Book Review: Emperor of Thorns (Broken Empire, #3) by Mark Lawrence)

2 stars

Emperor of Thorns is the last book in the Broken Empire trilogy and, as the name suggests, shows Jorg on his way to becoming Emperor. The book starts a little after the events of King of Thorns (to which I did not write a review) with Jorg traveling to Vyene to vote on the new emperor.

I gave 2 starts to the other two books in the trilogy and it is not different for this one. Many of my problems were repeated in this book as well and different problems appeared.

What I liked:

- Some of the side characters got interesting character development and they participated more in the story (with that I mean that they were more important to the narrative than in the previous ones, even though Jorg is still the one that does most of the things by himself). Katherine, for one, was a character that was more interesting and powerful. It was nice to see more female characters doing important things;

- Not only the secondary characters got more development but Jorg did as well. He still does things his way, he is still careless and always manages to get away with it, but he is a little more humane;

- We got more answers concerning the world of the narrative and more “scientific” explanations as well.

What I didn’t like:

- We may have gotten more answers but the world still does not make sense to me. Why did only some books (and only books that fit the medieval vibe of the story at that) survive and other did not? How can many of the technological devices still work with no power source to keep them running? And the explanation as to why there are ghosts, monsters, and the like did not work for me – even though it fits the story;

- The book drags on and on. There are too many scenes and descriptions that are completely unnecessary. This space could have been used for the final conflict;

- Many of the “scary things” were not scary at all and they have zero utility;

- I liked that we had some chapters showing Chella’s, the necromancer, side (3^rd person instead of 1^st as it is for Jorg), but they did not bring any new information;

- I really did not like the ending. Things were solved too easily and too quickly. The identity of the Dead King was too obvious. I thought the author took the “easiest way out” with this finale. He could have expanded the book a little more (or gotten rid of some useless parts) and created an ending that would actually fit the character’s personality and arc.

Over all, speaking of the trilogy as a whole, I liked the idea behind the story and even the world (had it been better explained), but I did not like the execution. I believe things improved from one book to the other and as the story progresses, but even so I could not get over my initial problems. 

Book Review: The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1) by Robert Jordan

Rating: 3 stars

The Eye of the World is the first book in a 14-book series by Robert Jordan (and later on finished by Brandon Sanderson once Jordan passed away). We follow the battle between Light and Dark through numerous ages and see the Dragon, both hated and loved, trying to bring down darkness and stop the world’s ruination (or bring down the world’s ruination).

The first thing that needs to be said about The Eye of the World: this is a straight up Tolkien pastiche. Not because the use of mythology or because of resemblance, many other people have done things similar to Tolkien but original in their own ways (and I stand on the belief that high fantasy should move away from the path Tolkien took. There are so many other mythologies out there! Go do something different!), but because the usage of the same archetypes, the same type of characters and the same line of thought. This one even has its own Sauron (a being with flames bursting from his eyes, hiding in the darkness, invading dreams, following people’s journey to destroy him, does it get any more Sauron?).

Ok, ok. It is not original (what defines originality anyway? Tolkien’s world was not that original), but is it interesting? For me the answer is both yes and no. It took me forever to finish this book, both because of my book slump and because I could not find the story that gripping. There are elements that I found extremely interesting and the story does pick up more to the end of the book, but most time it was just somewhat interesting, and maybe not that important, fillers. Everybody and everything is described and not in the oh-my-god-what-wonderful-prose-and-world way. Sometimes I was like ‘yes, he is different, I got that, you don’t need to spend another 10 paragraphs describing him. Again.”

This leads me to talk about the characters. Rand, Perrin, and Mat are simple farmers. During the days preceding a celebration known as Bel Tine, they have their lives threatened by creatures they thought only existed in legends.  They soon find out that The Dark One (the Evil incarnated who is supposed to be locked away in prison) is after them for reasons yet unknown (unknown to the three characters because we all know the answer since the beginning). They are helped by Moiraine, an Aes Sedai (a group of female magic-wielders responsible for the safety of the world) and Lan, a Guardian. Together (and they are joined by Egwene and Ninaeve) they set foot to Tar Valon, the home of the Aes Sedai where they will get help. Of course, things do not go according to plan.

Anyway, the characters. Rand was boring and the caricature of many heroes from this kind of story: he is different from others from his village, he lives alone with his father –that later on may not be his real father – and has powers that he didn’t know he had. Now he must battle with himself and with the dark powers to somehow come up intact from a battle he know he will probably lose (and we know he won’t because there are other 13 books out there). His problem, to me, was not being a stereotype, was just not being anything else but a stereotype. He lacked personality and was completely two-dimensional. Mat was even worse and his only strength was being a reckless idiot. Perrin was the one I liked the most and the one I think sees more character development, even though is not much.

The plot could have filled a three-hundred page book. Instead we get a 800-page book. I sincerely do not know why. Not much happens, the twists are all predictable, and we have lots of explanations for things that do not need explaining and lack of explanations for things that most certainly need explaining.

Now, the creatures of evil. I’m sad to say that none of them were particularly scary to me. Creatures names Trollocs do not make me scared, I just think they are hilarious (my five-year-old brain immediately though, the first time I saw the name: ‘oh bollocks, here come the Trollocs”. How can you take seriously something with that name?). And the Dark One himself was not terrifying in the slightest, especially because I knew how the book would end.

Overall, it was a nice tale, even though I found it extremely predictable. There were some nice elements to it and the world is interesting, but I could not get hooked by the story or the characters. However, I’m interested in knowing what is going to happen. I might give the other books a chance.

Book Review: Untouchable by S. A. Starcevic

Goodreads

Title: Untouchable
Author: S. A. Starcevic
Rating: 4 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

“Ethan Elliot is no stranger to secret identities. As an LGBT teen, he’s dealt with secrets all his life. Nevertheless, when his powers kick in and he’s whisked away to join a team of superheroes, he dons a mask of a different kind—one that sees him battling supervillains and testing his limits.

However, there’s more going on behind the scenes than capes and costumes. At the headquarters of the Protectorate, he makes unlikely friends with Gravity Girl and Element Boy. Except Element Boy might turn out to be more than just a friend, and Gravity Girl is battling demons of her own.

Ethan will discover what it means to be a hero, and must learn that even superheroes aren’t untouchable.”

“All kids dream of being superheroes.”

In a world where superheroes exist, that might be even truer. Except that our main character never wanted to be a hero. He was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time (or perhaps in the right place, at the right time). Now faced with superpowers, Ethan must learn to be a superhero and everything that comes with it.

Ethan is the sarcastic and funny narrator of his own story. His reactions to things were hilarious sometimes. Yes, there was the odd metaphor, but we can let it go seeing that he is very young and imaginative.

His backstory was interesting and so were his reasons for participating in everything. I am sure that I, given the opportunity to be a superhero, would take that on the spot as well, even if I was terrified brainless every time I’d have to face a super villain.

I liked the tidbits we have from Ethan’s and the other superheroes’ normal lives: their family stories, reactions, interests, etc. I thought some characters could have been better developed, especially the side characters, like the doctor. However, I think that, considering the length of the novella, we could gather a lot of information about the characters already.

The action scenes were nice and read like a superhero  story.  Ethan and his superhero boyfriend were so cute, but I wanted more on their relationship. This part felt a little rushed, but again I must say: the length does not contribute much exposure to their relationship. I hope to get more on that later!

I wanted some more world build. I mean, a world where superheroes and super villains exist and have names and a fanbase? Awesome. But, where did it all come from? How did that happen? Was it always like this? I know I will be repeating myself here, but  again the length of the novella did not help here. I wanted more and that is one of my biggest complains: I need more from this world and the characters. They managed to make me very curious and even to care about them in 54 pages!

Overall, I really liked the story and the characters and I would recommend it to anyone searching for a nice, short superhero story or a nice, short LGBT story. 

Book Review: Bummed Out City by Scott Burr

Goodreads

Book: Bummed Out City

Author: Scott Burr

Published September 23rd 2014

Rating: 4/5 stars

I got interested in this book the moment I read the synopsis. I'm very thankful to Artless Dodges Press for giving me the opportunity not only to read and review this book, but also to get to know this book. I would probably not have contact with this work otherwise. Thank you, and sorry for taking me so long to get to reading it.

It may have taken me long to pick up the book and start reading it, but when I did pick it up I read it in one sitting. I couldn't put it down before I finished it. 

The book tells the story of David, a struggling author. David had many dreams. None of them came true. His book are still not a success. More than that, he cannot find a single publisher that would accept to publish them. I thought this discussion, of life not being able to keep up with one's expactations and dreams, to be really interesting and poignant. We have all those dreams and images of what the future will be like and, most of the times, none of these dreams come true. David took it really badly, which is what leads to all his problems.

I David as a main character. He is completely annoying and self-centered. And, because of his selfishness and self-centeredness, he was a totally unreliable narrator. We could see he was trying his best to make us understand his suffering and problems and see the others as 'enemies' of his progress. And we could see him trying and failing to do so. 

I didn't think this book was plotless. I believe the mundane tasks were essential to understand David as a character and what he was trying to accomplish. 

As for the ending, I really liked it. I felt it fit with the general mood of the story, making it all raw and powerful, I think any other ending would have made the story a disservice and would not have rung as true. 

Book Review: Stolen: a letter to my captor by Lucy Christopher

Goodreads

Book: Stolen

Author: Lucy Christopher

Published May 4th 2009

Rating: 4/5 stars

The first thing I need to say is: I was not expecting to like this book at all. Don't take me wrong, it was nothing against the book itself, it just didn't sound like something I would enjoy. 
I was wrong. I liked it better than I ever thought I would. However, I didn't love it. I had problems with some aspects of the book, but I think I liked more things than I disliked, hence the rating. 

- The plot: Gemma is kidnapped from the airport of Bangkok and taken to the Australian Outback. There, she has to live with her kidnapper and try her best to survive and escape. That is it. That's the plot. The entire book is Gemma trying to deal with being stolen and taken away from any form of civilization and dealing with her feelings (bad and good) for her captor. 

I had no problems with the plot. I liked it. I liked how things took place, how the writing connected to the emotions of the narrator (who is writing a letter to her captor) and how the setting seemed to match the main character's feelings. 
Let me explain this last part: the descriptions of the place matched the emotional state of the narrator. If she was feeling angry, sad, or depressed, everything was desolated, far away, an open cage, a prison; if she was feeling happy, the land, even though desolated, was beautiful and full of hidden life. Many authors forget that how we see our surroundings is connected to how we are feeling. Christopher didn't. The language was appropriate to every situation. I really liked it. 

- The characters:

*Gemma: I think Gemma was pretty well written. Her feelings sounded believable and completely possible. She had many layers to herself and always fought to what she believed was right.

*Ty: Now Ty was the one I had problems with. Not because of what he did, because if the hadn't kidnapped Gemma there would be no book. But because he was.... not exactly what he was supposed to be. I felt he didn't fill in the role he was supposed to fill. He was too... dreamy. That's what he felt to me: a dream. It might be what the author meant: if you look back you don't see the facts how they really went, but how you, at the present, see them. And it is a different perspective. But Ty felt too unreal to me. I couldn't understand his motivations. I couldn't understand him as a character. And that was my biggest issue with this book.

- The setting: It was perfect. It felt like a living thing, another character. I could perfectly imagine the place, the driness of the desert, etc. It was the best setting for what the author attempt, mainly because it made the two characters closer, made escape near impossible and contributed to the mood of the whole book. 

Overall, a nicely written book with a somewhat bittersweet ending.

Book Review: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

Goodreads

This will be more of a collection of quotes I liked than a proper review. 
I love 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. All the books follow more or less the same pattern and they are very easy and quick to read. These characteristics do not make the books less enjoyable. It is so nice to re-read books from your childhood and notice all the little things I didn't notice the first time or was too young to understand. 
I've always had a particular liking for this one, I don't exactly know why. I believe it might be because of the small murder mystery it presents and its lovely twist. 
Here are some quotes that I really enjoyed:
• "Their adventure would be exciting and memorable like being chased by a werewolf through a field of thorny bushes at midnight with nobody around to help you."
• You can see at once why keeping things in perspective rarely works very well, because it is hard to concentrate on somebody being eaten by a bear when you are staring at your own ugly pimple."
• If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats."
• "Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances. Stealing is not excusable if, for instance, you are in a museum and you decide that a certain painting would look better in your house, and you simply grab the painting and take it there. But if you were very, very hungry, and you had no way of obtaining money, it might be excusable to grab the painting, take it to your house, and eat it."

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Goodreads

First, a confession that I'm sure nobody will be surprise to hear: I only bought this book because J. K. Rowling wrote it. Will the fact that she wrote it have any effect on my review? No, absolutely not. I review the books, not the authors. 
The book follows the life of private detective Cormoran Strike. Strike is hired to find out what really happened to Lula Landry, a model who is believed to have committed suicide. Her brother doesn't believe his sister would have killed herself and he is willing to pay for Strike to discover the truth. Strike desperately needs the money, seeing his financial, professional, and private lives are currently very chaotic, so he accepts the job. 
I liked the book but it was nothing special. It was a common murder mystery, following the basic murder mystery plot. What I liked most was the insights to the characters' lives and personalities, why they got where they were and how they did so. There was good character development in the book, even though sometimes I felt the characters were behaving a little out of character. However, you can see how they grew, if only a little, as the book progressed. 
I admit I had my suspicions about the killer - and they were proved right. I don't think it is because the book gave much away (there was enough clues to pierce it all together if you really wanted to, but nothing blatantly obvious). I believe it was because I have read enough murder mysteries to see a pattern. I also have to admit that the book was well thought when it came to the killer and how everything took place. 
I believe the book could have used a little more action. The investigation was good, but it could have been better. 
This book is the perfect choice for those who are looking for a light reading or for something entertaining.

Rating: 3/5

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Goodreads

I picked up this book mainly for the cover. It had been on my to-read list for a while, but the cover was really something (I have this cover).

This book tells the story of Jacob, a boy who grew up with his grandfather telling exciting, and most definitely untrue, stories. They were stories about a home for children where the grandfather had spent some time after his family was killed during the war. Jacob loved this stories but, as he grew older, he thought his grandfather was making them up and stopped believing in them. One day, something tragic happens and Jacob has to review his opinions. Maybe those stories were true after all. So he and his father go searching for this old home and for the woman, Miss Peregrine, who used to run it. The things Jacob finds might not be the ones he was expecting to find.

At first, this book managed to scare me quite a lot. It was weird, creepy, and I was dying to know what was going to happen with the characters. However, as the story progressed, I thought the rhythm of the narrative was somehow different. And not in a good way. The end of the book brought back the initial narrative style, but it ended too fast for me. And it left too many things unexplained.

I loved the pictures, I think they were an awesome complement to the narrative. It is quite amazing how the author managed to build the entire story around this pictures, made them fit so well into the narrative. To me, my experience of reading this book would not be the same if there were no pictures.

Jacob, as a character, didn't interest me much. He was brave, trying to find the truth about his grandfather, helping his new-found friends, and giving up a lot (even if he could not see it) to make sure they were safe. I still think the secondary characters were my favorites.

I am looking forward to the second book!

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Goodreads

It was an amazing read and, even though I didn't love it, I really enjoyed reading it and getting to know more about the character. 
We get to know Kvothe, an epic figure, theme of legends and fables, who is hiding from the glory of his past, accompanied by his student. As a recorder arrives at the village he resides, looking for him and determined to write his story, and as his past seem to be catching up with him, Kvothe decides it is time for his story to be told in his own terms and by his own voice. 
This way, we follow him through his childhood and university years, facing the tragic death of his family and the need to find out more about the creatures who killed them and how this affects his life, going with him through some of his classes and his hardships, and sharing with him his love for music. Through his story and his eyes we see how his reputation started to be constructed and how the myths surrounded him started to come to life. 
A great High Fantasy book, The Name of the Wind will transport you to a world where magic is real and the most exciting things can happen. If you are looking for a good fantasy book, I recommend checking 

out this one!

Rating: 5/5