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WoGF Review: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Editor’s Note: This review counts for December.
Just finished reading The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo – talk about getting your last challenges in right on the last minute – this book is both my 100th book of the year and also my December read for Worlds Without End, Women of Genre Fiction reading challenge – can I just say what a great challenge the WoGF has been – sincerely I hope they hold this next year, I will be all over it if they do!
Anyway, moving swiftly on and away from my gloaty back patting self (the book review being the actual purpose of the post!) I do have mixed feelings about this book – which would probably resolve themselves if I had the chance to mull it over a little longer and really establish how I feel, but – deadlines are pressing – so, mixed feelings are what I’m going with on this occasion. Although, for clarity’s sake I certainly didn’t dislike this, just not quite sure about exactly what my emotions are at this point (did I love it, maybe not. Did I hate it – definitely not.)
The story is about a young girl, Li Lan, living in Malaya. Her mother has died and her father has retreated into the world of opium. As a result, and although she certainly doesn’t seem to have suffered any hardship having been raised mainly by her very loving Amah, her future does not seem to have been taken care of in the traditional sense leaving her with no future marriage prospects. Her father’s business has deteriorated, as you would likely imagine as he spends most of his time with cloudy eyes chasing the dragon, and, on top of that, he also seems to have run up considerable debts. Then along comes a marriage proposal of a most unusual nature. A very well to do family would like Li Lan to marry their son. Yes, it’s the old ‘attractive young girl marries into a wealthy family to save her own family honour’ chestnut. Or is it? Before we all start jumping to those conclusions – there’s a snag with this marriage proposal, just a tiny one, maybe not insurmountable to some – although I think I might object – the would-be groom has already passed away. Now, tell me that you’re not intrigued!
WoGF Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Editor’s Note: This review counts for November.
Just finished reading Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This book is just so good that I want everybody to read it. Right now. Not only did I love this, not only did it make me laugh at inopportune times, but I felt annoyed when I had to stop reading and it’s just got me so excited that I want to talk to everybody else about it. I devoured it. I sat reading in my lunch time laughing and giggling and attracting some very strange looks. My colleagues, intrigued, were like ‘what are you reading?’ ‘Howl’s Moving Castle‘, I said. ‘Oh, I didn’t know that was a book!’ The funny thing is neither did I! In fact it would never have occurred to me to be honest. I love the film, I really do. Could I choose between the two? Probably at the moment I’d err on the side of the book, but that’s because it’s still so fresh and is still making me smile. I’ll have to go and re-watch the film to see how it compares. Anyway, thank goodness for Worlds Without End – without their Women of Genre reading challenge I may never have picked this book up and that would have been a damned fine shame!
The story starts with Sophie. The eldest of three sisters she is destined to fail – it’s the strange will of the fairytale land in which she lives, after all, it’s always the younger sister/princess who is the real focus of the story as we all know. Her two younger sisters experience all the fun and freedom and are even sent out into the world to gain meaningful employment whilst Sophie remains at home, working in the hat shop that belonged to her late father and seemingly becoming more diminished and shrunken as time goes on. The strange thing with Sophie though is that she seems to hold deep within herself a magical ability that allows her to infuse everyday objects almost with a life force of their own. Unfortunately, these abilities draw the attention of the Witch of the Waste and certainly not in a good way! The Witch of the Waste is a whole lot of bad, she’s jealous of any other magical ability and so she goes in search of Sophie. Of course, Sophie is no match for this wicked witch who curses her turning her into an old woman and thus starting this wonderful adventure.
WoGF Review: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Editor’s Note: This review counts for October.
Just finished reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest which is my (only just) October submission for Worlds Without End, Women of Genre Fiction reading challenge. I loved this book. It’s a seriously entertaining romping, steampunk adventure. The main protagonists are a mother and son and we watch as they go in circles around each other in an almost despairingly frustrating fashion which is both fast moving and really compelling to read.
So, Briar and Zeke, mother and son. They live in a less than comfortable condition and appear to be virtual outcasts. Blair’s husband, now passed away apparently, was an inventor. His last invention however was responsible for almost wiping out the city of Seattle. A gold mining drill, built to dig through hundreds of feet of snow was set to test under the streets of Seattle causing massive destruction and mayhem leaving not only the collapse of many streets but the release of a noxious gas which kills and ultimately turns people into zombies – rotters as they’re now called. In order to survive in the wake of this catastrophe the survivors built a massive wall around the perimeter of the blighted part of the city, not only to contain the zombies but also to prevent the spread of the gas which is too dense to breach the wall.
WoGF Review: Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Editor’s note: We’re playing catch up here on WWEnd after WorldCon last weekend. This review counts for August.
Just finished reading Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht. I read this book as part of my Worlds Without End Women of Genre Fiction reading challenge. I’m posting my review now because this is my August book and if I don’t get on with it – well, it will be my September book instead! But, to be honest I think I would have liked a little more time to reflect on this particular novel and I will confess that it took me awhile to complete and I did put it down for a time. That being said I’m glad I finished. This is very well written and certainly captures a certain sort of mood.
Of Blood and Honey is a book set in Ireland in the 1970s during the ‘Troubles’. The story focuses on Liam who comes from a less than conventional parentage with a very mysterious father. He seems to go from one traumatic experience to the next. At the same time the story has a parallel story of conflict between fallen angels and the fey.
The aspects of the story that I thought were really good were the scene settings. This was a grim time and it certainly comes across here. The Troubles were not frivolous, a lot of people lost their lives and many families were affected and the melancholy within the book is a suitable reflection of this. It’s not a subject to be treated lightly.
WoGF Review: Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Editor’s note: This review counts for the July review poll.
As part of World’s Without End WoGF reading challenge for July I read Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. I must say that I’ve been enjoying myself with this challenge. It’s given me the incentive to pick up authors that I haven’t previously read and it’s introduced me to some amazing books that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading. So I expected much the same with Range of Ghosts – after all this book has received a lot of glowing reviews and the author is very well respected (not to mention can I just bring your attention to that gorgeous cover). Anyhow, I won’t say that there was an immediate feeling of love for this and I certainly didn’t feel it started off easily but, after my initial hesitancy, the story did win me over and I will definitely pick up the next book.
The story starts with the aftermath of a fearsome battle. A lone survivor makes his way through the dead bodies. Temur. Injured on the battlefield and suspected dead, he now makes his way South to the mountains to hopefully live out a quiet life in exile. We then skip to a different storyline. To the once Princess Samarkar. Originally heir to an empire her claim ended when her father’s new wife bore him a son and she became a bartering tool, sent to a marriage that ended in failure and bloodshed. Samarkar has renounced her royalty to become a wizard. In doing so she not only renounces all her worldly status but also her ability to bear children.
WoGF Review: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Just finished reading The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker which I absolutely loved.
KB has brought to us a fantasy world filled with demons, gods, and different species. A whole world filled with Children of the Sun and other species. But, more than that, she’s brought us a romp of a novel. This book is fantasy and fun combined and I loved it. It’s like everything I love in my fantasy novels brought into a new world and looked at in a different way. Really, I totally recommend this book without hesitation. Okay, you might like your grimdark but you can also take an amusing look at the premise occasionally and that is what happens here.
The tale basically revolves around a character called Smith (an alias of course). Smith was an assassin, and he was a damn good one – he can practically stop a would-be-murderer in his tracks just using a soggy false beard or a half penny! However, good as he is, he has no taste for the job and has left his assassin ways behind, hence the false name, and at the start of the story he takes on what seems like a fairly innocuous job as caravan master transporting goods from one part of this imaginary country to the other. He’s also transporting a group of unlikely characters and whilst this may all seem fairly mundane things are not as they seem. Of course the trek across country turns into anything but easy with all sort of death attempts on the passengers until eventually quite strong bonds are developed between some of the travellers and upon arrival at the final destination, Salesh on Sea, Smith takes a different course with a number of his new friends.
WoGF Review: Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Just finished reading Agatha H and the Airship City which I absolutely loved. Now, before I start I will confess that I’ve not read the Girl Genius webcomics that this book is based on so my opinion isn’t based on any sort of comparison in that respect. But I thought this was excellent and such good fun. In fact I felt like I read most of the story wearing a ridiculous grin. The authors have managed to take this story and write it in such a way that it’s a fully fleshed out novel but still manages to give you the same feeling you have when you read a comic which is no small achievement.
The story is set in a world of dashing and fearless heroes where madcap sparks (inventors if you will) have turned the Industrial Revolution into chaos creating all sorts of weird and wonderful contraptions. The Heterodyne Boys – heroes of the people – have disappeared mysteriously and are now only remembered through the story books that people read that recount their adventures. With no deterrent the remaining mad scientists fight a war for supremacy which results in the ruthless Baron Klaus Wulfenbach gaining ultimate control. He now rules the country with an iron fist, aided by his strange and diverse collection of robots, Jagerkin and constructs that he has accumulated through the spoils of war and which now form part of his vast army.
WoGF Review: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
As part of my WWE Women of Genre Fiction reading challenge my book for April was the first in Robin Hobb‘s acclaimed Farseer Trilogy, Assassin’s Apprentice. I absolutely loved this book in fact I probably won’t be able to do it justice here! For the past three days I’ve been living in this world and resenting all the natural little breaks from reading such as going to work, sleeping and other general, everyday minutiae that have come between me and the story. The characters and the world building together with such an intriguing plot have totally captivated me. In fact, I have no hesitation in saying that if you enjoy Rothfuss, Martin and Lynch you can’t fail to love this and as far as I’m concerned that’s some pretty damn fine praise right there.
The story brings to us, and is told by, Fitz (or boy or bastard as he is equally as often called). No prizes here then for guessing that Fitz’s arrival at Buckeep Castle was not a cause for celebration for many of the inhabitants. Fitz was born out of wedlock, son to a King in Waiting and the result of a brief liaison to a now long forgotten woman. At the start of the story, and being one of the earliest recollections that Fitz can recall, he is being delivered, rather unceremoniously, to the Castle which King Shrewd reins. His Grandfather thinks it’s time for the father of the child to have a hand in his upbringing.
WoGF Review: Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Wow, Teresa Frohock‘s debut novel Miserere is an excellent read. I loved it and was torn between racing to the end to find out what was going to happen next and wanting to savour each word. I love a book that just takes my attention from the first chapter and holds it throughout and, more than that, when the last page is complete makes me want to go back and start again from the first page.
There’s a lot going on here with new concepts and a unique world and yet the way the story unfolds is both simple and compelling. Don’t be mistaken by that though. This is an adult fantasy without a doubt. It’s dark and sinister, filled with political intrigue, battles between good and evil, torture, love, betrayal and more than that the search for redemption. I don’t know how TF manages to fit such a lot in to be honest!
Miserere brings us Heaven and Hell but with the extra plain of Worlde which acts as a buffer between the realms of Earth and Hell. Worlde is a plain where warriors, both male and female, battle against evil to prevent the demons from Hell taking over. It all sounds very religious when written down like that but, whilst the story does rely on a lot of symbolism, this isn’t a religious novel or at all preachy and indeed doesn’t particularly focus on any one creed but more looks at faith and hope and trust in the divine. With that in mind we have the age old concept of good against evil where the dark and twisted join forces with the corrupt in order to further their quest for domination and it all makes for an amazing story laced with horror and creepiness.
WoGF Review: Feast of Souls by C. S. Friedman
For Lynn Williams (lynnsbooks) books are much more than a hobby or a pastime they’re really an obsession. If she’s not reading a book, she’s talking about books on her blog, Lynn’s Book Blog, or deciding which books to buy next. Lynn reads all sorts of books, sometimes straying into YA, but her first love is fantasy. Recently she started to cross into science fiction thanks to the suggestions of some very excellent bloggers.
Feast of Souls is the first in a dark fantasy series of books called The Magister Trilogy and written by Celia S. Friedman. This is my first reading of any novel written by CSF and as such I am submitting it for my Worlds Without End, Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge.
I really enjoyed this story I must admit. I liked the author’s style of writing and whilst the story isn’t particularly hugely out of character with other fantasy stories or totally unique it was compelling and the author, for me, had a captivating style.
The story basically consists of a strong willed woman, determined against all odds to succeed where others have failed. A man, a prince, dying from a terrible wasting disease, who goes on a quest in search of answers and in between both of these we have a strange and dark force that is about to be unleashed upon the world, a mad, blood thirsty king who will go to any length to conquer and his queen – a gentle woman born of a race of people granted innate powers to protect the world in it’s greatest need.
