Scythe

Book Title: Scythe

Author: Neal Schusterman

Series: Arc of the Scythe #1

Date Started: January 12th 2019

Date Completed: January 17th 2019

Genres: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Thriller, Romance

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Three stars

Review:

Oof, this is a tough one. Cool idea, unexpected twists, room for lots of new things in subsequent instalments. But, for me, the execution of Scythe (pun intended) was a little... fragile. Tame, absolutely not. It took things and really went for them, but there wasn't enough foundation for it to ring true.

The biggest issue I had with this book was its worldbuilding. Because it was sloppy. Like, I'll just lean these two poles and have it support a building sloppy. With sympathy, it's a very complicated concept to being with; hard to communicate and even imagine, so it needed a lot of attention to establish solidly which unfortunately wasn't there. It was probably an attempt to avoid information-dumping, but there are so many loopholes and times when Shusterman goes back on himself that I couldn't keep track or feel any weight because the politics wasn't linear. You have to be moral to be a Scythe, and yet very clearly a lot of them aren't. Fine. But no has want or need of money or anything else, yet there's still a class system (not to mention where are you getting the resources from). And then, there is a class system (which must be deliberate and therefore even more prejudiced) and yet no unrest from anyone at this unfair ranking of people? Believing no one dies anyone is tough enough, but if the world itself isn't consistent around that, how are we supposed to be fully immersed in the story?

At which point, I am not going to be the one going back on myself. Because I have to admit that the ending was fantastic, and made up for a lot. The plot of this book, while interjected with moments of action, is pretty slow. Interesting, but slow. And the political tension which the slower scenes are laced with doesn't really come across because the politics doesn't make sense, as mentioned. But that final scene, what happened and the implications of where we're going to go from here, is annoying. Because I actually want to read the next book to read the next book to find out what happens, and I'm tossing between if it's worth it or not.

Going back to the loopholes in the world for a second, I have to say it is a harsh critique. Because it's the hardest part of creating a fictional story, especially one not set in our world. But the fact that the characters weren't consistent either is what sent the red flag up for me. I honestly couldn't understand them until the last third of the book. They just didn't follow an arc until then, flip-flopped on their personality traits and motivations. Citra hates the very idea of Scythes, and yet within a week of training she's interested not resisting it at all. Rowan supposedly isn't that remarkable at anything, but he quickly becomes the best protegee they've seen in ages. Neither of them are really into each other even if they have some small feelings, and then a few months apart and they're head over heels for each other. And neither want to study Scythedom but are forced to and yet neither gets depressed? Or numb to what they thought their society was? Or anything like that? Come on. It was infuriating because even if the world was flimsy, the characters could have mended up the holes. Sadly, by the time they did start to feel solid, I'd become passive to them.

Scythe was disappointing, more from a foundation perspective than the actual story. That much was interesting and enjoyable, but the worldbuilding just tripped up too much of the movtiations and message for me. Maybe I'll get round to Thunderhead to see what happens to Citra and Rowan from here, but I'll be taking a rather long break first.

Skyward

Book Title: Skyward

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Series: Skyward #1

Date Started: January 3rd 2019

Date Completed: January 11th 2019

Genres: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Action

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley and Gollancz for this ebook for review ◆

So I have a bit of thing with sci-fi novels. For some reason, I just can't seem to get into them - and I say that as someone who was raised on and loves sci-fi tv and film. But, if anyone could write one that I could get into, it would be Brandon Sanderson. And he did not disappoint.

Skyward started off kind of strangely. We're thrown into this community of people trapped underground while being ambushed by aliens in the skies, but the community feels so... well, stilted. It's conservative to the point of doubting its realism since everyone seems to settle into it so neatly - which, especially in recent years, is a strange thing to imagine. The idea of a 'coward', held up by pretty much everyone, is incredibly one-dimensional, and the class system is so secure that you wonder how people don't question it. The fundamental concepts and ideas are very familiar and scarily relevant to modern readers, but it was taken a bit too stiffly. Of course, because it's exaggerated so much, it's there for a purpose, and Sanderson builds it up neatly enough that when he breaks the rules later his point is very clear. Which did pay off, undoubtedly. But going through the arc of the characters rising above their ignorance/fear/whatever you want to call it was hard to swallow to begin with because everyone was so self-assured in their very-obviously-backwards society.

What I really liked was that it took the Father's Legacy storyline in a new direction. I will admit that narratives that focus around a character coming to terms with what a parent (usually the father) did before their time make me automatically sceptical because aren't we all tired of pre-determined fates set out for us by our parents? But, while Spensa's initial kick into her ambition was helped along by her father, she is undoubtedly driven by her own passion and motivation, and the story doesn't obsess over her desire to clear her family name.

The use of classism really helped this too because, while not being derived from her relationship to her father, the prejudices the academy have towards her are influenced by her class status as well; you wouldn't find them having as much of a go at the daughter of a coward who was far richer. In general, I think the politics between individuals of different statuses was nicely done, and it's not all to do with money. Cowardice, wealth, piloting prowess all determined the assumptions that were made about people (and not just Spensa) and made the world that much richer. It is, first and foremost, about fighting aliens, and that was great. It doesn't have to be solely about these other complex concepts to feature and explore them.

Spensa - or Spin - is the beating heart of this novel. But she was sometimes a bit much. Following the same sort of trend as the storyline, she starts off way too exaggerated - or aggressive, I suppose. (While I appreciate the character Sanderson was aiming for in Spin, I think the balance of femininity while still being able to show those more 'masculine' qualities was a bit unbalanced). But, also following the story trend, by the end of the book she was really solid because we got to see her whole arc. It helped that she had several things to overcome; her goal to be a pilot, but also how she managed friends, her relationship with the academy and all the different dynamics that came with it. Kudos to the variety of characters and dynamics in this book, because it really kept everything interesting.

I really damn enjoyed Skyward, I didn't want to put it down. I read it in a really busy period (here's to writing dissertations) and it made me want to carve out time just to sit down with it. If you want the comparisons, it's like Ender Game meets Star Wars IV with a modern kick. I can't wait to read the next one.

The Girl in the Tower

Book Title: The Girl in the Tower

Author: Katherine Arden

Series: Winternight Trilogy #2

Date Started: December 28th 2018

Date Completed: January 3rd 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Historical

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ebook for review ◆

I read The Bear and the Nightingale last winter and immediately wanted to go onto The Girl in the Tower, but the thought of having to wait more than a year for the final book was unbearable. So, I waited. And then this winter came around and I took the first opportunity to dive into this - and, believe me, I will not be waiting so long to read the final book when it comes out in a couple of weeks. This is a fairytale weaved so widely it becomes myth. It hovers and haunts you wherever you go, and becomes as familiar as the stories you were told before bed just because it has such presence, from the writing to the characters to the story.

There's so much bursting at the seams of these books; all these vibrant historical images that let the reader's imagination fill in the gaps (rather than overwhelming us with information). I'm not particularly familiar with Russian history, nor the culture, yet I can picture everything happening around Vasya; I can even smell the markets and feel the cold wind. You can tell that Arden is as in love with fairytales as Vasya is, and as the reader becomes. Sure, I've been in love with fairytales longer than I can remember, so maybe I'm a biased case, but it rekindled my love of them all over again and made me want to look into the fairytales of Russia specifically.

Really, The Girl in the Tower wasn't the book I was expecting to follow the last one. The first book was almost like an odyssey in itself, following so much of Vasya's childhood and her growth into both the 'real' world and the world of folklore and spirits around her. This time we get into the action and into her adventure. It was just as enjoyable, and it built so well on The Bear and the Nightingale that you have to admire that book all over again too.

One of the things we build on is the romance which, honestly, caught me a bit off guard in the first book. Which is kind of why I liked it so much. As it became a bigger part of the story in this book I fell in love with it more because it was done just right. It's nicely balanced - and weaves into - the main plotline, influencing our heroine's path. There are much higher stakes than just romance, as well, so we feel a weight to the scenes that are romantically driven. It's not there to be self-indulgent, it belongs as much as everything else does. But she is and will always be Vasya first.

And that's why I love the kind of feminism that Arden writes. Vasya isn't invulnerable or the token 'badass', but she won't be held down by what people demand she should be either. The period is managed well in that she is insecure about her femininity (and the 'wicked' connotations her actions have on it in the historical context), and she sometimes wants to give up being a girl altogether. Because wouldn't it be so much easier to be herself? Her actions and ambitions about be accepted if she were a boy. As it is, she would give up a lot for her freedom (love, family, security), and I don't think we see that a lot. In women, it's portrayed as selfish (yet, of course, men are allowed to do it all the time), and that makes it all the more powerful. It's a refuge to readers that don't have the words to say it for themselves. (And it's also then significant when she makes the hard decision to put her family or the spirits first because we know how much it means to her to have her freedom.)

The Winter of the Witch is only about two weeks away as I write this and it's too long. I need more Vasya in my life, I need to follow her story to its conclusion because these books make me feel like a child discovering fairytales for the first time again. There's a freedom in reading about heroines like Vasya, and I'm not sure I can wait around for much longer.