Sunday 30 October 2016

The Lie Tree

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Book Title: The Lie Tree
Author: Frances Hardinge
Date Started: October 17th 2016
Date Completed: October 29th 2016
Genres: Mystery, Historical, Fantasy
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star
Final Rating: Four stars
Review:

Hardinge's tale of secrets, scandal and social status on a secluded little island has the ring of 'award-worthiness' all around it, and I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a lot that this wasn't a book that was all bark and no bite. In fact, The Lie Tree had a lot of bite when it came to blending the survival of politics in the early 1800s (particularly for women) and the more fantastical idea of a tree that tells its owner hidden truths. I appreciated the pains that were taken in the first half of the book to achieve a sense of realism that could be understood without overly detailed or dull world building of an unforgiving culture. It was just disappointing for me when Hardinge started making the facts looser and looser to create a sort of climax that was in the end a bit hard to believe.

The element of feminism in this book was completely unexpected but very good. I didn't know a lot about the book going in; I'd heard good things, but I had just thought it would be an interesting story - not an engaging mystery with commentary on the social structure weaved throughout. The representation of women to start with was really nice because we had such a huge range of characters, some very clearly opposing or agreeing with social ideals, and others not quite sure who they were - but again we started to lose the consistency at the midway point. I felt like, in terms of writing and story, Hardinge had put a lot of effort into the initial construction of her world and characters, but then wanted to have fun and so let more and more things slip out of actuality and into entertaining fiction. And don't get me wrong, the entertainment was still there, but it felt out of place compared to the beginning of the book.

I loved the little flashes of all these different genres and subjects we get in this book: archaeology, science, magical realism, thrillers, botany, palaeontology, photography etc. You can tell how much thorough research Hardinge put in, but there's a genuine feel of passion and interest there too. Personally, I've always been fascinated with fossils and ruined artefacts so the book was already scoring points with me, but even areas like botany and science that I know nothing about became quite interesting through the mouths of the characters. Faith as a heroine aided this, as I'll get onto, but just in general Hardinge made what sounded like a dull piece of the landscape of the story into an element that fascinated the protagonist and the reader alike.
Sadly though, as with all mysteries, the revelation of the 'criminal' makes or breaks the story and The Lie Tree was a bit lack-luster for me. I've mentioned several times already that the halfway point of this book peaked in terms of believable realism and took a downward spiral from there. In terms of entertainment and sheer pride, it ticked all the boxes and I loved reading it, but when it came to actually wrapping up what had been a book so concerned with subtly but succinctly getting across its point it just fell down a few pegs.

The Lie Tree has a whole host of characters and Hardinge does very well to balance them all in her narrative with a distinction between each of them, but of course the stand-out character has to be our daring protagonist, Faith. From the start, she's an interesting person, but we see her develop a great deal in a short amount of time - and not in the direction you might expect. I jumped between feeling like I was in Faith's position and feeling voyeuristic a lot in the story, which surprisingly didn't pull me out of the book too much but was a little confusing when it came to how I was supposed to feel about everything that was happening. On the one hand, I really empathised with the horrible ways Faith was being treated, but I also completely understood why people were reacting in the way they were. I'm sure Hardinge probably designed it this way and was a big part of why the book won the Costa book award in 2015. She very cleverly puts you in a place where you aren't quite sure how to react to very strong situations, just like Faith isn't sure how a woman is supposed to do the things she needs to do without breaking her social status.

In all honesty, I bought The Lie Tree because I saw the special Chris Riddell illustrated edition and couldn't say no - I wasn't overly interested beforehand, regardless of the hype. There's only really six or seven full-page drawings but they helped immerse me in the world, and I'm glad that I picked up a book I would otherwise have let pass by because it was worth it. Though I assume the primary audience for the book is maybe 12-16, I think both younger and older readers can enjoy this book, and get a lot from it - if you ever need a history lesson in what life was like for women in the 1800s, here's the perfect way to teach your kids without them knowing you're doing it.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30201080-the-lie-tree

Monday 17 October 2016

The Fever Code


Book Title: The Fever Code
Author: James Dashner
Series: The Maze Runner #0.6
Date Started: October 7th 2016
Date Completed: October 17th 2016
Genres: Dystopian, Mystery
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Star
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

I really wanted to enjoy this book, I promise I did. I was ready for some character backstories from the Gladers - especially Newt and his sister, and Minho who we know basically nothing about at all - I was hoping for some proper, sound explanations from WICKED, and maybe a few exciting action scenes in between. I would've taken whatever storyline as long as we had those characters we love back. But I don't feel like we did have them, so in the end I just couldn't enjoy it.

One of the first things I noticed when reading The Fever Code was just how far Dashner has come in his writing style. I always said that his prose really wasn't great in the original trilogy, and it has always been a bit of a struggle for me to get through his juddering style. But, seemingly out of nowhere, this book has a really good flow in its writing. It's not perfect (Dashner really needs to work on distinguishing his character's dialogues past catchphrases and between age groups; when the five year old kids at the start speak the same at the adults do ten years later there's a problem), but overall I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I could actually get lost in the world while I was reading without being pulled out by having to reread a sentence several times to understand it.

This book, in short, is a patchy collection of scenes that Dashner has clearly had in his head since he wrote the first book. These specific scenes are all developed and interesting because he's had a couple of years to turn them over in his head, but when they're combined with lots of scenes that feel like they've been made up on the spot in order to fill in the gaps things start to fall apart and lose their pace a little bit. When some of the scenes that Dashner clearly had a sentimental attachment to (and so wanted to include) are set when the characters are about five just as they're abducted, we then have this enormous gap of about ten years to when most of the actual action of this book happens (predictably, when the first lot of people have been sent into the Glade). What needed to happen was for Dashner's editor (as the unbiased overlooker) to step back and say 'I'm sorry, I see this is important to you, but it's weakening the story' and either not include it or incorporate it in in a flashback or narration or something. Instead we get this huge portion of the book which is trying to compensate for the huge gap between events by being filled with pointless and at times boring scenes that don't transition the time well or even develop characters or plot. We honestly didn't need the first three quarters of this book in terms of making the main story points - and it's not like James had to set the scene and introduce the characters, we're all well aware of who these people are. If we're here, we want new information, but we don't really get it.
So when I had those thoughts going around my head for the majority of this book, and then suddenly that last quarter comes up I really wandered why we needed most of this book that is really a huge introduction to the climax. (All I can think is that there isn't enough in just the ending to write a whole book.) The conclusion to the book itself was a little lack lustre for me, but I do admit that I was already a little too disappointed to be able to take anything in properly anymore. And we all knew how this book was going to end of course, but the 'shock' factor right at the end didn't really surprise or impact me a lot - but even then, the pacing in that last little section was really good! And the emotions started to feel actually real and I caught a glimmer of that original playfulness that makes this trilogy so fun. I wish the whole book had been like that ending quarter, and I wish Dashner had sacrificed those few scenes right at the beginning to focus properly on the later development.

We were promised to be reunited with old characters. Oh, I was so excited, I was so ready to hear these tragic backstories. And we got them a bit - and if you're a fan of Thomas you get it a lot. The Fever Code is very much the Thomas and Teresa show again (understandably, everything does happen because of them), but I missed the side characters and, for most of them, they're barely in more than a couple of pages and mentions. Honestly, this was the biggest thing that got in the way of my enjoyment of this book, and I hold my hands up and say yes, I did let the fact it didn't live up to expectations sway me. But I don't think anyone can go into this book without expectations: it's the prequel to a series that gets you attached to certain characters, of course you want to be able to explore them more in a story that supposedly follows their backstory.
On a personal note, Newt is entirely wasted on this book. I have a personal attachment to him, but he's a well known fan favourite, and it's clear Dashner knew this because he very aptly positioned the token reunion scene between Newt and his sister - but that's pretty much your lot for that relationship. Overall, a lot of the side characters past Teresa, Chuck, and maybe Ava Paige, become little name drops or cameos scattered throughout the story. Some of them aren't necessary to the plot and are just there so you can say 'oh look, here's this person', and the rest don't spend nearly enough time actually exploring those side characters again.

In all fairness, The Fever Code had a tough wrap from the beginning: we all had our hopes for what sort of backstories we were going to explore, and I have to say the films definitely haven't helped in terms of reminding people of what actually happens in the canon. There were some parts that really confused me until I remembered some of the weirder little events in the book (that still don't really make sense). In its own right, this book isn't that bad but it's not what we've been sold, and it didn't focus on the aspects of the prequel I was invested in.

Image Source - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmTthUXVIAAc_ny.jpg

Friday 14 October 2016

The Chess Queen Enigma

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Book Title: The Chess Queen Enigma
Author: Colleen Gleason
Series: Stoker & Holmes #3
Date Started: October 3rd 2016
Date Completed: October 7th 2016
Genres: Mystery, Historical, Thriller, Adventure, Romance
Quality Rating: Two Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Star
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

I started this series a while ago and was very pleasantly surprised at how much entertainment I got out of it. Don't get me wrong, if you're going in wanting a proper storyline and solid logic and characters, you're going to get very easily annoyed - but what these books do give you is the opportunity to just suspend the desire for reason and just enjoy some nonsense. That's been the strength of the series, and my problem with The Chess Queen Enigma was Gleason tried to go further into the realms of a full-functioning mystery when the foundations she'd built were completely flimsy. I don't come to these books for a quality literary story: I come for the fun, and that was what needed to be brought back.

A lot of the time, if I can't bear the writing I can't bear the book. Most novels I don't end up finishing are ones where the style of writing is constantly bringing me out of the story and frustrating me to the point where I don't want to read anymore. And while this series has some truly terrible writing and narrative points - there are times when the action or characters are just so silly and ridiculous that I don't understand how it ever seemed like a good idea to let it through to the final edit - there's a kind of childishness running through the whole series that actually does make it a little easier to accept how bad it is at points. Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but to give credit where it's due, the normal balance between the childish writing, but then the equally innocent and adventurous action almost overrides each other to where you can just enjoy the book. Once again, I would say this wasn't as consistent as in The Chess Queen Enigma as with the other books, but I was still able to let a lot of silly things go because I was enjoying myself.

This book tries to be clever and missed out the fun in doing so. The Stoker and Holmes series isn't a sophisticated or clever series and that's fine; its strength is in that it's so much fun, but it's so important not to lose that. What I noticed happening a bit more in The Chess Queen Enigma was that where we might have previously expected an action scene or a little argument between characters, we were instead given an internal monologue of one of the characters trying to work something complicated out. With a character like Mina Holmes we get that a lot anyway, but it's a lot more engaging when it's said out loud and where we get other people reacting. This book felt a little like Mina and Evaline were going about their own business, going to a place where something briefly happened, then parting ways again. They didn't feel like the team they've been built up to be and so any consequential action was then just a bit dry because of that.
I also wasn't too happy about the conclusion to this sequel. While this series is good at making sure each book has its own plot that weaves into the overarching story, the point of this book felt, well, pointless. In terms of moving the characters forward in their journey as a whole, I can't really see anything that will have a long-lasting effect, and as a stand-alone book it was a bit flat. But on top of that, we have certain aspects of the series that clearly needed to be solved quickly, and so Gleason cheats us a developed solution and just magics the problems away. Obviously, there are plans in place for future books, but part of me feels that since so little happened in this novel - and apparently there was a very big problem to take care of before the next book - why did we not focus on exploring that one issue that didn't appear until the last few pages?

The Chess Queen Enigma loses the characters that we know and love a little bit. They're still there, and still falling into their own pre-made stereotypes, but I noticed that we didn't really get to see them interacting with each other that much. The strength when you have character-driven stories is getting to see them play off each other, and there was definitely a lack of that here; I wanted more of Mina and Grayling arguing, Mina and Evaline grudgingly accepting they're a good team, Pix and Evaline constantly trying to be one step ahead of the other. When the action was lacking, and the writing was trying to become more sophisticated and less pure fun, the thing that could've pulled everything back was the characters but we just weren't given enough opportunities for them to do that.

This book didn't have the thrill factor and entertainment that the previous two had; it was probably the weakest instalment of the series so far. Nevertheless, I still want to read the rest of the series. It's a nice break from what I usually read, and when it's fun it's really fun. I just hope that the series goes back to its original balance of entertainment next to the utterly ridiculous storylines.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25507130-the-chess-queen-enigma

Sunday 2 October 2016

Crooked Kingdom

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Book Title: Crooked Kingdom
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #2
Date Started: September 27th 2016
Date Completed: October 1st 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Adventure, Romance
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Star
Final Rating: Five stars
Review:

I adored this book and it's a wonderful ending to the story, but I have to admit that it didn't quite live up to Six of Crows. In the end, it didn't stop me loving it in the slightest - I really couldn't put it down - and I'm actually quite sad that it's over now. I'm just hoping Bardugo has more stories in this world hidden up her sleeve to come.

Part of what makes these books so good is how utterly immersive they are, and that comes how well built the world is. Somehow, I remember pretty much everything in terms of politics and magic and action from Six of Crows because it's so well established as a real world. Bardugo has definitely grown as an author since Shadow and Bone, because I seem to remember a lot of people having a problem with how much sheer information you have to take in so quickly in order to just understand what's going on. In Crooked Kingdom I could easily slip back into everything like I read Six of Crows yesterday, and of course the easier it is to get lost in the world, the deeper you can go into the story and its characters.

The big reason why Crooked Kingdom wasn't quite up to Six of Crows' standards was because of this constant feeling that we were in a playground where the characters were testing out all these different relationships and action scenes and crimes, but were ultimately a little safe: pretty much every heist Kaz already has sorted out. He's three steps ahead of everyone without even the reader knowing a lot, and while this exaggerated how awesome he was and gave the reader a little bit of tension when we started repeating that style it definitely reduced the feeling of threat. Six of Crows was so brilliant in its ability to again and again send us to the edge of our seats because the characters were so often being thrown into situations that were essentially entirely out of their control, and we just had to watch them improvise and hope. Crooked Kingdom felt a lot more preplanned.
Choosing Ketterdam as the backdrop for this playground was so good, though. In a way, I was able to let a lot of my frustration with Kaz being seemingly invincible because it is his home turf, and he genuinely does rule the backstreets of the city, regardless of how that affected my anticipation in the book. I loved seeing all the local places the Dregs were surrounded by, but I really wanted time to explore it in more detail.
Crooked Kingdom has a bittersweet ending, and nothing else would have fitted. I was genuinely sad with a lot of the characters, but we've also got such an uplifting conclusion in those last few chapters. Though I didn't connect with the characters quite so much this time - and these books are so heavily character driven - and so didn't react as strongly to their experiences, I was still affected by their endings, and I still don't want to leave them yet.

Bardugo has a knack for worldbuilding, but characters are the real stars of the show in this series and every single one is written with so much care and depth that I just never want to stop reading about them. I have to say that, despite looking at the protagonists' pasts a lot in Crooked Kingdom, I didn't feel like we explored them as people quite as much as in Six of Crows, but I was happy just watching them move on from here - the flashbacks weren't entirely necessary a lot of the time, and weren't as interesting as Kaz, Nina and Matthias' had been in the last book, but I do appreciate the little extra information they gave to the story.
Nina is still my absolute favourite out of the seven protagonists (I'm counting Kuwei even though I know a lot of people don't because I really love his character and I think he does contribute to the atmosphere of the group). Her interactions with Matthias and Kaz especially enforce this: I just love their dynamics and personalities against the world they're in, and they're some of the more unexpected personalities to exist in that sort of backdrop. Kaz' development in this book as well was so interesting, and even though I loved him in Six of Crows, he's probably the one character which Crooked Kingdom added to my love of the person, as opposed to just enforcing it. But honestly, every character is a joy to read, on their own but especially together - I really appreciate Bardugo mixing up the pairings and little groups every now and then just so she can really get the best of their different personalities with any combination of characters.

I love the way Crooked Kingdom draws this story to a close, and Bardugo has really used the structure of the duology the way it should be used. But I really don't want this to be the last time I see these characters; I need more from this world and I don't want to leave it behind.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28933383-crooked-kingdom