Tag: book reviews

Review – Saga Volume Two

Posted July 5, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Saga Volume Two, Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

In volume two of Saga, Fiona Staples’ art continues to really shine. She manages to make the characters come alive, conveying movement and expression, mood and attitude and even a little of their voice. It helps that the characters are pretty awesome: the Lying Cat is a pretty amazing creation, Alana, Gwendolyn and Marko’s mother are straight-up badass, the interlude with Barr manages to inject just enough emotional attachment…

Oh, and in case you were wondering if Marko’s ex-fiancé was a fridged love interest who wouldn’t turn up again because his love for Alana is all the matters, nope. Gwendolyn shows up, kicks ass, and has very decided opinions about Marko and what he’s up to.

And I do love the device of the narrator being Alana and Marko’s child; it sets the tone, and makes some scenes less harrowing, while also bringing in hindsight.

And don’t forget the humour. Normally, I’m quite difficult to please when it comes to Saga, and it’s possible I wouldn’t laugh at the visual and verbal jokes if someone made them IRL. However, when it’s me and a book…

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, comics, SF/F

Review – Sick of Shadows

Posted July 4, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Sick of Shadows, M.C. Beaton

I’m not sure what there’s even left to say about these books. The first two just about cover it: characters who we’re told are intelligent behaving like idiots, coincidences, despicable families who are at this point losing all vestiges of sympatheticness because they’re just that callous…

It’s still kind of fun, in that really light way, but I wouldn’t have bought it or the last book on the strength of the first two; I only read them because I owned them. I really didn’t enjoy the Agatha Raisin books, and while it turns out Snobbery with Violence was a bit more fun than those for me, I think it was more by contrast and good timing.

And yes, you’re probably going to see pretty much this review again when I get round to reviewing Our Lady of Pain.

Rating: 1/5

Tags: book reviews, books, mystery

Review – The Ancient Paths

Posted July 3, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Ancient Paths, Graham Robb

The problem with this book is that, despite Graham Robb’s claims of having disbelieved the idea and sought extra hard for proof, etc, etc, it’s hard to believe something which is so broad and sweeping, which if true would change the perceptions of a whole period of history. Despite his attempts to methodically lay out the proof, it still reads kind of like someone excitedly believing in ley lines, or maybe better, imagining they can see the lines of intelligence-made canals on the face of Mars. It feels so massive and coincidental, especially because Graham Robb comes to this from the point of view of someone cycling across the ancient paths, rather than an archaeologist or historian.

Would I like to believe that the ancient Celts were this clever, this organised, this technologically advanced? Yes. And the idea of things being laid out along the solstice line isn’t so far fetched on its own: archaeologists like Francis Pryor have claimed similar for sites like Seahenge. But you don’t have to coordinate across the countryside to lay things out along solar lines, and place names could turn out to be a false signal — maybe it was just a common way to refer to places, maybe it was just a way of saying ‘the middle of nowhere’.

As far as I can tell, when Graham Robb links deities and folklore together, he isn’t going against the general wisdom, and that and the way some of his evidence hangs together makes me think that parts of his theory do have merit. It just seems overall too sweeping, and too much like wishful thinking — and sometimes his explanations of how x or y might have happened sound far too much like a story. In the end, I don’t have nearly enough knowledge of the field to make any real judgement on the theory.

Nonetheless, this does make for an interesting read, explaining the ways fairly advanced mathematics would’ve been possible, how communication might have been kept up across all the Celtic areas, and how some myths and stories might still connect to reality. It feels like a good story, regardless of whether the history and theory is sound.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction

Review – A Conspiracy of Kings

Posted July 2, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner

This book moves away from Gen’s point of view even more and gives us a whole book with Sophos. The first time I read it, I really wasn’t a fan; Sophos was too often passive, too prepared to just let things slip by and become a slave, for rather nebulous reasons about it being easier. It actually worked better for me this time; I knew that the action was coming, so that probably helped, and I do love the interaction between Sophos and Eugenides. Once more it shows the difficulties for Gen in becoming a king: the fact that he can’t just have simple friendships, but must decide how to play at politics with his friends to his own and his queen’s advantage.

The first part still is rather wishy-washy, with Sophos just slipping into slavery and making no apparent effort to get out of it. As a narrator, he just doesn’t have the tenacity of Gen, and big chunks of the book are spent away from Gen, unlike in The King of Attolia. Still, this time I did think that the interaction between the two was worth the price of entry, and Sophos’ relationship with the queen of Eddis is also kind of, well, adorable.

If Costis’ narration in the previous book bothered you because it wasn’t really a book of action, there is more action here. Sophos has a kingdom to win back and defend, and he’s very much active in doing so. And we see more development of the relationship of the kings and queens of the area to their gods: Sophos learns something of what drives Eddis, revealed previously to Gen and the reader.

Overall, it’s a weaker book than the others, but it stood up surprisingly well to the reread.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Megan Whalen Turner, SF/F

Review – The Song of Rhiannon

Posted July 1, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

The Song of Rhiannon, Evangeline Walton

Originally reviewed 1st June, 2011

The Song of Rhiannon, a retelling of the Third Branch of the Mabinogion, isn’t as powerful as The Children of Llyr, which is a relief, in a way. There’s a time of healing for the characters, as well as what they suffer during the action of the story, and there’s a happy end for them as well. It continues to follow the characters of Manawydan, Rhiannon, Pryderi and Kigva. There are actually few other characters in the story, fleshed-out or not, but the character of the Bogey made me smile quite a bit, as did his interactions with Manawydan.

Once more, Evangeline Walton brings the characters to life. I can’t remember anything in the Mabinogion about some of the elements she introduces, e.g. about Pryderi’s father, but they all seem to belong quite naturally.

If I didn’t already care about Pryderi, Rhiannon and Manawydan, though, I don’t know how much I would have loved this book. The retelling of the Second Branch is the strongest so far, and can stand alone, but this can’t, to my mind.

I have serious love for her version of Manawydan, in all his wisdom and dignity and his love for his land.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Evangeline Walton, Flashback Friday

Review – All For Love

Posted June 30, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

All For Love, Jane Aiken Hodge

If you’re a fan of stories like Georgette Heyer’s and Mary Stewart’s romances, Jane Aiken Hodge’s All For Love should be right up your alley. Featuring a historical setting and context, it follows two cousins, alike enough to be twins, who switch places while one executes a madcap scheme to rescue Napoleon, while preserving her reputation and giving herself an alibi in the form of her cousin’s presence. Of course, it stretches credulity a bit, as all such plots would — but it doesn’t stretch it too far; actually, a fair number of people figure out that Juliet is only impersonating Josephine.

The process of Juliet’s relationship with Josephine’s husband is sweet; the way he carefully provides for her without ever pushing boundaries too much or letting her know that he knows she’s not Josephine, and the way they come to care for each other and refuse to do anything about it, because of course, he’s married to Josephine. Then, of course, someone from Josephine’s past shows up to overturn things once more…

It’s all reliant on heaps of lucky coincidence, of course, and Josephine is such an unpleasant person in some ways that you know, really, how it’s going to end — I never really had any tension that it wasn’t going to work out, though I did find myself wondering how it would work out. The writing isn’t as witty as Heyer’s, nor is there a sense of place evoked as in Stewart’s work, but all the same I got quite invested and very much enjoyed the read.

Oh, and if duels and secret plots entertain you, there’s plenty of that alongside the romance.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, romance

Review – Blood Trail

Posted June 29, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Blood Trail, Tanya Huff

The second book in the Vicky Nelson series introduces more supernatural beings — this time werewolves, although the lore isn’t 100% traditional. (For example, werewolves are born, not created; if you aren’t a werewolf, you won’t become one.) It deals again, and more directly, with the problems that occur for supernatural beings living in a human community. The plot itself is reasonably obvious, and the ingredients make the outcome obvious: the way they get there and the characters surrounding them are more important, really.

Ultimately, I find this a comfort read; not too heavy on substance, more representative of real life than you often find (i.e. with Vicky’s disability, Henry’s sexuality, etc), and easy to read. There are some meaty things here — Celluci’s relationship with Vicky, and how that shapes his relationship with Henry; Vicky’s insistence on being independent, her certainty about her own skills and instincts despite her disability; prejudice against people that aren’t like you — and even some questions about justice and how exactly it can be enforced in special situations the law doesn’t cover (e.g. if someone killed a werewolf in their wolf form, so it’s not apparent that it is murder). But it’s treated with a fairly light hand, which keeps it highly readable.

I do wish Celluci would get with the program and grow up, though.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F, Tanya Huff

Review – Saga Volume One

Posted June 28, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 12 Comments

Saga Volume One, Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

The first volume of Saga had me hooked right away: something about the clean lines of the art, the way it perfectly brings across character and expression, to begin with. Also the quirkier details, like the pictures that show on Prince Robot’s monitor. But also the story: the offbeat narration by a character who has only just been born at the start of the story, the set-up of the worlds fighting, the Robot kingdom assisting, etc. Alanna and Marko’s relationship is believably silly: they’re ridiculously in love, they’re not always best-suited for each other, but they’re muddling through anyway.

It’s also funny in general — not always in the most “tasteful” or “refined” way, as some of the sex-related humour shows, but believably. You can like these characters, it says, because even though one has wings and the other has horns, they’re dweebs like you.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, comics, romance, SF/F

Review – Lucky Planet

Posted June 27, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Lucky Planet: Why Earth is Exceptional, David Waltham

For the most part, I found Lucky Planet interesting enough, though at times there were gaps when it comes to the possibilities for life elsewhere — and no mention at all of the idea that there could be life somewhere else on Earth which uses molecules of the opposite chirality to us, suggesting more than one separate origin of life. There was nothing about the Viking biological experiments, which per Michael Brooks’ pop-science books are still thought by some to have shown evidence for life on Mars — the experimenter, Levin, still thinks so, and he’s not alone.

I think the problem with all these theories is that they rely on a gut feeling of how likely life is to arise and, once arisen, to become intelligent. Obviously, as Waltham points out repeatedly, because we exist, conditions are possible in which we can exist and observe (a condition called the anthropic principle). That tells us nothing in itself about how likely life is to arise, though. In fact, with everything that might indicate how likely life is to arise, we have a sample size of one.

It’s really impossible to scientifically judge, I think. It depends on whether you decide life is likely or unlikely, and follows from there. Waltham does discuss all the factors that make Earth a rarity, which may constrain life. But again, sample size of one, so how do we know that a planet’s satellites or seismic activity or atmosphere or predominant minerals are important or not? Life doesn’t have to look the same as us (but if it did, that would go a fair way to confirming Waltham’s point; we require very specific circumstances to have arisen, after all).

So, if you’re looking for an answer, I don’t think Waltham has one for you (though nor does anyone else, by the same logic).

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction

Review – So You Want To Be A Wizard

Posted June 26, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

So You Want to Be A Wizard, Diane Duane

I’ve been told to try these so often that I more or less assumed the recommendation would be apt, and got a bundle of the whole series in one of Diane Duane’s website sales. Unfortunately, something about this doesn’t work for me — I guess it feels too random and immature? Stuff like ‘Fred’, the ‘white hole’, who is the opposite of a black hole, and some of the logic of how magic worked just… I didn’t feel hooked by it. Once I got to the white hole burping up whole cars, I was more or less done; I just skimmed the rest.

I do actually like parts of the set-up: the idea of the book that starts the main character’s journey is pretty neat, for example, and I didn’t read the characters as just default white kids from the start — even if Kit Rodriguez’s name wasn’t a probable giveaway. I think maybe if I’d first read it when I was younger, and had that flexibility of imagination, I wouldn’t have questioned it so much and could have enjoyed it now if I was rereading it. Unfortunately, I come to this as a 27 year old about to get married, and so I just can’t engage with it on that level.

Not something I would recommend to someone my own age, but I might very well pass it to a kid young enough to feel the magic of waiting for your Hogwarts letter, or scanning the library shelves for books about what you can be when you grow up and finding a mysterious book which at first might seem like a joke, but turns out all too real…

Rating: 1/5

Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F