Book Review: Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig
Posted on July 17, 2013 3 Comments
I can’t get enough of Miriam Black. I just can’t. I thought the initial delight of discovering this twisted and refreshingly candid series would have worn off a bit by now, but it hasn’t. If anything, I think I’m finally starting to sense of who Miriam is and the direction in which these books are going. Or that might just be wishful thinking. Regardless, I’m still having a blast.
Some time has passed since we last left Miriam and Louis in Blackbirds (book one of the series, my review here). For the sake of their relationship, Miriam has attempted to settle down, living in a double-wide trailer and working as a check-out girl at a local grocery store. No more drifting around the country, and no more utilizing her morbid ability to see and how and when someone is going to die simply by making skin-on-skin contact with them. For Miriam, it means a new life filled with lots of tedium, grin-and-bear-it moments, and constantly wearing gloves.
But a girl can only take so much. Fed up, Miriam packs up and gets ready to hit the road when Louis tells her about Katey, a contact of his who is convinced she is dying and wants to pay Miriam to confirm her suspicions. Eager to be herself again, Miriam readily accepts the job, which is how she finds herself dropped off at a prestigious boarding school for troubled girls where Katey is employed as a teacher. Very soon, Miriam finds herself caught up in much more than she bargained for, when she encounters Lauren, a student at the school whom Miriam’s death visions tell her will die brutally at the hands of a crazed serial killer.
With Mockingbird, I think I feel a little more confident in describing the Miriam Black books as less of a traditional Urban Fantasy series, and more of a Thriller-Suspense with paranormal elements. Given the dark nature of Miriam’s power, I would throw in a bit of horror, too. There are some intensely graphic and frightening scenes in this book worthy of the goriest slasher flicks, and if you’re anything like me, at certain points while reading you’ll likely find yourself squirming in your seat in an uncomfortable-yet-not-too-entirely-unpleasant kind of way.
Though, that’s sort of what I’ve come to expect with Chuck Wendig. His writing and stories can make you desperately want to turn the page and be scared to do so at the same time. His characters and dialogue can induce me to laugh my ass off yet at once make me feel like a terrible person. And I love every minute of it. Why do people go and watch scary movies anyway? On a certain level, we do it for the express purpose of being terrified out of our wits. Similarly, that was why I was so eager to pick up this second installment of Miriam Black — I wanted what I got out of Blackbirds the first time around, to again be shocked, scandalized and enthralled by Wendig’s particular brand of dark humor and suspense. I was not disappointed.
Mockingbird also gave us a better look at who Miriam is as a person. I mentioned in my review of the first book that I know deep down beneath that snarky rough exterior she is good person with a good heart, and here I think we see that a little more in her determination to help the schoolgirls and her refusal to simply walk away from the situation. The origins of her mysterious power are still largely unexplained, but we do get a bit of that too. The best part, though, is this book provided a lot of insight into Miriam’s past, like her childhood and her relationship with her mother, which gave me a better idea of how she became the way she is.
Overall, a very suspenseful and chilling novel which I could barely put down. As a special treat, I bought the Whispersync Kindle/Audible bundle so I was able to listen to parts of this in audiobook format too. The narrator Emily Beresford is fantastic as Miriam Black, her talent coming through especially when she sings the “Mockingbird” song, the serial killer’s rendition of the folk song “Wicked Polly”. The song earwormed itself into my head for days, which I have to say made the book even more memorable and creepy.
Book Review: The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough
Posted on July 16, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Darwin Elevator byJason M. Hough
Expected Date of Publication: July 30, 2013
Wow, what a pleasant surprise this was. My thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an e-ARC of The Darwin Elevator in exchange for an honest review. Loved this book! I don’t think I’ve had this much fun with a new sci-fi novel since James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Wakes.
The book takes place in mid-23rd century Darwin, Australia. The city is home to the last bastion of humanity, thanks to an alien plague that’s wiped out most of the planet, turning its victims into mindless, savage “subhumans” or “SUBS”. The unknown aliens were also responsible for the presence of a giant space elevator that keeps Darwin enveloped in an invisible plague-suppressing Aura. So too, one other effect of the great Darwin Elevator is a clear division of classes, with the privileged “Orbitals” living high up on one end of it, and the less fortunate masses living down below.
Skyler is the head of one of the many scavenger teams that operate out of Darwin, but he and his specially handpicked crew have the distinct advantage of being immune to the plague, allowing them to travel beyond the Aura without the aid of vac-suits or fear of infection. Their immunity, however, does not protect them against the violence of the infected, so it is disconcerting to all when the elevator begins to experience power instabilities, and even worse — cases of SUBS are being reported within the Aura, which everyone had thought was too secure to ever fail. Amidst conspiracies and the rising class tensions, Skyler is unwittingly pulled into a conflict whose result could determine the fate of humanity.
With all the talk of aliens, I first thought I should be settling in for a rollicking space opera, but as it turns out, the story is mostly all earthbound (for now, at least). Despite that, the book still has all the good stuff, just without the space. It’s intense. It’s dramatic. It’s sweeping. And most important of all, it’s fun. Throw in plenty of action and adventure and also some of that post-apocalyptic goodness, and you have this book. The descriptions of the abandoned, desolate and crumbling landscapes outside the Aura put me in mind of games like the Fallout series, just without the radioactivity. You really get the feeling like a subhuman can jump out and attack at any second. It’s fantastic.
Another thing that made me like this book so much was the pacing of the story, the way it teased me into these “not-quite-there” action-suspense sequences at the beginning (that almost got me all frustrated!) before coming down seriously hard with the gun-fighting and battle scenes for real. Basically, things really heat up around the midway point, and they don’t slow down from there.
For a sci-fi novel, this book was also very easy to follow. Even with all the advanced science fiction elements and alien technology, it wasn’t hard for me to grasp the concepts and picture the descriptions in my head. I’m always a fan of books that can do this without bogging the story down with all the techno-lingo. Thanks to very natural and sometimes humorous dialogue, the characters are also very likeable, and even the disgusting perverted pig of an antagonist is someone you’ll love to hate.
All in all, just a really impressive debut. I really wish I’d gotten to this sooner. Can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book, Jason M. Hough is going straight onto my list of new science fiction authors to watch.
Note: Just found out that The Darwin Elevator started life out as a NaNoWriMo project! Even more cool!
Kickstarter Goodies: Arena Mode
Posted on July 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
Keeping my eye out for interesting fiction projects on Kickstarter is something I like to do a lot, and early this year I backed a few promising novels. Seems like July is a great month for all the rewards and other stretch goals to be coming in, because I have another goodies post to share today.
This time, it’s Arena Mode, a science fiction novel by Blake Northcott featuring superheroes as well as original artwork by Marvel and DC artists! Needless to say, the project was a great success.
I’d received the ebook already, but the actual signed and numbered trade paperback showed up on my doorstep this weekend. Shiny! I am 741/750!
In the package were also the 4″ x 6″ cards featuring the original art of the superhuman characters fighting in The Arena. They are gorgeous. So looking forward to reading this book!
Book Review: The Monsters in Your Neighborhood by Jesse Petersen
Posted on July 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Monsters in Your Neighborhood byJesse Petersen
Expected Date of Publication: July 29, 2013
If you ever find yourself with some time on a lazy afternoon, in the mood for a book that’s light, funny and just a little silly, I highly recommend the Monstrosity series by Jesse Petersen. They’re super quick reads and are like pure fluffy cotton candy for the brain. Anyway, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This one is actually a follow-up to Club Monstrosity (see my review here), in which we were first introduced to the motley crew of monsters who meets twice a week in a church basement for their Monstofelldosis Anonymous support group. After the events of that first book, however, the topics of their meetings have understandably shifted from more touchy-feely subjects to war planning and preparations for their fight against the descendent of fiction’s most famous monster hunter and his family, the Van Helsings.
The old gang is back — minus the few we lost in the first book, of course, but there are a couple new additions to the cast as well. Speaking of which, why, yes that is indeed Cthulhu you see on the right side of the cover. I admit my inner Lovecraftian horror fan danced a little jig in glee at the appearance of Patrick, even if the thought of an Old One cavorting with the likes of Natalie, Alec, Kai et al. is more than a bit surreal.
This was a cute story, very funny, and quite similar in nature to the first book, except with more casual swearing than I think I remember. If you’re in the mood for a “popcorn book” or something to lift your spirits or give yourself a break from the stress, this does the trick. It’s told in a very good-humored, teasing way, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Thrusting the issue of social media into the lives of these characters, some of whom are hundreds if not thousands of years old, is also a nice touch. Dracula with an iPhone still cracks me up, though I think the image of Igor watching Sex and the City might give him a run for his money. Like I’ve said before in past reviews, it always fascinates me to see authors tackle re-tellings or satirical takes on fairy tales and classic literature, and putting a light spin on movie monsters ranks up there on my list of interesting ideas.
Comic Review: Star Wars: In the Shadow of Yavin by Brian Wood and Carlos D’Anda
Posted on July 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
Star Wars, Volume 1: In the Shadow of Yavin by Brian Wood
With thanks to NetGalley and Darkhorse Comics for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
The Star Wars universe has become so vast that if you want to look up something on Wookieepedia, you should set aside at least an hour of your time to allow for the multitude of side-clicking you’re inevitably going to end up doing within each entry. Expanded Universe (EU) stories extend into the distant past and the distant future and everything in between, but it seems that the legacy is returning to its roots with a series of new stories focusing on Han, Leia and Luke, directly following A New Hope. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Razor’s Edge, and in the mean time, enjoyed this new comic series.
The most impressive aspect of this story is that it dives right into the fact that both Luke and Leia just watched their lives and the people they loved catastrophically destroyed. Things like that tend to weigh on you, particularly Leia, who was forced to watch the destruction of her entire planet shortly after hours of rigorous torture at the hands of Darth Vader.
This focuses heavily on the fact that Leia has not been allowed, nor allowed herself the time to deal because the situation is still dire. The destruction of the Death Star has only increased pressure on the Rebel Alliance and her role as a leader means she is constantly working and constantly needing to prove herself. The pressure rises even more when Mon Mothma tasks her with forming and leading a black ops team of pilots. Their purpose: find a new location for the Rebel base and root out the traitor in their midst. Leia herself gets to fly the sleek new X-Wings, revealing yet another of her skills.
Luke doesn’t feature as prominently as expected, though he and Wedge are part of the team. Luke is played up a bit more as the cocky kid we saw in A New Hope, rather than the more subdued and stoic Luke that starts to develop in The Empire Strikes Back. His attitude reminds us that he is barely twenty years old, so his actions are somewhat understandable. But that means that Leia is the same age, revealing the stark contrast of maturity and responsibility between them. I would have liked to see far more that conflict, but instead, we get the more simplistic love triangle plot device that plays out weakly for all involved.
Meanwhile, the fallout from Yavin has affected others as well. Namely, Darth Vader, whom the Emperor is pretty mad at for letting a wee X-Wing blow up an entire space station. Vader has been demoted to supervising the construction of the second Death Star and spends a lot of time mulling over the name “Skywalker” and what he sensed from the pilot that destroyed the Death Star.
And last, but certainly not least, is Han Solo. Joining up with the Rebels has tagged him and Chewie, their career as neutral smuggler and leaving them no other options but to continue working with the Alliance. Mon Mothma has entrusted him with a significant amount of credits to broker a deal with a contact. Is Han worthy of that trust? Hmmm….
Overall, I liked the elements of the characters and story that are introduced. There is a lot of potential for interesting intrigue and character development, with some reasonably good gun and dogfights tossed in for good measure.
Book Review: Ascension: A Tangled Axon Novel by Jacqueline Koyanagi
Posted on July 13, 2013 2 Comments
Ascension: A Tangled Axon Novel by Jacqueline Koyanagi
With thanks to NetGalley and Masque Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Alana Quick is a sky surgeon, as evident by her long locs. She loves ships as one loves a significant other and has lost a few of the latter because she places her work first and foremost in her life. But she’s never actually left her homeworld in one. There is little money in her line of work, but she loves it too much to ever consider doing anything else and she refuses to sell out to Transliminal, the reigning corporation that offers promises of magic and money – and the potential cure for Alana and her Aunt Lai’s debilitating muscle disease.
When a ship arrives seeking Alana’s sister Nova, Alana obeys the ship’s summons and leaps on the opportunity to stow away in hopes of proving herself worthy of joining the ship’s crew. Captain Tev is understandably mad about this, but since they still need her sister, Tev allows Alana to remain on board. A catastrophic event following their retrieval of Nova turns ship and all onboard into hunted criminals who must get to the heart of Transliminal to both clear their name and achieve their initial goals.
In her bio, Koyanagi describes a desire to write books featuring atypical heroes and social structures. One review complained about the dearth of male characters. This isn’t Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned where all but one male has died off. There are male characters, they just don’t have prominent roles in the story. Fiction presents an opportunity for writers to venture far beyond the stereotypes and prejudices of reality, yet so often, we keep seeing white male-centric books with the occasional, lovingly described token people of another race and/or gender. Although I’d prefer to see greater equality over all, I can definitely forgive a writer who chooses to defy the standards and present a female dominated world without needing an explanation for it.
In keeping with Koyanagi’s atypical protagonist, Alana and several other characters are queer, but I was more intrigued by the incorporation of Alana’s disease. Considering her line of work and how reliant she is on her body as much as her mind, the cost of her medication, her desire to get treatment for herself and her aunt and the limited supply of medication adds an interesting twist to how the crew reacts to her needs, and the constant pain make her work difficult at times.
There were certain elements of the story, particularly the Tangled Axon and her crew, that reminded me of series like Sol Bianca and Firefly, so I wasn’t surprised by one of the big reveals. I did like the way everything forged together, particularly with Nova. This is Alana’s story, told from her PoV, but, considering the title of the book, Nova’s part to play is pretty significant. Koyanagi drops hints at this through long speeches from Nova that perhaps could have been more subtly strung throughout the story.
This is also a love story, as hinted at in the blurb. Alana’s attraction to Captain Tev is rivaled only by her attraction to the Tangled Axon and since Tev loves her ship just as much, it’s not hard to see where things are going. The path there is a bit long, but it allows for a lot of character development as Alana attempts to learn about her new crew.
The love story, the ascension, the quest – all come together in an ending that perhaps tries too hard to preach its point with all the shiny, but this is only a minor complaint and not enough for me to dislike the author for wanting to deliver her messages with a little bit of soul glow.
Koyanagi develops an interesting world. Each planet has unique traits that she describes with care. However, there is little overall to explain some of the elements of the world, such as “the breach” or how all this came to be. The latter didn’t bother me too much, though. If this takes place far into human future, I don’t think it completely necessary to dwell on exposition as to how everything came to be as it is, especially if that history does not really influence the story. And if this is just a galaxy far away and long ago, then even better.
As for the main character, I can’t say that I really liked her as a person, but I did find her interesting and very human. I like that she makes a lot of irresponsible mistakes and wasn’t simply accepted into the crew just because her skills proved her worthy. I like the way her obsession with engineering helps her to overcome her constant pain and she’s never defined by or limited because of it.
There are a lot of really great ideas in this book and I definitely appreciate the refreshing take on certain elements within the genre. This was a very ambitious undertaking for a first novel. There is room for improvement in terms of pacing and extraneous wording in descriptions, but overall, a worthy addition to the science fiction universe.
Book Review: The Human Division by John Scalzi
Posted on July 12, 2013 1 Comment
The Human Division byJohn Scalzi
Back when I first started getting into reading more sci-fi, John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series was a great starting point. The books had just the right mix of space travel, aliens and futuristic technology, but were still light enough not to intimidate a relative newcomer to the genre. Now they still rank among some of my favorite books of all time.
So when I found out about Scalzi’s new serialized novel based on the Old Man’s War universe, I became all excited and got set to pick up the new episodes every week from January to April 2013. Unfortunately, I discovered that I am very impatient when it comes to having to wait to find out what happens next, and I’m as bad with books as I am with TV shows when it comes to keeping up with weekly installments. For the latter, I’d much rather buy the complete DVD/Blu-ray box set with all the extras at the end of the season and do a marathon all at once, so I essentially decided to do the literary equivalent with The Human Division.
It will help to have read the previous books in the series, especially The Last Colony, since what happens in The Human Division is the direct result of the drastic events that occur the end of that novel. As such, this review may contain minor spoilers for the books that came before.
For a couple hundred years, the Colonial Union has happily taken advantage of Earth, keeping the planet’s population in the dark while farming it aggressively for colonists and soldiers in the name of human expansion across a hostile universe. Last we saw, John Perry has basically blown the cover off that whole operation. Thanks to him, the people of Earth now know the truth.
Angry and betrayed, Earth considers an invitation from a political alliance made up of 400 alien races — also known as the Conclave, bitter rivals of the Colonial Union. The CU, currently aware of their precarious position, begins to play things more carefully, making every possible effort in politics and diplomacy. An unknown entity, however, may be sabotaging all their efforts.
Being a serialized novel, this was a great mix of thirteen narratives which all come together to tell an overarching story. Some served to push the plot forward while focusing on the main characters, while others acted more as filler but were still invaluable in providing the necessary background information required to follow the story. Like any anthology-type book, there were some episodes I liked more than others, but on the whole they were all very entertaining and enjoyable.
Some highlights for me include Episode 1: The B-Team, the story which serves as an introduction to our main characters, Ambassador Abumwe, Captain Coloma, Hart Schmidt, and Harry Wilson. Wilson, of course, I was glad to see because he’s someone we first met in Old Man’s War, one of John Perry’s friends in the group they’d dubbed the “Old Farts”, so it was nice to be able to catch up with him. This story was also one hell of a start.
Also Episode 2: Walk the Plank, which a one-off short told in transcript form and was a punch in the gut. This just goes to show while John Scalzi’s a funny guy and a delight to read, his stuff’s not all fun and games; he’s also very capable of writing poignant scenes that can fill you with dread. Walk The Plank also reaffirmed my decision to read this novel only after it was complete, as it was a drastic shift from the first episode and I would have been left very confused that week.
Then there were the episodes like #7, The Dog King which were lighter, more humorous and closer to what I expect when I think of Scalzi’s works. There were also pleasant surprises like Episode 10: This Must be the Place which I found heartwarming and quite meaningful. And of course, the final episode Earth Below, Sky Above which was all action all craziness, and had me on the edge of my seat. John Scalzi gets to flex all his writing talents with this diverse collection of stories.
Basically, if you’ve followed the Old Man’s War series up to this point, you really can’t afford to miss this. It continues the story, but the serialization format also made this an incredible experience. Admittedly, I had initial doubts about it, fearing that the novel being presented as individual episodes would make it feel too disjointed, but that was not the case at all. In fact, I actually really liked it. Either I’m just not as bad as I thought at handling serial novels, or John Scalzi is simply really good at pulling this off. It’s probably both.
Like I said, you can get the full-length novel now which includes all the episodes as well as a couple extras, and personally, I so much prefer reading it this way. It appears Scalzi’s been signed on for a second season too, so I’m ecstatic that the adventures in the universe of Old Man’s War will continue.
Review Bites
Posted on July 11, 2013 2 Comments
Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian
Scottie Winston’s wife, sister-in-law, and daughter are all dowsers or “water witches,” meaning they can divine the location of water sources. He finds himself at odds with his family when he lobbies for a ski resort that wants to move into the drought stricken town and use the river to make snow for the resort.
This was an okay book. I was expecting a little more magical realism, but what I got was more of a conservative versus liberals, environmentalist versus non-environmentalist stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I thought I would learn more about dowsing. Now there are some real juicy tidbits in this story like Patience’s belief that a man can’t be a dowser because only women are connected to fluid and to the earth. But mostly it was just a book about differing political/environmental stances.
Blood and Snow by RaShelle Workman
The vampire queen choses a new host body every thousand years. She’s chosen Snow White, a girl who’s spent most of her life being teased about her fairytale name, to be that girl. Snow White is bitten by The Hunter and becomes a being that’s neither human nor vampire.
Ugh, from the seven close male, rich friends living nearby to just EVERYTHING, I was annoyed by this. I know many people enjoyed this, but I’m not sure this story is for me. I think I’ve just moved beyond the phase where I would’ve really appreciated something like this. It managed to do every single thing I hate about some YA novels, but the premise was interesting, which is about its only saving grace right now with me. I’m putting the rest of these books (novellas really) on the bottom of my TBR pile where I will wait for the day I feel compelled to continue this story. Hopefully, later parts will make me forgive this part because it has potential, but this was not it for me.
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
Jake is the world’s last werewolf, and he just turned 201-years-old. Don’t let the years fool you, though. Jake has aged well over the years. Sex and a good diet will do that for a werewolf. However, after finding that he’s the last werewolf after hunters killed the only other remaining wolf, Jake begins to think about how lonely life is and maybe the time of the wolf is over. He decides that he’ll choose his own death. However, there are people who are intent on keeping Jake alive for differing reasons.
I thought the book was well written. But it was a real struggle to get through for me. I had pretty much had to force myself to finish this because I hate quitting books, especially when they’re not technically terrible. The language and style was exceptional, but I found myself spending so much of the book saying, “Can we get to the point, Jake?” which is so rare for because I tend to love rambling and wordiness in books. Jake is like that guy who gets caught up in his own romantic ruminations and obviously likes the sound of his own voice, and you just groan, roll your eyes, and start tapping your watch. I was just tired of him, literally worn out from reading all his thoughts, by the 8th chapter, and after that, the story would get good, but then pull back. I don’t know what this book was trying to do to me. With that being said, I don’t know if I’ll be reading the second book or not right now.
Tigerheart by Peter David
This is a retelling of Peter Pan, called The Boy in this story. Actually, this is the story of Paul Dear, a young boy who desperately wants to go to Anyplace (Neverland) to find something to help his mother who is miserable after the death of his one week old sister. However, his story is strongly tied to The Boy and Anyplace since he needs both to achieve his goals, and in some part of himself, Paul believes that he may actually be The Boy or some manifestation of him.
This was an audiobook listen narrated by Simon Vance. Yeah, you know I love the guy. Even though I’d listened to one book he narrated before this. This book made me realize how consistent and talented he was with his reading, and it helps that he was reading an imaginative retelling, which I love. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I was a little apprehensive at first that I might find it too juvenile for my tastes, but that wasn’t the case at all. Peter David managed to make this book feel like a child who is on the cusp of adulthood. It was both naïve and worldy, innocent and experienced. It was truly an amazing, whimsical story with tones of darkness.
Mom Note: I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this for younger children even if the tone, wording, and pacing “feels right” for younger children. This book is about children and told in that genial tone reserved for children’s books. It’s not necessarily a story that’s “bad” for younger audiences, but they wouldn’t understand the nuances in the story that require some level of maturity to already have been achieved. Examples of this include when the narrator mentions that Paul, being a child, would not understand a woman’s figure or why they might not have wanted to be as “round in the hips” as Fiddlefix (Tinkerbell) or when the narrator notes that The Boy shares with grown men the inability to decide if he wants the significant non-mother female figure in his life, Gwennie (Wendy), to be his mother or his lifemate or when the narrator refers to maturity as “the destruction.” So, for any parent/guardian/adult figure thinking this might be great for a younger audience, it’s not. It’s a book about children, but it’s not necessarily a book for children. I’d say early teens, maybe even kids as young as 11-12, would better handle a book like this one.
Mogsy: A Book That Makes You Happy
Posted on July 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
John Scalzi’s books generally make me happy. I can always count on them to make me laugh (the man can write gruesome death scenes at the hands of merciless aliens and still make them heeeelarious) and they often end well.
A re-imagining of H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzy, Scalzi’s Fuzzy Nation stars Jack Holloway the independent contractor who discovers a rich seam of valuable jewels on Zarathustra, but then discovers the planet may be home to a race of sentient “fuzzys”. These creatures are tiny, furry, cuddly, and ridiculously adorable…how can anyone not feel happy after reading this?!
Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Posted on July 10, 2013 5 Comments
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Every now and then, a book attacks me and holds on tight and when I finish with it, it refuses to let me go. That’s the case with the first book in the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, whom I declare to be my new favourite author. I came to this conclusion not far in, primarily because of her unique way of moulding her characters and settings, bringing everything literally to life. (Yes I know what “literally” means. I use it within the context of the story and the magic of Cabeswater.)
I’ve written off some authors because they obsess with describing everything with pretty metaphors that leave the plot behind. Here, the plot and characters are swept along in a river of descriptions that don’t so much use adjectives or comparisons, but exclusions – descriptions of what the character is not – or things they do or collect that define them. And most often, their actions, gestures and reactions. Because of this, her characters and places always give me a sense of movement, or in the case of Ronan, movement that could come at any moment. By far my favourite character, Ronan is a bundle of venom, poised like a sharp-clawed cat about to strike at any moment. Yet, Stiefvater also gives him the perfect amount of vulnerability and harsh truth to make him more than just the bitter character that should be detested or pitied.
Sometimes I got so wrapped up in her depictions that when I shook myself from their hypnotic power, I was afraid that I’d been carried away and missed what was going on. But nope. Everything was still clear and enticing and as the mystery deepened, I was pulled right along with it.
This is the story of Blue Sargent, a young adult with the ability to strengthen the psychic powers of the women around her, but lacking in those abilities herself. From a very young age, her fate – her curse – was revealed to her: true love’s kiss would bring the death of that person. (Sorry Disney.) Blue does not stress over this destiny until she meets Gansey’s spirit on the Corpse Road, and later meets Gansey himself, who turns out to be one of the dreaded Raven Boys of Aglionby Academy.
This is a young adult book and before I scare some of you away with the seemingly obvious sickly sweet romance plot, allow me to assure you that this is anything but the case. First of all, I really liked the maturity with which Steifvater presents the young adults in the book. The writing style is respectful of the teens Stiefvater writes about, as well as those who might be reading, while still appealing to me as an adult.
Secondly, there’s Gansey himself. He’s a young man born into generations of privilege to the point that he doesn’t understand how his offers of money to those less fortunate can be taken as deeply offensive. He has a good heart and his mind functions on a strong sense of right and wrong and of concrete evidence, even when dealing with the unknown, such as his obsession. Somewhere along the way, I equated Gansey to Bruce Wayne (sorry, Gansey) for the way he gathers those in need to him and they all look to him for command, if not support, and how he can shift into his rich boy persona to handle a situation, but his true self is the one obsessed with finding ley lines and the secret of a dead king.
Gansey and Blue are destined to meet, obviously, but I loved the way everything wrapped together. Nothing was extraneous or added to mislead. And when new elements popped up, they were shocking, culminating in a tense ending. Or rather, the beginning. This is the first in a the Raven Cycle and the end of The Raven Boys works like a fantastic door, opening onto all sorts of new mysteries that I’m really excited to find out about. But as if I needed more motivation, the very last line ensured that I will be grabbing book 2 as soon as I can.
The BiblioSanctum 