Monday 23 October 2017

Red Sister

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Book Title: Red Sister
Author: Mark Lawrence
Series: Book of the Ancestor #1
Date Started: October 9th 2017
Date Completed: October 23rd 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Two Star
Final Rating: Two stars
Review:

Assassins? In a convent? By a key modern fantasy writer I have yet to discover? What could go wrong? A lot, apparently.

Where to start with this book? I'm at a loss, honestly; the book has such high ratings, and I've been hearing about Lawrence for a long time. Yet, Red Sister doesn't seem to correlate to that evidence for me at all. To start with, I found the writing hard to follow. I'm well schooled in the dense writing of a lot of high fantasies, but this novel wasn't that packed with information, it was just dull and non-specific. There were lots of characters, headed by a protagonist who might have been strong in the world, but wasn't particularly in the writing.

I got 32% of the way through this book - about 150 pages. In that time, the story alternated between flashback scenes and training sequences. That is literally all that happens. Nothing else but that. I thought around the 25% mark that there was enough worldbuilding shoved in and that soon something would at least kick off in the background. 5% later, still nothing. I attempted a little more, but I'd already lost any enthusiasm I had had for this book. There's the predictable 'chosen one' mythos discussed, but no evidence yet. It's hard to keep attention on a story when you know exactly where it's going to go, but it doesn't go there for a long time. What are you waiting for anymore?

Maybe I gave up too soon and Red Sister turns great later on. But 150 pages is more than enough time for something other than training to begin. In the end, there wasn't enough to keep me motivated, and life is too short to spend reading books you aren't enjoying.

Monday 9 October 2017

Tower of Dawn

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Book Title: Tower of Dawn
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #6
Date Started: October 2rd 2017
Date Completed: October 9th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star
Final Rating: Four stars
Review:

Did Tower of Dawn need to be a separate book? No. Did it need to be over 600 pages? No. Was it enjoyable and worth it? Yes, but thanks to the new characters added to this insane Game of Thrones-size cast. Is it all going to be too much for the final book? Quite possibly, but I can hope.

Personally, I really would've rather Empire of Storms had been longer or cut into two smaller books, with everyone's stories running parallel. I understand that it might have been character overload with the multiple narratives in the previous book, but it felt like a lot of this was explaining how it paralleled to the events of EoS. As fascinating as learning about the Southern Continent and its people was, Tower of Dawn lacked the pace and relevance of the previous books in the series. I think coming off of Empire of Storms it was always going to be a hard job since that book is absolutely driven in every word to move the story on; we get here and there isn't the sense of anticipation and importance we've grown used to.

I have to say, I found the romance in this instalment incredibly dominating. It's always been a big aspect of the series, but it was getting in the way of the plot in this one. I appreciate the consideration that went into Chaol's feelings about past events and people, and the realistic ambivalence and his underlying self-criticism towards them, but that doesn't explain how he latches on so quickly to new people. There are some cases of instalove in this book, and while I don't hate the couples themselves, it feels like Sarah knew who she wanted together by the end by wanted them done and dusted as soon as possible. All the other pairings in this series have had at least two or three books to develop their feelings and relationships towards each other - and that's why we get behind them; because it feels like they're grown together, not stared across the room and started lusting other someone. But suddenly six weeks is enough for Chaol to be making serious commitments to new people.

The big uncertainty floating around this book is its representation of physical disability. I have yet to read any 'own voices' reviews, though I plan to, but from my admittedly lacking awareness I think it was done alright. Sarah treated the subject with respect and pushed through a positive and supportive commentary through her characters without it being patronising. The one thing I'd mark down was the fact that Chaol's injury was rather conveniently healed - far better than what a lot of writers would do, no one waved a magic wand and made it disappear with no trace it was ever there. But it has been considerably improved to make it easier on the story in the future.

It is a shame that this book is mostly carried by the new characters - but also not, because I really like the new additions to the cast. I'm not the world's biggest fan of Chaol, and Tower of Dawn definitely made me like him more at points, but there are still times he needs to get over himself. I appreciate his personality inclines to being self-critical and somewhat short-tempered, but he throws the blame and then sulks too much for me to get behind him as a protagonist

It's a good thing, then, that I adore Yrene. And that, really, this is more her story than his. I don't remember massively liking her in The Assassin and the Healer novella, but damn can I get behind a woman who is a peacemaker and healer, and is at times a little easy to manipulate, but is loyal and brave despite it. I'm so happy that Sarah is continuing to write such a great variety of female characters who all possess both feminine and masculine traits and aren't ashamed of either. We need kick-ass assassins, but we need strong hearted healers too.

While I have my issues with Tower of Dawn, I did enjoy it. To the point where I was reading it on buses and between meetings, and I'm not a fan of reading on public transport. Overall, I think it felt disjointed from the Throne of Glass story and I was constantly being distracted by the fact we were only following Chaol - just like I was constantly aware that he was absent while reading Empire of Storms. I certainly wouldn't skip it; it not only has plot points that you'll need going forward, but it is genuine fun - I couldn't put it down most of the time. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I would have had it been part of the main story.

Side note (spoilers): Everything was worth it for the epilogue. I needed at least a little closure on Aelin in that coffin. Even though I'm mad I have to wait a year to see what they're going to do with her.

Tuesday 3 October 2017

Shadowblack

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Book Title: Shadowblack
Author: Sebastian de Castell
Series: Spellslinger #2
Date Started: September 29th 2017
Date Completed: October 3rd 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was so excited about where Kellen went, so when I saw the second one listed on NetGalley it took me under three seconds to request it. Lo and behold, I read it in under five days during the chaos that is university and had great fun doing so.

Back when I read Spellslinger, what grabbed me was the quick-witted dialogue and the humour running throughout the story and, of course, Kellen as our protagonist. Shadowblack still had that humour, but it wasn't quite present. This book felt more serious, but not necessarily darker. I think there was a lot of world building around Kellen and the Jan'Tep people that made the stakes higher before things kicked off in the last book, and events were a little more rushed here. I would've liked more of a balance between that silver-tongue dialogue and the mystery-style plot.

What sets this series out is its western genre. Especially for an audience of young adults, who don't often get that cultural experience of the genre (both in books and things like film and television), I think it's something different straight off the cuff. Its combination with high fantasy is a really nice fit as well, even though I would never have thought it would work.

While I disagree, I've seen it compared to Firefly. A big part of this, I'm sure, is to do with the clearly episodic structure of the series. Even two books in it's easy to see that it would make a great TV show because it already feels set up as a long-form story that has individual plots broken into it. We have the same characters and basic magic system, but with each book we're been taken out into this world and shown a different society. It's really good for building the feeling that Kellen's universe is expansive because we're getting to explore it with him. There's also something to say about the fact each book ties up its own plot. I feel like I could leave the series anytime I wanted, and that freedom - at a time where book series' are so confining and it feels like a marketing ploy half the time - makes me want to keep reading. Because the author has given me the freedom to choose, as opposed to trying to manipulate me into half finishing a story in one book.

The one significant issue I have with this series is its female characters. They're not terrible, but I'm unconvinced by them. I feel like de Castell is trying to make diverse and capable women, but falling short in a couple of fundamental ways. The positions he puts them in for one; the use of masculine characteristics to imply they're strong; the fact that we have yet to meet a young woman who doesn't fall in love with Kellen (past his sister, but that doesn't count). I remember having the same uncertainty in Spellslinger and I'm sad that that concern has come up again.

Although I was excited to see where this series went, I didn't enjoy Shadowblack quite as much as Spellslinger. I think there was more focus on the mystery than the characters and culture - which was what I really liked about the first book. Having said that, I still read it for a couple of hours at a time because I was enjoying it so much. Hopefully, in the future we'll go back to exploring the people and their societies over the plot.