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REVIEW: Lirael by Garth Nix

Posted by Anastasia on May 12, 2012 1 Response »

May 122012

Look! I wrote a full review! And hopefully more will come. I figured I couldn’t depend on review notes since I don’t know WHEN I’ll be getting internet, so I might as well just carry on as best I can until then. They won’t have as fancy a format as I usually do, since I don’t have enough time to search for other reviews and whatnot, but I hope you like them anyway.

Sorry I haven’t been responding to comments, btw! Again, no time. If you ask a question, though, I’ll try to get back to you…soon-ish.

70. Lirael by Garth Nix
Publication: HarperTeen (October 6, 2009), ebook, 720pp / ISBN 0060005424
Genre: YA Fantasy

Read: April ?-26, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: Sabriel | Lirael (you’re here!) | Abhorsen

Summary from Amazon:

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Abandoned by her mother, ignorant of her father’s identity, Lirael resembles no one else in her large extended family living in the Clayr’s Glacier. She doesn’t even have the Sight — the ability to see into the present and possible futures — that is the very birthright of the Clayr.

Nonetheless, it is Lirael in whose hands the fate of the Old Kingdom lies. She must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil — one that opposes the Royal Family, blocks the Sight of the Clay; and threatens to break the very boundary between Life and Death itself. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, to help her, Lirael must find the courage to seek her own hidden destiny.

In this sequel to the critically acclaimed Sabriel, Garth Nix draws readers deeper into the magical landscape of the Old Kingdom and weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

Review

It took me two tries to get through Lirael, and I blame that on its slower pace. It doesn’t really speed up until a little after halfway through, and while I enjoyed the bits before then, the lack of momentum is a real killer. Luckily this time around I liked Lirael (the character) a lot more than the first time, and so I could push through the slow bits. Continue reading »

REVIEW NOTES: Crocodile on the Sandbank, The Making of a Trade School, Morgue Mama, A Spark of Death

Posted by Anastasia on May 8, 2012 3 Responses »

May 082012

Am currently writing this while sitting outside a Starbucks, squinting at my dust computer screen. For some reason not having internet is making me want to not write reviews, either. Still, I don’t want to fall TOO behind, so here are some review notes for books I’ve read fairly recently. You’ll be seeing a few of these posts until we get internet at our house.

Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping myself occupied! I’ve been reading books (of course), staring at piles of my stuff, and writing a zine. I’ve also gotten hives again, if you can believe it. I don’t know what’s wrong with the mosquitos out here, but they’re really starting to bug me (ha).

And now, reviews:

065. Crocodile on the Sandbank – Elizabeth Peters [rating: 4] e*
[historical fiction/mystery / ebook / bought / read April 8, 2012]
- For some reason Amelia annoyed me more than she did the first time I’ve read this book. Maybe because I’m more aware of her faults than before?
- I liked whats-her-face– Amelia’s friend– much more this time around than before!
- Peabody + Emerson = TWU WUV (seriously, they’re adorable)
- I totally remembered the solution to the mystery, but it was still overall enjoyable.

066. The Making of a Trade School – Mary Schenck Woolman [rating: 3] e
[non-fiction / ebook / public domain / read April 13-17, 2012]
- I suppose this isn’t very interesting unless you’ve read the Slate article about the women who went to this school.
- Or maybe if you’re interested in women’s history?
- Reads very much like a pamphlet asking for donations, only less boring.
- The historical aspect is really neat, too.
- I probably would have gone to this school if a) I’d lived during the early 20th century and b) I lived in Manhatten!

067. Morgue Mama – C.R. Corwin [rating: 3] e
[mystery / ebook / bought / read April 17-18, 2012]
- Unfortunately it did that thing I hate where the narrator is untrustworthy but you only find out that they are at the end. It just ruins the whole story, don’t you think? If you can’t trust your narrator you should be told that from the start (or at least given hints).
- Snappy newspaper reporter! Yay! Librarian-turned-slueth! Yay!
- Mystery was actually very interesting, even though it sort of reminded me of a Law and Order episode.
- Can’t get over that annoying ending!
- I will read next book (which I’ve actually already bought) despite my hatred of the ending sequence.

068. A Spark of Death – Bernadette Pajer [rating: 2.5] e
[historical fiction/mystery / ebook / bought / read April 18-22, 2012]
- Eh. Wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it’d be, based on the synopsis. I like turn of the century things! And scientists! But this was just “eh.”
- There was something about the writing that I didn’t like. It just didn’t work for me, for whatever reason.
- Plus I’m pretty sure there was an early 20th century manic pixie dream girl character. Annoying.
- Basically I think it wasn’t as exciting as I was expecting it to be.

REVIEW: Law of the Broken Earth by Rachel Neumeier

Posted by Anastasia on April 13, 2012 No Responses »

Apr 132012

059. Law of the Broken Earth by Rachel Neumeier
Publication: Orbit (December 1, 2010), ebook, 468pp / ISBN 0316079936
Genre: Fantasy

Read: March 29-30, 2012
Source: Freebie

Series: Lord of the Changing Winds | Land of the Burning Sands | Law of the Broken Earth (you’re here!)

Summary from Amazon:

In Feierabiand, in the wide green Delta, far from the burning heat of the griffin’s desert, Mienthe’s peaceful life has been shaken. Tan – clever, cynical, and an experienced spy – has brought a deadly secret out of the neighboring country of Linularinum.

Now, as three countries and two species rush toward destruction, Mienthe fears that even her powerful cousin Bertaud may be neither able nor even willing to find a safe path between the secret Linularinum would kill to preserve and the desperate ferocity of the griffins. But can Mienthe?

And, in the end, will Tan help her . . . or do everything in his power to stand in her way?

Review

Like the second book, this one has GREAT characters. Mienthe, my favorite, actually reminds me a lot of Kes. She’s shy, and quiet, and prone to being overlooked. But she doesn’t stay that way, and the change comes from within rather than via an outside force. Continue reading »

REVIEW: Land of the Burning Sands by Rachel Neumeier

Posted by Anastasia on April 6, 2012 3 Responses »

Apr 062012

056. Land of the Burning Sands by Rachel Neumeier
Publication: Orbit (June 1, 2010), ebook, 481pp / ISBN 0316072796
Genre: Fantasy

Read: March 25-26, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: Lord of the Changing Winds | Land of the Burning Sands (you’re here!) | Law of the Broken Earth

Summary from Amazon:

Gereint Enseichen of Casmantium knows little and cares less about the recent war in which his king tried to use griffins and fire to wrest territory from the neighboring country of Feierabiand…but he knows that his kingdom’s unexpected defeat offers him a chance to escape from his own servitude.

But now that the griffins find themselves in a position of strength, they are not inclined to forgive and the entire kingdom finds itself in deadly peril. Willing or not, Gereint will find himself caught up in a desperate struggle between the griffins and the last remaining Casmantian mage. Even the strongest gifts of making and building may not prove sufficient when the fiery wind of the griffins begins to bury the life of Casmantium beneath the burning sands…

Review

This book is one of those rare second-in-a-trilogy books that’s actually BETTER than the first book. The first book suffered from boring characters and an uneven pacing; this second book has FABULOUS characters and really excellent pacing. All the problems from the first book were resolved, and I think it basically redeemed the entire series for me.

The best thing about the Griffin Mage trilogy is the characters. Even Kes, who I didn’t enjoy reading about, is an interesting character. All the protagonists have layers upon layers, and even the secondary or tertiary characters have some depth to them. They’re just really neat people, the sort of people I enjoy following around for a few hours at a time. The only people who didn’t have any depth were the slave owners, which I think makes a definite point since mainly every other baddie gets at least some humanization/redemption thing. The slave owners? Did not. Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: Haint Misbehavin’, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Pizzicato

Posted by Anastasia on March 26, 2012 No Responses »

Mar 262012

041. Haint Misbehavin’ by Maureen Hardegree
Publication: Bell Bridge Books (June 6, 2010), ebook, 206pp / ISBN 1935661930
Genre: MG (maybe young YA?) Urban Fantasy

Read: February 28, 2012
Source: Freebie

Mini-Review

I liked this one a LOT more than I thought I would, based on that horrible cover. It reminds me a lot of a Judy Blume book for some reason (maybe the fighting siblings/bullying aspect?) only there are ghosts and hauntings and it’s set in the South. Heather is a tough character to like– she’s sympathetic because her sister is so horrible to her and because of the whole “this ghost kid is ruining my life” thing, but she’s also really whiny and awkward in a way that makes you want to cringe. She spends a lot of the book running around denying who she is, hiding from the bullies, and being basically completely clueless. So I can understand why some people didn’t like her! Continue reading »

The Sunday Salon (Mar. 11): Tiny reviews of Death of an Obnoxious Tourist, Penumbra, Kitchen Confidential

Posted by Anastasia on March 11, 2012 7 Responses »

Mar 112012

Okay, so here’s the deal: I’m getting a little tired of my usual blogging practices. Normally I write 3-10 reviews a week, depending on how far behind I am. Keeping up with that? Is kind of tiring. Especially since I want to try doing other, non-review posts sometimes. Writing the reviews, though, takes up most of my blogging time and that’s annoying.

What I’m going to try to do instead is sort of like what I did back in November/December when I was trying to read a book a day: I’ll do tiny reviews of the books I’ve read in the previous week for my Salon post. Longer reviews (and therefor separate review posts) will be saved for review books and books that I just have a lot of feelings for. And then hopefully I’ll have more time/energy to write other blog posts! Like, say, more tips for blogger newbies posts. Or reading journal-y posts! Or other exciting stuff!

Basically I guess I just don’t want to be trapped into doing a million review posts a week. Because feeling trapped is not fun, and I want to have fun! Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: Dust, My Fair Godmother, Wish

Posted by Anastasia on February 28, 2012 8 Responses »

Feb 282012

034. Dust by Arthur Slade
Publication: Dava Enterprises (February 5, 2011), originally published 2003, ebook, 192pp / ISBN 0385730047
Genre: MG Horror, Historical Fiction

Read: February 19-20, 2012
Source: Bought

Mini-Review

This was way scarier than I thought it’d be for some reason. It reminds me somewhat of The Boneshaker and how that was scary, how it deals with the power adults have over children physically, emotionally, and so on. I liked the writing in Dust a lot more than I did in The Hunchback Assignments, my first Arthur Slade book, and I liked the story more, too. It’s less of an action, kick-ass, “kid saves the world” kind of a book and more of a magical realism/”weird things happen in small towns” book, which I liked. Plus! There’s stuff about the importance of imagination and reading and thinking outside of the box! Defeating baddies through the power of your mind? Awesome! I love that, especially when it’s in a “boy” book. They don’t seem to get that sort of thing a lot in their books, to be honest. Continue reading »