Book Review: Elfland by Freda Warrington
Posted on September 10, 2013 2 Comments
Genre: Fantasy, romance
Series: Aetherial Tales #1
Publisher: Tor
Author Info: www.fredawarrington.com
It’s hard not to judge a book by its cover when the cover is as beautiful as this. Especially when, as you read along, you discover that the imagery isn’t just there merely for aesthetic value, but actually does reflect the story itself.
For me, slipping into Elfland was like overhearing bits of an intriguing conversation. I sort of knew what the conversation was about, and was enticed to learn more as Warrington allowed me into this secret world of Aetherials – fae creatures living along side us in the human world.
The story centres around the Fox family whose lives are intertwined with the cold, sometimes violent members of the Wilder family. Every seven years, the Aetherials gather at Freya’s Crown to re-enter and reconnect with the Spiral on the other side of the Great Gates, but Lawrence Wilder refuses them entry this time, warning them of a great and deadly foe from whom he, as the chosen Gatekeeper, must protect them. Sealing the gates serves as the underlying conflict of the story, with the adult Aetherials angry at Lawrence’s decision, while the younger ones lose their opportunity to truly understand their heritage since they are not allowed to participate in the ritual until they are sixteen. The broken connection to the Spiral also means that the Aetherials will eventually lose their powers and even their memories of being Aetherials at all.
Warrington takes the reader through the lives of these families, mainly seen through Rosie Fox, the main character, but with occasional points of view from others, including her younger brother Lucas and the troubled Wilder boys, Jon and Sam. I really liked the smooth transition through time, beginning with the children at a young age, travelling through to adulthood and all the strange and very human issues they all deal with along the way. Their Aetherial natures play a part through the story, but it is almost secondary. I became so wrapped up in their lives that when the Gates were inevitably opened three quarters of the way in and we get to see the other side, I was a bit upset because I wanted their normal human lives back, crazy emotional conflicts and dysfunctions and all! I managed to get over this and was then swept away in the beauty and magic of Elfland and may have shed a few tears over the wonderful, not quite fairytale ending.
My only disappointment is a minor one over all. It involves the human characters whose depiction and motivations are a bit shallow. One human in particular serves merely as a plot device with obvious outcomes and the character becomes somewhat unjustifiably vilified because of it. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the second, which I already own because… just look at that pretty cover…
10 Audiobook Narrators We Love
Posted on September 9, 2013 8 Comments
It’s no secret we’re huge fans of audiobooks here on The BiblioSanctum. Whether you’re on the road, busy working, or just generally have your hands too full to read, listening to audiobooks is a great way to enjoy books thanks to the talented voice actors and actresses who narrate them. This “10…” post is inspired by some of our favorite narrators who bring these stories and characters to life!
SIMON VANCE
At the top of our lists is Simon Vance. The quality of his performances is undeniable, and if you doubt us, he’s got the Audie and Earphone Awards to prove it. And the sheer number of books that he has narrated is staggering! It’s no wonder the majority of the audiobooks on our Audible.com wishlists are narrated by Mr. Vance, including books we’ve already read, but want to hear him read it anyway. None of us could pick a favourite performance, so instead, why not check out his favourite!
LORELEI KING
Mogsy says: An accomplished actress, Lorelei King is definitely a favorite narrator of mine. Not only that, one of the first audiobooks I ever listened to was read by her – Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. I thought they couldn’t have chosen a better voice for Mercy Thompson, and since then I have picked up most of the other audiobooks in the series. Sure, I could have read the books, but I’d much rather listen to Ms. King’s performance. She certainly made an impression on me, and played a huge part in launching my interest in audiobooks.
GIDEON EMERY
Wendy says: My mage may have fallen in love with Fenris almost entirely because of his voice in Dragon Age II. And I may have started listening to The Laundry Files series entirely because they are narrated by Gideon Emery. Emery’s voice peppers many other video games that I play, so why shouldn’t I let him invade my reading hobby too. Lest you think my opinion of his narration is entirely biased by my infatuation, I am pleased to report that he does an excellent job narrating the Atrocity Archives, expertly maneuvering through various characters and bringing the right amount of feeling to each of them.
JAMES MARSTERS
Tiara says: Most people know him as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fewer people know that he narrates Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files with the exception of one book. Admittedly, as a fan of the short-lived show, it took me a minute to get over the fact that he wasn’t Paul Blackthorne when I listened to Fool Moon, but once I did, I was impressed with how he really brought the book to life and made a promise to listen to the rest of this series on audiobook due to his amazing performance. He has the perfect voice and attitude for the urban fantasy series.
MICHAEL PAGE
Mogsy says: The fantasy audiobook lover will be no stranger to Michael Page. His recent performances I’ve enjoyed include books by Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch, but Mr. Page has been narrating audiobooks since 1984 and has recorded over two hundred titles and won several awards since. In the past, I’ve been motivated to pick up the audiobook versions of several books on my TBR solely based on his name attached to them, which probably accounts for the great number of fantasy titles he’s narrated in my library.
WILL PATTON
Wendy says: When I started listening to The Raven Boys, I was a bit surprised that a male was narrating a book with a female lead, surrounded by a large group of females. I’m still a bit new to audiobooks, so this might be more common than I realize, and there are male characters, some of whom have their POVs front and centre. Either way, once I got over my little mental stumble, I came to really enjoy Patton’s narration, and particularly loved the voice he gave to my favourite character, Ronan. I’d describe him as a dangerous creature, a poisonous coil ready to strike who deals only in cold, hard truth. Patton found all of those elements in Stiefvater’s writing and brought them to life in his narration.
JONATHAN DAVIS
Tiara says: No, not Freak On A Leash Jon Davis, but how metal would that be? Jonathan Davis/Narrator, as I often see his named written probably because there are so many people named Jonathan Davis, has an impressive catalog of books he’s narrated ranging from Star Wars to Halo to Vonnegut’s Galapagos. I first heard him narrating one of the tales in the book Stories and again in a book about human sexuality called Sex At Dawn. I felt he was one of the stronger narrators in both books. Recently, I’d listened to D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker because it included two things I loved, history and magic, and I really loved Jonathan’s performance and how he brought the pre-Revolutionary War world of the conjurer Ethan Kaille to life.
MARC THOMPSON
Mogsy says: Star Wars books are a guilty pleasure of mine, and I’ll read them whenever my brain is in need of some pure mind candy. Ever since I discovered their audiobooks, though, I’ve been indulging in them a lot more. One reason for this is because of Marc Thompson. Between the wide range of voices he does and the wicked pew pew sound effects, Star Wars audiobooks are actually fun. Mr. Thompson also has the overwhelming task of making the average of 30-40 characters in each book all sound distinct, while emulating the voices of prominent personalities or alien species that are already well established in media like the Star Wars movies, games, or TV. I’d say he handles it spectacularly — just check out this video on how he can pull off his Star Wars character voices spontaneously, including Yoda, Han Solo, C-3PO and more.
ALESSANDRO JULIANI
Wendy says: Juliani played one of my favourite characters in Battlestar Galactica and I recently listened to him narrating John Scalzi’s contribution to the scifi compilation, METAtropolis. He and Scalzi were definitely the highlight of the compilation. Juliani captured Scalzi’s lighter tone, playing up the straight-faced sense of humour without losing the ‘moral of the story.’ While I didn’t enjoy the rest of this particular book, I’m glad I listened to it because now I intend to listen to more books narrated by Juliani.
SUZY JACKSON
Tiara says: I did not really care much for The Drowning Girl, but I thought Suzy Jackson did a phenomenal job narrating the book. She played the part of Imp so well, but sadly, the story itself never grabbed me. Suzy Jackson’s performance did, though, and I went in search of other books she might’ve narrated. Surprisingly, I’d heard pieces of quite a few of them such as The Beauty Myth for a discussion I participated in and I’d listened to the story she narrated from Kiss Me Deadly. She doesn’t have a huge collection of book she’s done. She seems to be an up-and-coming narrator, but if she continues to deliver strong performances, she’ll be someone we’ll see (or hear, rather) often.
YA Weekend Book Review: The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Posted on September 8, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of The Assassin’s Curse
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Date of Publication: October 2, 2012
Author Information: Website | Twitter
This book sounded fascinating from its description, with words like “Pirates” and “Assassins” leaping out at me and pushing all the right buttons. And while Angry Robot’s young adult imprint Strange Chemistry has only just celebrated their one year birthday, they’ve already made a name for themselves in my book with their wide variety of unique and interesting titles. So, I’ll admit I was going into this with rather high expectations.
A strong point for this book is that it doesn’t waste time getting started. Our protagonist and narrator Ananna of the Tanarau faces a difficult and undesirable situation on page one. Hailing from a family of pirates, she is being forced by her parents to marry a scion of another pirate clan. As handsome as he is, Ananna dislikes him right away and figuratively jumps ship on her impending nuptials, leading the jilted young man’s family to send an assassin after her.
And yet, I found the story’s momentum rapidly loses it steam, even after Ananna and her would-be assassin Naji faces off one night and their skirmish accidentally results in a curse binding them together. Their subsequent quest to break it involves a journey to far off lands, impossible magic, and encounters with strange characters and creatures. On the face of it, that might sound like a lot, but very little of it actually advances the plot.
In essence, I think there’s a lot of potential for this series, but this first book read like one long introduction. I waited for it to pick up, but there was really no climax. Upon completing this, I got the impression that I won’t get into the real meat of the story until the next installment. It just felt like a very risky way to manage the pacing and a strange place to end the book, with no cliffhanger or anything, just a straightforward promise of more to come.
To its credit, though, the novel does give you plenty of reasons to want to continue with the series. Seeing how Ananna and Naji manages to break the curse will be plenty motivation enough, but their relationship also grows with complexity and is rife with romantic tension throughout the entire book. Those who are interested in seeing what becomes of that will probably want to pick up the next one too.
Bottom line, I don’t think a whole lot happened in this book, but it does a decent job setting up the situation and the players. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities for book two.
Book Review: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
Posted on September 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Series: Stand-alone
Publisher: William Morrow
Date of Publication: April 30, 2013
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I’ve always adored horror novels that incorporate paranormal elements or a touch of the fantastical, and considering my enjoyment for such types of books written by Stephen King, it’s a wonder to me why I waited so long to check out something by his son, an acclaimed author in his own right.
Why I thought this was a great book, reason the first: it succeeded in creeping me out. Honestly, why else would I pick up a horror novel? I mentioned before how much I appreciate having fantasy in my horror, because rather than dulling my fear by being “less realistic”, a story with supernatural aspect actually accentuates it. In NOS4A2, Joe Hill manages to balance the “world of reality” and the “world of imagination” perfectly, sometimes blurring the lines.
In this way, a tale about a predator named Charles Manx who snatches children from his vintage Rolls-Royce becomes even more frightening when you think about how in this world of mystical powers, secret places and hidden roads, anything can happen. Manx’s powers are even more disturbing, when you find out that his Wraith car has the ability to transport its riders beyond the veil to a place called Christmasland, which at first sounds like a wonderful place, except every moment a child spends there they lose more and more of themselves. Knowing that this villain uses his young victims’ love of Christmas against them makes this book even more chilling.
Which brings me to another reason why I found this book so effectively unsettling: the fact that this is, in a way, a story about the loss of childhood innocence. Like Manx, our protagonist Victoria McQueen also has a power, which she discovers at 8 years old, when a rickety old covered bridge appears whenever she rides her bike, always leading her to exactly what she’s looking for. Years later and seeking trouble as an angsty teenager, the bridge leads Vic to her first traumatic encounter with Charles Manx.
The events in Vic’s past will remain with her forever, but all powers also have their costs. As she grows into adulthood, her memories and power change her life, her personality, her relationships with the people close to her. Her struggles with these changes are a big part of why I felt drawn to her character, because it’s easy to sympathize with her desire to be a good person and do the right thing, even if it means facing her greatest fears and returning to the worst time of her life.
Joe Hill builds Vic up to be this fully-realized and well-defined character, so that her fears became my fears, what she cared about became what I cared about, and what she wanted became what I wanted, too. Indeed, it’s not just the thrills and suspense that got me into this novel, but also the factors involving Vic’s emotions and relationships with her parents, Lou, and her son.
It takes a very good storyteller to frighten their reader but to also move them, and in this way Joe Hill’s writing reminds me a lot of Stephen King’s work. This is one seriously talented family. While NOS4A2 may be the first book I’ve ever read by Joe Hill, it certainly won’t be the last.
Wendy’s Book Haul: Blame it on Mogsy
Posted on September 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
*Somebody* who may or may not have already been named in the post title gushed about Stormdancer and happened to mention that it was available at BookCloseOuts. Of course I can’t just get one book from there – have to justify that shipping cost! BookCloseOuts kindly obliged by recommending Three Parts Dead, which I grabbed along with my favourite “parenting” book, NurtureShock.
But this (not) said person didn’t stop there! Promise of Blood is on sale for only $1.99, she tweeted, and Amazon, with its sly, seductive ways, guided my cursor to the one-click buy button. But wait! There’s more! Throne of Glass was a good price and you might as well get the sequel, Crown of Midnight, she said, and then there was all her gushing about the Riyria books, so I had to check out Theft of Swords...
Book Review: Skulk by Rosie Best
Posted on September 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
Skulk by Rosie Best
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Series: Book 1 (so far)
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Expected Date of Publication: October 1, 2013
Author Information: Website | Twitter
My thanks go to Strange Chemistry for providing me a copy of Skulk in exchange for an honest review! Every once in a while I’ll delve into the Young Adult genre for my fantasy fix, and this is one of those books that makes me really glad I do.
The story opens with our protagonist and narrator Meg Banks busy sneaking out of her bedroom window in the middle of the night, carrying a backpack full of spray paint. 16-year-old student by day, graffiti artist by night, her plan is to head up to her school and adorn one of its walls with her work. That night, however, Meg is interrupted when she witnesses the final moments of a dying fox, and is shocked when the dead animal inexplicably reverts back into the shape of a man.
After that, nothing is the same again. Meg suddenly learns that the ability to shapeshift has passed on to her, and she is able to change into a fox at will. In addition, a mysterious blue gemstone has come into her possession. In her investigations to find out more about it, she discovers factions of other people like her all around London — the Rabble, the Horde, the Skulk, the Cluster and the Conspiracy – shapeshifters who all must come together to fight against an ancient threat.
The first thing that hit me about Skulk is that this is not your typical paranormal shapeshifter novel. Not only is the ability to shift into a fox a pretty wild idea, but there are also characters that can change into ravens, rats and even butterflies and spiders (not to mention, thanks to Rosie Best I was also learning all sorts of obsolete collective nouns for groups of animals).
But my favorite part about this book other than its unique premise was the voice of Meg. I admit, when I first learned from the opening pages that she was a rich girl who likes to do things like sneak out in the dead of night to deface her prestigious school’s property with graffiti, I thought she would be one of those annoying YA heroines with a chip on their shoulder and a spoiled attitude. As it turned out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Struggling with her weight and uninterested in the same topics as her friends, in many ways Meg sees herself as an outcast. Along with the physical and emotional abuse she suffers at home from her overbearing politician mother, it wouldn’t have surprised me if Meg turned out to be a melodramatic and curmudgeon-y main character. Instead, she was the opposite. I truly didn’t expect to find her so down-to-earth and just so damn real and genuine. It was easy to love her.
Story-wise, I also thought Skulk was fantastic. Something interesting or life-altering seemed to be happening to Meg in every chapter. On the whole, with only the exception of a couple plot points I found confusing or forced, I found the book intensely captivating. Even the romance angle, which is an aspect I find overdone in a lot of YA novels, was very sweet and didn’t end up dominating or disrupting the overall flow of the story like a rude guest. Rosie Best found the perfect balance for this book, hitting the nail on the head for this and so much more. As such, Skulk is probably one of the best YA novels I’ve read this year.
Book Review: The Rift Walker by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Posted on September 5, 2013 1 Comment
The Rift Walker by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Genre: Fantasy, Steampunk
Series: Book 2 of Vampire Empire
Publisher: Pyr
Date of Publication: September 6, 2011
Author Information: Website
I don’t know what I was expecting when I first got into Vampire Empire, probably something light and fun given its vampire and steampunk concept. But I have to say though, this is shaping up to be quite an impressive series. Somewhere along the way, these books have gone beyond simply being candy for my mind, to the point now where I find myself emotionally invested in the story and its characters in particular.
After the events in The Greyfriar, Princess Adele finds herself back in the heart of the Equatorian Empire, trying to put off her dreaded marriage to Senator Clark of the American Republic. Unfortunately, her husband-to-be is eager to get on with sealing their vows so that the new human alliance can start waging war on the vampire clans of the north. His battle plans, however, involve committing atrocities Adele would have no part of.
Besides, her heart still belongs to mysterious swordsman and great vampire hunter known as the Greyfriar. While I would by no means categorize these books as pure “Romance”, the relationship between Adele and Greyfriar is still a strong element in this series, and I want to highlight it again because it was what struck me in the first book. Theirs is probably one of the most well-written and engaging love stories I’ve encountered in my reading, which I think is why the romance still manages to shine through here amidst all the action and adventure. There is just so much chemistry between these two characters.
To put it into perspective, take this one minor scene in which Adele puts on some inconspicuous clothes as a disguise and asks Greyfriar offhandedly how she looks. His response: “Strong. Determined.” THAT’S how Greyfriar always sees his beloved! And the world of significance behind his simple two-word answer is like the biggest turn on ever. In any book, the fact that two lovers can originate from vastly different backgrounds but still be able to stand together and treat each other as equals is a very important thing for me.
Quite honestly, despite the various action scenes in the first quarter or so of this book, I find I could not enjoy myself to the fullest until the the two of them were reunited. After that, I was happy and relieved, even if they did get themselves into more than a few harrowing situations, and as ever the vampire clans are a constant threat.
In these books, vampires are a whole separate species from humans, with their own civilizations and desires to expand and conquer. With the humans driven south, a lot of this series takes place in an area of the world not frequently seen in vampire fiction. The seat of Equatoria is in Alexandria, and with the displaced people from all nations and faiths coming together as one to defeat the vampires, I also loved the diversity in the cast of characters.
With secrets blown wide open, the war with the vampires raging on, and Adele and the Greyfriar’s future hanging in the balance, I have a feeling there’s a lot in store for me in the third book. Can’t wait to read the conclusion to this trilogy!
Note: I received a review copy of this book compliments of the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinions. Thanks, Pyr/Prometheus Books!
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas
Posted on September 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1
I’m a sucker for art books and it took all my will not to tell Labyrinth Books to shut up and take my money when I stopped at their row upon row of shelves at Fan Expo last weekend. My bank account wouldn’t have been happy, so I wisely opted to get only this, since it was far more than an art book dedicated to a game series that I love.
The World of Thedas is just what the title says it is. Think of it as a wiki on beautiful, beautiful crack. There definitely is artwork included. Every page is covered in it. But I’m all about the lore and there is no shortage of that here, from Andraste to Zazikel and everything in between, including fashion, politics, landscapes, magic, countries, timelines, religion and more.
Favourite characters do appear, with a brief comment on their relevance to a particular entry (e.g. Isabela is placed within the Rivain section, Morrigan is in the section on apostates), but the focus is on the world itself.
As a big fan of the Dragon Age series, this is a must have for me. It will keep me content while I patiently wait for Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Patiently….
Cover Lover: #DiversityinSFF
Posted on September 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
In Conversations with Octavia Butler, my favourite author explains to her various interviewers that, when she began writing science fiction, the genre was dominated by 30 year old white male protagonists. Initially, she attempted to follow suit, but decided her work was crap. When she embraced a more diverse world and universe, an inspirational award winning author was born.
This [fantasy] genre is rooted in the epic — and the truth is that there are plenty of epics out there which feature people like me. […] So given all these myths, all these examinations of the possible…how can I not imagine more? How can I not envision an epic set somewhere other than medieval England, about someone other than an awkward white boy? How can I not use every building-block of my history and heritage and imagination when I make shit up?
There is a growing number of books about and being told by diverse people. These are merely the two that recently caught my eye. Science fiction and fantasy, of all genres, give us the opportunity to step so far away from our prejudices, and I’m really glad to see authors (and now publishers) finally realizing that there is more to our world and beyond than stories about 30 year old white guys.
Book Review: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Posted on September 4, 2013 2 Comments
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1 of Tao
Publisher: Angry Robot
Date of Publication: April 30, 2013
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Alien stories are always a fun ride, especially when 1) the aliens are unconventional, and 2) their relationship with humankind goes beyond the typical invade them/uplift them dichotomy. Alien stories are even more interesting when they’re mixed up in a spy thriller. That being said, the latter isn’t usually my cup of tea, but I have to appreciate The Lives of Tao for not taking itself too seriously and for being just quirky enough to win me over.
I’m also as fond of unconventional heroes as I am of unconventional aliens. A self-doubting, weak-willed, TV-dinner-munching and out-of-shape IT technician working at a dead end job probably isn’t someone who immediately comes to mind when you think of the ultimate secret agent. It definitely wasn’t what ancient alien life-form Tao had in mind either when he had to choose a new host after the untimely death of his last one, but it’s not like he had a choice. That’s how our hapless protagonist Roen Tan woke up one day hearing an alien’s voice in his head.
Two factions make up Tao’s species, the Quasings: the peace-loving Prophus and the savage Genjix. The two sides have been engaged in a covert war for centuries, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. As a high-profile Prophus, Tao finds himself racing against time to whip Roen into shape and to train him in the subtle arts of espionage. His new host must become combat-ready and fast — before the Genjix can discover his identity and eliminate him.
An alien consciousness in a person’s head certainly isn’t a new idea, but like I said before, this book struck me as more unique and scores highly with me because of the complexity in the relationship between the aliens and humans. And that’s not all to it either; the internal conflicts between the Quasings themselves also gave this story a nice spin. Basically, stories about aliens that are out to invade earth and kill everyone are a dime a dozen. It’s nice to read one where the extraterrestrials (or at least a faction of them, anyway) are on our side for a change, and what you do know, aliens can disagree amongst themselves too when it comes to how to deal with us puny humans.
This was a really great book, filled with action and suspense as well as plenty of humor. However, beneath all that is also a very good message. Throughout the course of the novel, we see Roen grow from a loser with low self-esteem to a someone with confidence who’s no longer afraid to fight for what he wants. As unlikely as it sounds, this really is a Cinderella story, with its main character starting out dejected and miserable but ending up a much happier and healthier man. Tao taught Roen many things beyond gathering intelligence and martial arts, not the very least is the fact that complaining will get you nowhere. If you want something, you have to work for it — and getting off your butt is only the first step.
All in all, an entertaining science fiction thriller with a heavy dose of comedy, which almost makes this one feel like an…urban sci-fi? In any case, it’ll be like nothing you’ve read before. I’m looking forward to more by Wesley Chu, and definitely can’t wait until we catch up with Roen and Tao again.
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