Tag: fantasy

Review: Ashes of Honor

1 Comment

Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuireSeanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor

Still reeling after the tragic events of One Salt Sea, Toby Daye has thrown herself into her work, rushing into unnecessarily dangerous situations and pushing all her friends away. But she can’t avoid the people around her forever — a fact made abundantly clear when Etienne, one of Duke Sylvester’s knights, comes to her for help. His daughter Chelsea, a changeling whose existence he only recently discovered, has inherited extremely strong powers from her fae blood, but she has no idea how to control them. Now she’s ripping doors through Faerie that were never meant to be opened, and Toby has to stop her before she inadvertently destroys the world of Faerie.

I’m really enjoying the Toby Daye books, and this latest installment is no exception. The book moves at a quick pace, with the need to find Chelsea being the driving force, but there’s still the occasional quiet moment to balance out the action sequences. I also noticed several little hints throughout the novel about what might come next in the series: for example, the clues about Quentin’s background should pay off in future installments. Tybalt also plays a prominent role in this book, which is always a plus for me! And as always, I love Toby’s sarcastic voice and gallows humor, which are the perfect antidote to the violence and cruelty that she confronts on a daily basis. Overall, this is another strong installment in an excellent series. Can’t wait for the next Toby Daye novel!

Review: Son of the Shadows

Leave a comment

Son of the Shadows by Juliet MarillierJuliet Marillier, Son of the Shadows

Warning: SPOILERS for Daughter of the Forest.

Liadan, the youngest daughter of Sorcha and Red, loves her home at Sevenwaters and wants nothing more than to remain there with her beloved family. However, it seems the Fair Folk have another destiny in store for her. While paying a visit to a sick farmer, Liadan is kidnapped by a group of mercenary soldiers and forced to use her healing skills on their behalf. Terrified to be held captive by these intimidating warriors, Liadan nevertheless does her best to heal the wounded man. Her quiet determination soon wins the men’s respect, but she frequently finds herself at odds with their leader, a man tattooed with menacing symbols and thus referred to as the Painted Man. The arguments between Liadan and the Painted Man eventually transform into a grudging respect and then something more, but outside pressures continually conspire to drive them apart.

I read the first Sevenwaters book, Daughter of the Forest, a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Soon afterward, I acquired the next two books in the series, but for some reason I never got around to reading them. Now I can say that Son of the Shadows is an excellent read, though not a very quick one. There’s so much lush language and description that the book moves fairly slowly.  While I got a little impatient with the pervasive mystical elements (telepathic communications, mysterious prophecies, etc.), they definitely help to create the full-bodied world of the series. I was also annoyed by the Big Secret involving Liadan’s sister Niamh, which was predictable and should have been revealed a lot sooner than it was. However, I really enjoyed the story of Liadan and the Painted Man, and I look forward to seeing what happens in the next installment of the series, Child of the Prophecy.

P.S. Question time: is this the worst cover ever? It’s definitely one of the worst I’ve seen!

Review: The Iron Wyrm Affair

4 Comments

The Iron Wyrm AffairLilith Saintcrow, The Iron Wyrm Affair

In an alternate-universe Victorian London, sorcery is common (though frowned upon), and incredible geniuses known as mentaths are capable of being literally bored to death. Archibald Clare, an unregistered mentath, is in this precarious state when he suddenly learns that his life may be in danger: someone has been killing and mutilating mentaths throughout the city. To investigate, Archibald teams up with Emma Bannon, a powerful sorceress with a dangerous gift and a mysterious past. Their mission takes them throughout the dirty streets of Londinium, where they tangle with foreign assassins, murderous automatons, and very black magic.

Since I enjoy Victorian-era steampunk, I was excited to win this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. It certainly delivers a fast-paced plot packed with action; it was easy to keep turning the pages, and I never felt like the book dragged. There were also enough steampunk elements to please fans of the genre, including mechanical limbs and giant, spider-like automatons. However, the world-building in general didn’t work for me. Saintcrow avoids lengthy exposition, which is a good thing, except that as a result I constantly felt like I was missing something. For example, we learn that Archibald is an unregistered mentath, but we don’t know why he’s unregistered, or even what being unregistered actually means. Similarly, we know that Emma is a sorceress, but we never learn the basic rules of the magical system; Emma can seemingly do whatever she wants with a few simple chants. I found it difficult to become invested in the story because I kept getting distracted by the underdeveloped world of the novel.

This is book one in a projected series, so presumably everything will start to make more sense in future installments. However, I don’t think I’m invested enough in the characters to continue with this series.