Book Review: The Pyre by David Hair
Posted on June 11, 2015 16 Comments
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of The Return of Ravana
Publisher: Jo Fletcher (June 4, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
When it comes to Young Adult fiction, David Hair hasn’t just broken the mold. He’s completely shattered it. His book The Pyre is a substantially revised edition of his 2010 novel Pyre of Queens, inspired heavily by Indian folklore and mythology, even incorporating a reimagined version of the epic Ramayana. The entire novel takes place in India, following the lives (and past lives) of a trio of Indian high school students.
Two story lines occur in tandem over the course of this novel. One takes place in 769 AD in the royal court of Ravindra-Raj, the mad king of Rajasthan. His people live in the shadow of his tyranny, and anyone suspected of sedition or rebellion is quickly tortured and killed. Fearing that Ravindra will come for him next, Madan Shastri, Captain of the Guard, redoubles his efforts to show his loyalty even though his king’s cruel commands sicken him. The court poet Aram Dhoop is a bookish man who is unhappy with the way things are, but lacks the fighting skills or courage to do anything about it – that is, until Ravindra suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances and Aram learns that the king’s wives are to be burned to death on the pyre along with their husband’s body. Aram had fallen in love with the newest of the wives, a young woman named Darya, and in a moment of daring, the poet rescues her from the flames and whisks her off away from the palace. As the guard captain, Shastri is ordered by Ravindra’s son and heir to go after them. Reluctant as he is, Shastri has no choice but to obey.
However, all was not as it seemed. Ravindra’s death and the burning of his wives was actually a part of the mad king’s schemes all along. His plan to rise again as Ravana, the demon-king of the Ramayana was thwarted by Darya’s escape, and now he’ll make them all regret it – for a long, long, LONG time.
Fast forward to a high school in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in the year 2010. Nerdy Vikram, athletic Amanjit and beautiful Deepika are three students whose lives are changed forever when a strange phenomenon is triggered the first time they all find themselves together in one place. Soon, they’re working together to solve the mystery of how the three of them are linked, and the answers they seek may be hidden in the past.
Before reading The Pyre, the only other works I’ve read by David Hair were his Moontide Quartet books, pure epic fantasy albeit with some influences from real life locations, cultures and religions. This book, however, is impressively solid mix of Hair’s understanding and respect for Hinduism, the rich mythology and history of India, as well as the realities of modern life in that country today. The amount of research and care that went into this book to make it as accurate as possible must have been astounding.
Also, for a book that’s being classified by many as Young Adult, it is actually quite mature. Even though the three main protagonists are teenagers, adults will have no trouble enjoying this. David Hair doesn’t pull punches or talk down to his audience, even when it comes to the portrayal of difficult or sensitive themes in both the historical and modern-day timelines. Reflective readers will also find plenty in this book to discuss or think about.
The book is not without its flaws, though in the overall scope of things, they can be considered pretty minor. I thought the story was a little slow to take off, and generally I found the storyline with the three teens in the present to be more interesting and engaging than the storyline with Aram, Shastri, and Darya in the past, though that may be a very personal preference. Even with the very obvious love triangle thrown in, I simply found life Hair’s description of Vikram, Amanjit, and Deepika’s day-to-day lives in modern-day India much more fascinating and unique. After all, how often do I get the chance to read something like that? Whereas, the past storyline didn’t feel that different from reading historical fantasy.
All in all, if you enjoy books that are creative retellings of myths and would like to broaden your horizons beyond stories inspired by the western tradition, you definitely need to put this one on your list. The Pyre is a great opportunity to experience a story featuring diverse locations and characters, not to mention a wonderful read all around.
Tough Traveling: Orphans
Posted on June 11, 2015 58 Comments
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in (and inspired by) The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information.
This week’s tour topic is: Orphans
No one in Fantasyland amounts to anything if they still have both parents. Rule number one. Thanks to Stephanie for the suggestion (and let us all be surprised together that it isn’t in the Tough Guide).
Tiara’s Picks:
… until he took a bullet to the parents.
For this week’s topic, I actually picked all my books with my own children in mind. My picks are all books that I’ve read with my children either aloud (with me reading to them or my son reading them to us) or via audiobooks. Children’s books are ripe with stories about orphans in various fantastic situations who usually go on to do fantastic things. I’ll start off with two of our most recent reads by Diana Wynne Jones.
David Allard (Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones)
David, who is an orphan obviously, comes home from his boarding school where he learns that he’ll have to put up with his awful relatives during his school break. While having a tantrum, the words that David speaks, which he believes he’s made up, cause a wall in his garden to break and a boy named Luke appears, leading to 8 days of mischievous adventure. This was a wonderfully imaginative story that played with Norse mythology with Luke being everyone’s favorite trickster god.
Earwig (Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones )
Earwig is a young girl who was left at an orphanage as a babe with a note that said: “Got the other twelve witches all chasing me. I’ll be back for her when I’ve shook them off. It may take years. Her name is Earwig.” So, her mother may well not be dead. Usually orphanages are dreary places, but Earwig learns that she can make people do whatever she wants. She isn’t keen on leaving when a woman named Bella Yaga adopts her, but she does want to learn more about magic.
An orphaned boy who finds himself in the care of his grandmother learns that witches are real. Not only are witches very real, but they plan to get rid of all the children. Grandma and boy decide they’re not going to have any of that and decide to get rid of all the witches. All of them. In the entire world. Badass.
Peter Nimble (Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier) – As the book itself states:“For those of you who know anything about blind children, you are aware that they make the very best thieves.” Peter is a blind thief, the best thief, who steals a box that contains magical eyes that begin a marvelous adventure for him. What I loved about this book is that Peter’s disability is not treated as some sad, sad thing. He’s given so much agency in this book and accomplishes some incredible things, and it’s for that reason the ending leaves me with mixed feelings.
Jack Blank (The Accidental Hero by Matt Myklusch)
Jack lives at St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost. If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s in the middle of a swamp. Jack loves comics, but one day he finds himself face to face with something straight out of a comic, a robo-zombie. Jack is spirited away to Imagine Nation (get it?) where all heroes and villains originate, and Jack learns his true origins.
The Orphans (Time Snatchers by Richard Ungar) 
A group of orphans are adopted by a man called Uncle for the sole purpose of learning to use time travel to steal valuable objects. However, things are beginning to get a bit complicated and muddled for one of the orphans, Caleb, and he starts thinking about getting away. But how can he when Uncle can find him anywhere in any time? And runaways are not tolerated.
Also because I am actually 12-years-old and also a terrible human being:
Mogsy’s Picks
I’m actually quite surprised Orphans wasn’t listed in The Tough Guide either, considering how you can’t swing a cat in Fantasyland without hitting one (not to be confused with Abandoned-At-Birth children though, because there seems to be a ton of those too). They appear pervasive across every SFF sub-genre there is, so I’m looking forward to see a huge variety of books this week, and it also gives me a chance to use a couple of my more recent reads as well as books I’ve never featured for Tough Traveling before:
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan
North and her bear are one of the main attractions aboard the traveling circus ship Excalibur. Long ago, North’s mother had a similar dance act, until she was killed by her own bear on stage, leaving the orphaned North to grow up raised by the ship’s captain and ringmaster Jarrow “Red Gold” Stirling.
The Liar’s Key by Mark Lawrence
Prince Jalan’s quest party grows in this latest installment of The Red Queen’s War, when Jal, Snorri, Tuttugu and the northern witch Kara come upon an orphan named Hennan in Osheim as they make their way south. They bring Hennan along with them on their journey since after losing his grandfather and only family he had left, the boy had no place else to go.
Defiant by Karina Sumner-Smith
Xhea is a teenage girl who has been living on her own in the depths of the Lower City for as long as she can remember. She survived her early years with the help of an older street girl, until later she disappeared as well. In Defiant, Xhea gets to learn more about her past and the circumstances behind how she was orphaned and left to fend for herself.
Prospero’s War series by Jaye Wells
Orphaned after their mother died, Kate Prospero and her brother Danny were taken under the wing of their crime boss uncle. Not wanting to be part of a dirty magic coven anymore, Kate takes Danny and leaves that life behind in order to start clean. She eventually became a cop, investigating magic-related crimes while also trying to raise her recalcitrant little brother by herself.
Here’s another story about an older sibling taking care of a younger one after being orphaned when their whole family perishes in a fire. Left with nothing, Lucian can only depend on his magical talents to support himself and his sister Juli, working as an artist for the Pureblood Registry since he had not yet reached the age to inherit his father’s title as head of his house.
Master of Plagues by E.L. Tettensor
Nicolas Lenoir is a brilliant detective, but he had help to get where he is today. Sometimes, Lenoir relies on the tips from his informers, one of them being the street urchin named Zach, the boy Lenoir seems to tolerate more than most. The detective sees potential in the young orphan, and attempts to groom the boy to become something more when he grows up.
The Mad Apprentice by Django Wexler
Alice has no one else after her father goes down in a shipwreck, so she is sent to live with her strange “uncle” Geryon, who she’s never even heard of. Geryon turns out to be a Reader, a magic user who can enter the worlds of certain books. He takes Alice on as his apprentice, and she has the chance to meet other Reader apprentices in The Mad Apprentice, many of whom are orphans as well. In this book, she also learns more about what happened to her father.
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
I’m sure I’ve used The Monstrumologist for Tough Traveling before (multiple times, probably) but I can’t help it, I’m an evangelist for this book. The novel is presented as the diary of Will Henry, an orphan working as an assistant/apprentice to the weird Dr. Pellinore Warthrop who is a monstrumologist, someone who studies monsters. IT IS NOT AS CUTE AS IT SOUNDS. In fact, it’s creepy and disgusting. Sometimes, I still find it hard to believe that these books are categorized as YA.
Wendy’s Picks
Being an orphan can really suck sometimes. Especially when you discover the truth about your parents. Like when you find out that your mentor lied to you and your dad is really a jerk but he’d really love it if you came to work for him so you can rule the galaxy as father and son. (Star Wars)
Haha you made out with your sister.
Or when your father takes off to continue his life as an awesome space pirate, leaving you and your brother to suffer abandonment issues and be stalked by a not so nice guy named Mr. Sinister. (X-Men)
LYING, I SAY!
Or maybe you know who your dad is, but because you’re his bastard son, begat with some scullery maid (or so you believe….) you’ve been shipped off to live with your uncle and his young wife who doesn’t like you very much. (Dragon Age)
I know who your mother is…
Or your real dad (brother in the TV series) turns out to be that evil despot you’ve been sworn to kill, while he’s busy doing his best to kill you, or at least turn you evil too. (Legend of the Seeker/Sword of Truth)
Family reunion.
Perhaps the decision to abandon your parent/child relationship has something to do with your dad being an evil demon lord, and you fear becoming like him and instead, use your powers for good. (Teen Titans)
Maybe, after the tragic, tear jerking death of your mom, you become a petty thief and then fate, friends, and a little courage turns you into a hero. But little do you know that the mysterious dad you never knew is actually a pretty big asshole. (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Or you think your mom is a jerk for assassinating your dad, until you learn that you are the product of their love, which is totally against the Peacekeepers rules, and she was forced to choose between killing him or killing you. (Farscape)
A mother’s love…
Maybe, just maybe, your orphan hood is a good one. Or it’s a bad one. Or it’s a misunderstood one. Or it’s all sorts of things because you didn’t realize that your actual parents were test tubes and that you are not the only one… (Orphan Black)
Seestras…
Wow, being an orphan really can suck sometimes…
Comic Stack 06/10/15: GraphicAudio Review: The Death of Captain America by Larry Hama
Posted on June 10, 2015 21 Comments
I’m doing something a little different for my comic stacks this month since I’m “celebrating” Audiobook Month. At first I thought I would forgo my stacks for the month and just review audiobooks, but then I thought of something better! I have been wanting to try a GraphicAudio production, which describes itself as a movie in your head, for quite some time. Among books listed there include many comics and books such as Mistborn, Dante Valentine, and Cemetery Girl. All their books include a full multi-voice cast, music, and action sound sequences.
The Death of Captain America (novelization) by Larry Lama
Publisher: GraphicAudio (December 22, 2014)
Length: 6 hrs
I was impressed with the quality of the story that I decided listened to, which was the novelization of The Death of Captain America. I chose that book as a safety measure. This is my first venture into GraphicAudio, so I decided to go with content I was familiar with. I am very familiar with Marvel’s Civil War that led to the eventual death of Captain America. That is not a spoiler, so don’t get your underwear in a bunch. It’s right in the title, and it’s not some clever word play. Captain America’s death is not the denouement of this story. It’s a catalyst. His death plays a vital role in the emotions and decisions of those closest to him. It makes them face who they are and who they want to be in the wake of Captain America’s death. It shows their loyalty to one another even in precarious situations because something of the Captain lives in them all.
Before I get to the meat of the review, let me just make dying whale noises about Captain America while I emotionally spin in my chair.
What do you mean am I crying? I’m not crying. You’re crying. Leave me alone.
I read The Death of Captain America graphic novel, and I loved it. I enjoyed the audio narration of the events just as much. This audio presentation just filled out scenes for me, adding more depth to an emotionally tense moment. I especially loved Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier), Sam Wilson (Falcon), and Sharon Carter’s (Agent 13) role in this story as they dealt in their own ways with the tragedy from dignified acceptance because that’s what Cap would’ve wanted to outright wanting revenge against the people who they blame for his death (Tony Stark) while trying to pull together as support. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Civil War angle, but I credit it with being the story that made me love Captain America without question. He went from being more than just the penultimate good guy and really became a hero in my heart. I still get goosebumps when I think about his iconic stand where he says he’s not the will of the government but the will of the people.
His death during Civil War was monumental for me, even though I knew Marvel would never allow him to actually stay “dead.” This story still meant a lot to me and touched my heart, and this audiobook managed to capture so many of my feelings. The idea of Captain America in his final moments still trying to be that pinnacle of heroism while holding on to that empathy that still made him able to forgive even in his final moments. The fact that, even though he fought Tony, he never thought less of Tony or didn’t consider him a friend or someone he trusted beyond doubt. (Even though to it took me a long time to stop hating Tony Stark’s damn guts thanks to Civil War and again in Avengers vs X-Men) I’m going to quote something from my review of Captain America: The Chosen by David Morrell, which sums up how I feel about Captain America:
But part of, maybe even a large part of, the traits that make Captain America who he is doesn’t have to do with physical conditioning, but his indomitable will and the virtues he holds close to his heart, and this was something he had even before he became Captain America. This is something that anyone can have and extends beyond beliefs, race, citizenship, etc. Captain America knew this and admired the people who didn’t have his conditioning, but performed their duties every day. He questioned if ordinary people could go out there and risk their lives to help others, what made him any different? What made him better? Just because he may be physically superior to them didn’t make him better. You don’t have be Captain America to embody the virtues of courage, honor, sacrifice, and loyalty. You can find these same “hero” traits in doctors, teachers, farmers, any average person in the world. Everyone has the potential to be a Captain America. It’s not always the strength of body that makes a hero.
And this is Captain America in his purest form, who he’s always been. Captain America has always did his very best to embody virtues that everyone has and encouraged these same virtues in others. He’s not perfect, but he believes in standing up for what’s right, even when it’s not what others may want. Scenes like this touched me to my core with and reminded me why I love Captain America so much:
This audiobook continued to solidify what made the character special for me. Even in death, Cap’s influence is everywhere, leaving behind a legacy that tries to remind his friends and family that they don’t have to stoop to the level of their enemies to make a change. There were lovely scenes where Cap’s friends would basically ask themselves and each other, “What would Captain America do?”
An example. Bucky finds himself in a bar brawl after a veteran said that Captain America didn’t deserve a service funeral, that he was a traitor that hated his government and disrespected the uniform. After Bucky vented his frustrations on the guy with his fists, Sam asked him if that’s what Cap would’ve wanted. Bucky admits that Captain America would’ve stood up to the man and told him that if we always listened to our government we’d still have slavery and women wouldn’t have any of the rights they’ve fought so hard for and continue to fight for and he would’ve walked away from the man because Captain America was a stand up guy who followed his own advice: “It wasn’t about blindly supporting your government. It was about knowing what your country could be, what it should be… and trying to lead it there through your example.”
This was a well produced piece of work. The voice actors were excellent. I’m sort of bad about having a hard time getting over voices if they don’t sound like their actors in their cartoons or movies.I didn’t have that problem here. Sin’s maniacal laughter was so great and just fit her personality perfectly, and Sam’s voice gave me flutters. It was action packed and emotional. The only complaint I have, and this is a complaint I usually have for full productions like this, is that sometimes the music and action noises can make it hard to hear the dialogue. That’s only a little annoyance over the overall story. Another small little annoyance for me, which isn’t exactly this story’s fault, is that it doesn’t hold the same level of emotional impact it did when its graphic novel counterpart originally came out because, well, Captain America alive and well now. I’m listening to this book, and he’s alive and well now. Also, as with any comic, especially comics from one of the Big Two, there’s some corniness here that might make you roll your eyes, but it’s not prevalent. Caveat: I can’t recommend this story to those who aren’t familiar with Civil War (and I may do something crazy and start a Road to Civil War read through since the next Avengers movie will take elements from it). You’ll miss a lot of context by trying to read this. Excellent work on this, though.
Story: 
| Performance: 
| Overall:
https://soundcloud.com/graphicaudio/marvel-death-of-captain-america-sample
Waiting on Wednesday 06/10/15
Posted on June 10, 2015 10 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick:
Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman: October 6, 2015 (Saga Press)
You all know I have a thing for fantasy fiction with western vibes, so my attention was immediately piqued when I stumbled upon this book. The description is a bit sparse, but the there’s an aura of dark and mysterious magic that really appeals to me. And really, any mention of the wild west is enough already to put this on my list of books to possibly check out.
“A heroic fantasy by an award-winning author about a young woman who is trained in the art of the sinister hand of magic, but at what price?
Isobelle, upon her sixteenth birthday, makes the choice to work for the devil in his territory west of the Mississippi. But this is not the devil you know. This is a being who deals fairly with immense—but not unlimited—power, who offers opportunities to people who want to make a deal, and they always get what they deserve. But his land is a wild west that needs a human touch, and that’s where Izzy comes in. Inadvertently trained by him to see the clues in and manipulations of human desire, Izzy is raised to be his left hand and travel circuit through the territory. As we all know, where there is magic there is chaos…and death.”
Tiara’s Pick
Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer: September 2015 (Tor)
I’ll let the summary speak for itself for this book, but creative uses of magic and music, I’m here for it.
“Long ago, poets were Seers with access to powerful magic. Following a cataclysmic battle, the enchantments of Eivar were lost–now a song is only words and music, and no more. But when a dark power threatens the land, poets who thought only to gain fame for their songs face a task much greater: to restore the lost enchantments to the world. And the road to the Otherworld, where the enchantments reside, will imperil their lives and test the deepest desires of their hearts.”
Audiobook Review: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
Posted on June 9, 2015 16 Comments
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Audible Inc. (May 26, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Narrator: Almarie Guerra | Length: 14 hrs
In this day and age where one can’t even walk into a bookstore’s sci-fi section without a few dozen dystopian titles getting thrown in your face, I have to say Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife really impacted me in a big way. It put me in mind of an eccentric high school teacher I once had, who was a little obsessed with doomsday scenarios. He used to be fond of saying that if the civilizations were to crumble or if the whole world were to go to war, it wouldn’t be over things like a pandemic or nuclear war. No, it would be for water – fresh, drinkable water without which none of us can survive.
Indeed, Bacigalupi paints a rather bleak, hellish picture of a place where water is scarce and more valuable than gold, a resource for which people are willing to kill and destroy. Drought has ravaged the American Southwest, changing the physical and political landscape. States like Nevada and Arizona clash viciously over shares of the Colorado River while bigwig California looks on, and states like Texas and New Mexico have long since given up the ghost. Las Vegas employs mercenaries like Angel Velasquez as “Water Knives”, hired to “cut” water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and its boss, Catherine Case. This ensures continued survival for her lush arcology developments in the hot desert, where the rich luxuriate in cushy comfort while elsewhere cities like Phoenix dry up and stagnate for lack of water.
This book follows Angel as he travels to Phoenix to investigate rumors of a new water source for his boss. The story is told through two other perspectives, including a journalist named Lucy Monroe, as well as a young Texan refugee named Maria Villarosa. Desperate and destitute folk like Maria are struggling to make a living in the city while dreaming of one day having enough money to escape north. Lucy, on the other hand, could have left any time she pleased, but years of living in Phoenix has led her to adopt it as her home, and you get a sense that she’d do what she can to try to help the city. When it appears that California is finally making its move to monopolize the river, Angel, Lucy and Maria end up coming together in a precarious alliance to stop a conspiracy and secure a future for the people of Phoenix.
There are many unsettling themes in this book, and not least of all because the scarcity of potable water is a reality for many people in the world. Talk of droughts in California and in the American Southwest in the news today makes The Water Knife seem less like science fiction and more like a commentary on current issues. If seeing pictures of the immaculate green lawns and freshly filled-pools of the rich and famous during a drought make your blood boil, then this book will take that fury to a whole new level. It’s really hard to read about this divided America where characters like Maria were driven out of Texas after their water got shut off, only to be treated like interlopers when they have no choice but to migrate to Arizona. Girls like Maria’s friend Sarah turn to prostitution as a last resort, servicing those wealthy corporate types for whom a single shower may use up more water than a poor person in Phoenix might see in an entire week. Then to rub salt in the wound, the girls’ money gets taken away by the local gangsters, never allowing anyone a fair shot to work themselves out of this nightmarish situation. There’s a lot in this book that’s hard to take.
It’s also heavy on graphic violence, descriptions of torture both during and after the act, and generally features many scenes of groups of people doing terrible, unspeakable things to other groups of people. If you are squeamish about such things, you should probably go in prepared to read some pretty sick stuff. To the book’s credit, while there’s certainly no shortage of examples in here when it comes humanity’s lowest moments, there are nonetheless many instances of characters stepping up to show an extraordinary amount of bravery and compassion. Despite being categorized as a sci-fi thriller, The Water Knife is also a very human story, where characters are intimately touched by plot events as well as the lives of other people.
The book isn’t exactly a light read, even in the audiobook format I listened to, with its heavy themes and also some parts which are quite drawn out with descriptions. But for all their lengthiness, I think I have these sections to thank for making the world of The Water Knife one of the most detailed and fleshed out dystopians I’ve read. Southwestern America has reverted back to a kind of wildness, a melting pot of disparate rhythms and cultures where Red Cross aid workers, rich Chinese businessmen, underworld crooks, poverty-stricken refugees, sensationalist media journalists, religious evangelists, and dangerous mercenaries all commingled together in a dying city. This also makes the audiobook of The Water Knife worth experiencing, as narrator Almarie Guerra delivers a performance filled with a great variety of accents and voices, and it’s one of the best I’ve ever heard.
This is the first book by Paolo Bacigalupi I’ve ever read, but if this is the kind of originality and well-rounded quality I can expect from his writing, it certainly won’t be the last. I really enjoyed The Water Knife, and I look forward to checking out the author’s previous work as well as his future books.
Book Review: Clash of Iron by Angus Watson
Posted on June 8, 2015 7 Comments
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of The Iron Age
Publisher: Orbit (April 14, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
*Splutters with disbelief*
Yeah, if I could leave my impressively eloquent analysis of this book at just that, I would. But no. This review is going to have details (or at least as much as I can give), dammit, and I’m going to do my best to articulate my thoughts while trying to hold myself together lest I fall to pieces.
Honestly though, I’m at a complete loss as to how to review Clash of Iron. Has this every happened to you? You’re just reading a book as normal, all the while taking down mental notes on what you’re going to say about it, when all of a sudden the ending comes at you so hard that the shock and awe of it just drives every single thought out of your head?
This is me right now. I am dumbfounded. Stupefied. I still can’t believe that ending really happened.
But let’s back up a bit to talk about what the book is about. In a word, Clash of Iron is about war. Lots and lots of war. It is the second novel in Angus Watson’s Iron Age trilogy and sequel to his brilliant, epic debut Age of Iron which was one of my top reads of last year. At the end of that book, our heroes Dug and Lowa managed to capture Maidun castle and free it from the brutal grip of its tyrant king Zadar. Lowa has usurped him and taken over his reign as Queen of Maidun, but unfortunately it seems, just in time to meet a massive invading Roman army coming from Gaul! The British Isles are thrown into disarray as its disparate tribes go to battle against each other instead of forming a united front against Julius Caesar, the Roman’s military genius who has his sights set on their homeland.
First I feel the need to warn that like its predecessor, Clash of Iron is as brutal and bloody as ever. As expected, there are many violent battles, lots of split skulls and tons of dismembered limbs flying about. There are also more intimate, disturbing scenes of torture and in general characters doing very unpleasant and painful things to other characters. Watson paints a dark, cruel world in The Iron Age where it doesn’t matter who or what you are; men, women, children, animals can all expect to meet a terrible and gruesome end in this series, so be aware if you’re squeamish about such things to approach these books with discretion.
This sequel, however, does head in a new direction when it comes to other aspects. The story here feels altogether different, with more focus on war. When all the sides aren’t engaging in it, they’re preparing for it, in this new martial climate of Britain. With the threat of the Roman Empire and Caesar bearing down on the Britons, there are whole new challenges to face. In many ways, Clash of Iron is Lowa’s story while I saw Age of Iron as being more Dug’s. As queen of Maidun, she’s now the head of an army of thousands and makes all the important decisions that will decide the fate of her people. As a new ruler, she also faces many new obstacles, such as adversity from all sides – even her own. Meanwhile, Dug takes more of a backseat in this book, retiring to a small farm. Still, all the while, his feelings for Lowa are alive and well and so are hers for him, so their awkwardness around each other provides no small amount of hilarity.
Other old favorites return, though describing Ragnal as a “favorite” is a bit of a stretch, that little double crossing fair-weather weasel. Spring’s presence also diminishes somewhat, though her actual role gets a huge boost. Big things are going to happen, and I have a feeling Spring is going to be at the center of them. Chamanca, the literally bloodthirsty warrior woman who scared the living bejeezus out of me in the first book is also back, though this time I had a lot of fun following her character and actually found myself rooting for her. Then there’s new player on the field, Julius Caesar himself, a man who needs no introduction. Angus Watson’s portrayal of the general had me alternating between feeling horror at his atrocities to laughing my ass off at his quirks.
And of course, we come to the ending. Oh, that ending. There’s nothing I can say about it that won’t be a massive spoiler, so I’ll just state that as shocking and unexpected as it was, I really shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was. You just never think an author would go there. But he does.
Any way you look at it, Clash of Iron will have you feeling exultant. You’ve just read an awesome book. Regardless of anything else, this wildly entertaining read will make you pine for the next one. Bring on Reign of Iron!
More of The Iron Age on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Age of Iron (Book 1)
Graphic Novel Review Bites
Posted on June 8, 2015 7 Comments
A Glance Backward by Tony Sandoval
With thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
My mother recently passed away and the most phenomenal experience for me has been watching my daughters deal with her death. They had a big cry when we told them she was dying, but after that, they have been content. They accepted it and had no qualms about seeing her on her deathbed, hugging her, and reading her one last story.
I’ve seen some reviews that question how this dark fantasy tale of a boy slipping into his imagination to deal with the struggles of life and death and growing up could possibly be for children. Frankly, I believe we don’t give children enough credit for what they can and will deal with in their own way, whether it be with rainbow unicorns and angels, or something dark like this.
The art is beautiful. Soft and intense, with exaggerated features that capture a child’s vision. My disappointment in the book is that it didn’t let the art take us where the story needed to go, relying instead on over-explanation of how a child sees the world, both real and fantastical. In spite of this abundance of explanation, the connection to the book’s deeper meaning comes as a bit of a surprise at the end, though again, I think it would have been better served with more emphasis on letting the imagery tell the story, rather than the words.
The Fade Out, Vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker
With thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
I liked Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me, and really enjoyed Criminal, Vol. 6: The Last of the Innocent, but I think I hit my noir limit with this book.
The Fade Out takes place during the golden age of Hollywood and even features actual stars, including Clark Gable, a favourite thanks to my obsession with Gone with the Wind. The main character is a man suffering from PTSD after the war, who hides his pain in a bottle, and the mystery surrounds a beautiful blond actress, and the look-alike that replaces her. Brubaker is a great writer, but I chalk a lot of my jadedness up to having to see such limited roles for the few women who make it into the story, especially when one of them ends up murdered.
Perhaps noir just isn’t for me at all. The other two books I mentioned, as well as Brubaker’s Catwoman, Vol. 2: No Easy Way Down, have unique elements that really stand out from the noir backdrop, but this just… bored me.
Rat Queens, Vol. 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe
Oh Gary. Gary, Gary, Gary.
What can I say about a series that I have loved so much from day one that I literally buy copies of it to hand out to any of my friends who dare say the words “Rat Queens? What’s that about?”
Volume one wrapped up nicely after introducing the brash, unapologetic Rat Queens, Hannah, Violet, Dee, and Betty, and their various compatriots. It also left us with a nice little cliffhanger involving the great tentacled god of Dee’s cult. Tentacles, cults, fantastic heroines? What more could we want! Well, how about a little back story!
I could see myself in each one of the Queens, but volume two digs a little deeper with background info that includes–my personal item of interest–Violet’s beard, as well as Dee’s existential crisis, and Hannah’s troublesome past. The Queens come head to–uh–tentacle with their enemy, and Wiebe continues to turn the tables on the usual genre tropes as they race to Sawyers rescue with the help of their friends and sort of rivals.
The art is spectacular, even with the switch in artist. Normally, I hate when books switch artists early on, but after the circumstances of Upchurch’s arrest, this is understandable. Stejpan Sejic steps into the job with his own great sense of humour and style.
Graphic Novel Review: Jupiter’s Legacy by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
Posted on June 7, 2015 5 Comments
Jupiter’s Legacy, Book One by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely
Genre: Superhero
Series: Collecting Jupiter’s Legacy #1-5
Publisher: Image Comics (April 2015)
Author Info: millarworld.tv
Wendy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5
A dream leads Sheldon and his team to an island (headcanon says it’s the island from Lost) where they are bestowed with superhuman abilities. Now called The Utopian, Sheldon brings order to the world with his friends and the growing number of superbeings and their children, but not quite in the way his brother Walter and his son Brandon thinks he should, especially when Utopian refuses to allow the superbeings to become involved in political matters.
Millar wrote one of my favourite Superman stories, Superman: Red Son, where a Superman who really does use all of his powers for good shows just how dangerous benevolence in the hands of a very human god can be. The Utopian/Superman comparisons are obvious–presumably intentionally so. Right down to The Utopian’s insistence on awkward, bumbling alter egos. Millar’s penchant for taking the superhero genre beyond the limitations of Marvel and DC’s canon is evident here, with the added touch of superhero children who don’t care much for their imposed responsibilities or how Utopian treats them. None of the supers care for Utopian’s heavy handed rule so their subsequent mutiny shouldn’t come as a surprise–though I initially felt it was played out too abruptly. I was somewhat disappointed in what then seemed like a glossing over of the resulting new world order, but once the focus firmly shifts to the Utopian’s on-the-run daughter and her family, things really start to get interesting and leave me wanting more.
As I said, this book does not have the limitations of DC and Marvel’s canon universes, so Millar is free to do as he pleases. This means upping the murder-death-kill level of violence (though I appreciate that it is well placed, rather than gratuitous), and the powers displayed seem almost limitless, particularly with Utopian’s offspring.
The series sets up a pending collision as the forces of we-think-we’re-not-evil go up against the forces of sort-of-were-evil-without-realizing-it-but-probably-just-mostly-misunderstood. With the ground work of this Millar’s world established, it was these last few confrontational pages that really drew me in and made me want more and am looking forward to the final five issues of the series. I hope to see what family truly means under these terms and how the innocent people under the ruling party’s thumb are handled. Oh and I’d really love it if we could have a bit more racial diversity in the characters kthx.
Book Review: The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan
Posted on June 6, 2015 14 Comments
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Crown (May 19, 2015)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I went into The Gracekeepers very carefully. From what I’d heard, it sounded a lot like the kind of literary magical realism which would require an active engagement of the reader’s imagination in order to fill in the gaps, and books like this with their haunting, dreamlike style can either be a huge hit with me or it can fall flat. After completing novel, I think my feelings hover somewhere in between. Overall I enjoyed the story, but also felt there was a lot that kept me from connecting with it fully.
To start, The Gracekeepers takes place in a world where the ocean has flooded most of the earth, so its people have learned to adapt. Those who have taken to the sea and made their permanent homes aboard ships and other vessels are referred to as damplings, while those who have remained on land are known as landlockers. A class disparity exists between these two groups, with damplings regarded as second-class citizens and often looked upon with condescension and suspicion by the more well-to-do landlockers.
The story focuses predominantly on two characters, North and Callanish. North is a young woman who performs with her trained bear companion as part of her act with the traveling circus ship Excalibur. The circus’s captain and ringmaster Jarrow “Red Gold” Stirling has dreams for his son and North to marry and settle on land in a house he’s spent his whole life saving up for, to the displeasure of Avalon, Jarrow’s pregnant wife who wants that house for herself. Meanwhile in another place, Callanish lives a solitary life while dutifully performing her role as a gracekeeper, an undertaker of sorts who lays the dead to rest at the bottom of the ocean. Callanish and North meet in the wake of a great storm after the crew of the Excalibur is forced to make their way to the gracekeeper to seek her services, and the two are drawn to each other immediately.
Kirsty Logan has created something very interesting here, as far as her world and characters go. The writing style evokes an image of a gauzy shroud enveloping everything in the story with a light aura of enchantment, even though there is little to no magic involved. As I had expected, a bit of imagination is required to find your way through the mist, because even though the world is fascinating, world-building itself is decidedly lacking. There’s a positive side to this if you like getting just enough to inspire the mind, especially if you enjoy a little ambiguity and speculation. For instance, could the waterworld of The Gracekeepers be our own in some distant future, or someplace else entirely? What caused the divide between damplings and landlockers? How did the rituals of gracekeeping first come about and what’s the significance behind the use of graces, small birds that are starved to death in order to mark the end of the mourning period? There are many things that don’t get explained, but perhaps they don’t need to be – similar to the way we’re content to accept folk or fairy tales as they are, because there is simply no need to question them critically. And certain aspects of the narrative – like Callendish’s backstory – are better off being vague because we already have all the information we need to know.
However, while there are the bigger and more general mysteries that I can abide going unsolved, I still felt there were some specific details lacking that hurt the overall cohesiveness of the story. There are two factions – the military and the revivalists – that are important to the plot of The Gracekeepers, but they felt like such a poor fit with the rest of the book because the parts they played were slapdash and written in so randomly. Individuals like North and Callendish are characterized very well, but when it comes to actual character relationships, the story loses some of its magic. I wasn’t even that convinced of the bond between North and her bear, her best friend and companion since childhood who apparently wasn’t even given a name. There are more examples which I can’t go into for fear of spoilers, but with regards to the writing style, it’s probably safe to say that the emphasis is on atmosphere – which, to the author’s credit, she creates very well – but there just isn’t enough substance for me. I would have preferred more reasons to engage with the story and to see everything tie together more neatly.
Still, I would happily recommend The Gracekeepers, even if it does come with a couple caveats. It’s quite an ambitious novel, very well-written considering how the author no doubt achieved the haunting, dreamy effect she was going for. Not as solid as I’d hoped, but the story is nonetheless fascinating and beautiful, walking that fine line between melancholy and optimism, and I found the characters genuinely interesting.
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