readers to their own devices in trying to figure out the futuristic slang, politics and cultural cues. Here, he takes a bit more time. For Everett, this is a whole new adventure, the same way it is for us as readers, so everything feels fresh and shiny, and you get to see Everett working at understanding this new world. You feel how exhilarated he is, and also how overwhelmed. McDonald's paints this new, zeppelin filled world with a patient and thorough brush, and the results are utterly engrossing.McDonald also lets Everett go on about his Punjabi roots, and I loved seeing that side of him, how important his heritage is. Diversity is always a big part of McDonald's books, and he doesn't take it for granted. He's not afraid to discuss how this new Earth that Everett lands on is divided racially, how Everett feels when he's kicked out of a restaurant because he looks Airish. It provides the texture of the setting, the reality and stakes, as well as giving the main character roots and depth.The prose is rich, but fast, and if you're not paying attention you'll miss some technical details. Perhaps it's because I don't think in three dimensions like Sen and the crew of the Everness, but I had a hard time picturing the inside of the airship that becomes Everett's home away from home. That only became a big deal towards the end when a lot of the action involved the ship and how it functioned, but I was able to keep up and still found it exciting, so I can't complain too much.What I think makes this stand out against other YA works is along with its fast pace and action, its also ridiculously well researched. It doesn't feel like swallowing a bag of marshmallows - tasty, but ultimately hollow, like a lot YA I read is - it's got substance and solid ground to stand on. More meat, less fat. Win, win.

For a book described frequently as a riveting page turner, the first hundred pages or so are exceptionally boring. Thankfully, Stieg Larsson has two prominent writing flaws on his side that come together rather well. One - he describes action with the most minute and insignificant details and introduces characters and scenarios in the most clinical and drab way possible. Two - his prose style is completely without personality or flair. So what ends up happening is that as you read this you are bogged down with senseless facts and minutiae, but his writing is so without complexity that before you know it you've plowed through two hundred pages, so what's four hundred more?

Larsson's style also works well with the content he delivers, which is heavily disturbing and violent. Issues of rape, murder, and incest he handles with all the tact and precision of a surgical textbook. This has a strange effect on his two main characters, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. They are great characters. Blomkvist seems to be taken straight out of some progressive activist's wet dream - an idealistic journalist who exposes white collar crime, and is willing to serve time for it, who has a carefree love life and apparently irresistible looks and charm. Salander I struggled with when she was introduced. I didn't think Larsson had ever actually met a goth before, and if he had they didn't get to know too much about each other. She is introduced as a novelty, almost as decoration than anything else, objectified by almost everyone who comes in contact with her as a victim, delinquent, or freak. Once we get into her head though, her frailty and determination coalesce nicely into a very real feeling person. Nonetheless, with both her and Blomkvist, the reader is kept at arm's length through most of the story. They are two people who seem to exist moment to moment only, taking blows and injustices in stride and able to throw themselves into the next interesting thing without any care for what they're leaving behind. For Blomkvist this seems to be the life of the passionate person he's always been; for Salander its a coping mechanism, one that towards the end of the story begins to break down.

And the story? It's pretty good, too. Larsson provides a real brain scratcher of a mystery, and then totally delivers with a conclusion that is shocking enough to be satisfying, but is not so far out of left field that it feels unnatural. That's what I think makes this book so enjoyable, is that clearly Larsson began the story with a very specific intention - to write about women who suffer at the hands of terrible men just because they are women. Its somewhat anti-intellectual in the sense that it shrugs off the popular concept of the intriguing serial killer with the tragic past and the abnormal psychology. Larsson writes these rapists and murderers the story encounters as totally unsympathetic, but not as monsters. They are distorted pieces of humanity, like clumsy trolls they wander through the world leaving a trail of pain and suffering behind them, all for the sake of satisfying their needs. He makes it clear these are people - people that could be your neighbors, your teachers, your family. Or you. Every thread of the story follows this theme, and as such things tie up quite nicely by the end.

So yes, it was an entertaining book, and I will probably end up reading the other two, though I am weary of the massive page count, just because of Larsson's love of superfluous detail. But clearly this story is going some place really interesting, and I want to know where that is.