Tag: book reviews

Review – Murder in Montparnasse

Posted January 13, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry GreenwoodMurder in Montparnasse, Kerry Greenwood

I might need to take a break from Phryne for a while — just to make sure I don’t run out of her brilliance too soon, of course. Murder in Montparnasse shows us a younger Phryne, as well as the capable detective we’re used to: a Phryne who hasn’t yet learned to read men and situations and take care of herself. It is good to see her unsure of herself, and it’s also good to follow along with the mature Phryne as she negotiates Lin getting married, and becomes friends with his wife-to-be.

It’s also nice to get both Bert and Cec and Phryne’s adopted daughters playing a part in the mystery. Pretty much the whole team is involved here, including Hugh Collins, which is fun.

I think the only drawback is that maybe I’ve been eating up these books too fast, and they’re losing some of their freshness. I think if I spaced them out more, it’d be okay; as it is, I found it a little too routine. Which isn’t bad, since this is the twelfth book and I’ve read all the eleven previous ones in quite a hurry.

In case it bothered anyone else, spoiler: the Butlers don’t leave in the end. I was very worried they wouldn’t and that the lovely found-family feel was going to be lost a little — but nope, Mrs Butler sorted things out.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Ruin and Rising

Posted January 11, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Ruin and Rising by Leigh BardugoRuin and Rising, Leigh Bardugo

As I’d hoped, Ruin and Rising is better paced than Siege and Storm, to my mind. Although some notable folks thought the opposite, so I suppose it really does depend on what you’re most interested in. I did enjoy the twist with the third amplifier, and the fact that finally they really got on track to deal with that plotline — so much of book two was spent wanting to deal with it and going back and forth on whether it was a good idea, etc, etc.

I did like the continued development of Alina’s character, and the way things worked out with that — the way she had to learn to deal with the things she had to do, and how ruthless she tried to be. How power had a hold on her as surely as it did on the Darkling, and on the pity she felt for the Darkling even despite his behaviour. I think you can judge a person (or character) by how they treat vanquished enemies, and Alina was generous about it: she remembered the Darkling’s name, made sure his wishes were honoured, etc. And I enjoyed Nikolai’s development, too, though I think a lot of the drama and interest with what happened to him was elided for the sake of Alina and Mal’s story. Which makes sense, since Alina is the narrator, but… I’d still like to have seen more of Nikolai. He is the sassiest, and also the most capable character.

All in all, I think it was a good conclusion to the trilogy, and I’m looking forward to seeing this world from a different angle in Six of Crows. Here’s hoping it’s as good as everyone says!

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Parthenon

Posted January 11, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Parthenon by Mary BeardThe Parthenon, Mary Beard

I enjoyed Mary Beard’s book on Pompeii, so when I spotted The Parthenon in a deal, I figured it’d be an interesting one. I actually expected it to be a bit more about the Greek context of the Parthenon, rather than going into the afterlife of the building — the use as a church and a mosque, the archaeology and tourism, even the literary responses to it, which is what it actually did. It seemed quite inconclusive about what the Parthenon actually was, though the evidence that might tell us about that is more scarce than you would think. It’s unsatisfying — it doesn’t have an altar, so it’s not a temple? But maybe it is? But?

Still, it is interesting to read about the history of the building as a church and a mosque, as well as a temple. I wasn’t even really aware of how much destruction the Parthenon went through: the iconic modern look is actually due to a lot of restoration.

It was very interesting to read the part about Lord Elgin and the issue of the British Museum’s possession of the marbles he took from Athens. On the one hand, it manifestly helped preserve the sculpture: that which remained in situ is in much worse state. But it’s also so… ugh, so imperial and condescending, to assume that Britain is the best guardian. Paternalistic. And while I like Neil MacGregor’s outlook on the British Museum (at least as expressed in A History of the World in 100 Objects), I’m still torn on the subject of the Elgin Marbles. I love the idea of a world museum, and I like the idea of it being in London — because I can conceivably take a weekend off and go there. That doesn’t mean it’s actually the best location, obviously. Just convenient to me. Not that I can think of anywhere notably better, either; I can’t think of a genuinely neutral, international space.

This book really emphasised that the problem of the Parthenon for us is one of cultural ownership, just as Pompeii can be seen as one of preservation. I wanted more about the Acropolis and the original purpose/usage of the Parthenon, but it seems we just don’t know. Which is kind of fascinating in itself…

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Grey King

Posted January 9, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Susan Cooper's The Grey KingThe Grey King, Susan Cooper

I somewhat put off reviewing The Grey King after finishing reading it, because I’m not sure what there is to say about it anymore. I’ve rhapsodised about it at length: the use of mythology, the casual use of the Welsh language, the home-ness of the landscape and the people… The shades of grey and the adult touches when it comes to Owen Davies and John Rowlands, and Will Stanton’s interactions with them. There’s some beautiful passages, especially the section spent in Craig yr Aderyn, and some genuine moments of horror, loss, anger, fear…

And there’s Bran Davies. One of the first Welsh heroes I came across in fiction — at the age of sixteen or so. And he really is Welsh; Welsh-speaking, Welsh-thinking, a part of the Welsh landscape and mythology. But he’s also very human — vulnerable. Angry. Resentful, even. Strange and unhappy and alone. And then his friendship with Will is just lovely, the immediate rapport between them, the ways Will being an Old One damages it, the ways Bran adapts.

And there’s Cafall. All too briefly, but so key to the plot, to Bran.

There’s quite a lot of more adult themes here — quite far from the world of Over Sea, Under Stone, which is almost entirely concerned with Barney, Jane and Simon. There’s Owen’s grief for Gwen; Gwen’s grief at betraying her husband; the jealousy and rivalry between Owen Davies and Caradog Prichard; Arthur’s yearning for connection with his son… And of course, those shades of grey I mentioned. The conversation between John and Will about how the Light will ignore the good of a single person to pursue the greater good, and John’s reaction, really highlights to me that the humans are the real heroes of this series. And the villains, too, because Lords of the Dark choose to become what they are — they aren’t born, like Old Ones.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Young Avengers: Sidekicks

Posted January 8, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 10 Comments

Cover of Young Avengers: SidekicksYoung Avengers: Sidekicks, Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung
Originally reviewed 25th August, 2013

This series promises to be a lot of fun. You don’t need to know a lot about the main Marvel canon to understand this one: it’s mostly new characters, with some cameos from classics like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers (being very much ‘Superhusbands’: I mean, really, they swoop in with iron Man holding Steve by the waist, it’s practically Superman and Lois Lane). I liked the emotions flying around here: they’re teenagers dealing with superpowers, not superheroes who happen to be teenagers. They mess up and fight and they need to get to school in the morning.

I actually forgot about the gay couple in this series, but that’s one more reason to love it. You can talk all you like about the Cap/Iron Man subtext, but this is the real thing.

The adult Avengers’ roles here make sense, too. I like that they’re an obstacle to the Young Avengers that no one could call evil, in addition to the issue of super villains. I think having read some other Marvel comics would help here to understand just why the Avengers are no more, but a general knowledge is enough.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Beauty

Posted January 7, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Beauty by Sarah PinboroughBeauty, Sarah Pinborough

Beauty wraps up the trilogy, tying the books together even more and linking even more fairytales. It’s written in the same style as the previous two, and illuminates some points from the other books — including the characters of the Prince and the Huntsman. It’s all a little too neat for my tastes, and I think this might’ve been my least favourite of the books; the gruesomeness and sex was exaggerated even further, and we spend far too much time with the Prince, who we know is not exactly the nicest of characters. (Though perhaps this book explains it, somewhat!)

The ending, the epilogue part, was just infuriating — is this the end of a trilogy? Are there more books coming? I’m confused; it seems to promise that there will be resolution of this plot, at some point, maybe, but not now? The character is just left hanging in the most infuriating sort of way: there’s a way out of her situation, right, so what is it? I want to know! (Though the choice to combine Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast is quite fun taken as a concept, I just wish there was an actual resolution.)

I do like the way that Pinborough has twisted and combined the fairytales into one landscape of story. It might be a bit too clever by half, but I’ve been getting used to it, and it’s kind of fun to play spot-the-fairytale — and also spot the references to other people’s versions. The language works well, although it makes the sexual imagery all the more surprising — reading it, you’d think it’d be suitable for a child, or almost. And then… oh. Perhaps not!

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Death Before Wicket

Posted January 6, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Death Before Wicket by Kerry GreenwoodDeath Before Wicket, Kerry Greenwood

I’m not sure why I didn’t review Death Before Wicket when I read it, in the correct order, before Away With the Fairies. Not that it really requires solid anchoring in the continuity: most of the usual characters are missing from this book, and Phryne is totally out of her usual context. It’s, not coincidentally, not the most engaging of the books.

The worst thing, for me, is that there’s this whole magic and mysticism plot where Phryne pretends to be Isis and breaks a magical/hypnotic hold on a certain young man, and then there’s loads of sex stuff, and cricket. And weird totems and sex magic. That’s really mostly what this left as an impression on me — that and knowing that the cricket was like Murder Must Advertise, and the collegiate setting was Gaudy Night. I don’t recall it stealing any lines from Sayers as Raisins and Almonds did, which is a relief.

I would be worried about the series slumping with this one, if I hadn’t already read ahead by the time I’m writing this. It was definitely the slowest of the series so far, to my mind. I might even, possibly, suggest skipping it…

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Genes, Peoples and Languages

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

Cover of Genes, Peoples and Languages by Luigi Luca Cavalli-SforzaGenes, Peoples and Languages, Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, trans. Mark Seielstad

I’ve been meaning to read this for a while — even before coming across it in Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct — because genes and languages are two interests of mine. I’m not much for statistics and I found it difficult to follow some of the analyses of the data in this book, but fortunately, Cavalli-Sforza and his translator managed to put the conclusions across quite clearly. I’m surprised to see opposition to the idea that the spread of genes and languages can be mapped onto each other fairly closely, with some exceptions; Darwin predicted it, and according to the data here, it’s fairly clear.

I think the book might’ve benefited from a tighter focus, all the same; it seemed like the language chapter/s went off on a tangent somewhat. Still very interesting, and no doubt out of date by now — my edition says 2001 — so I really should look for more up to date stuff.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Before They Are Hanged

Posted January 4, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Before They Are Hanged by Joe AbercrombieBefore They Are Hanged, Joe Abercrombie

It’s surprising, looking back now I’ve finished Before They Are Hanged, to discover how little progress has really been made in the book. I originally commented that this book mostly sees character development, and that’s the case again — we see more of Logen’s dark side, more of Ferro’s softer side (which is only really marginally softer), and we begin to see Jezal shaping up into a half-decent sort of person. West and Glokta continue to be conflicted figures (though all the characters, really, are conflicted), caught between their flaws and their devotion to their duties, and whether those duties are even the right thing to do in the first place. And Malacus Quai… becomes more of an enigma; I was interested by the slow hints of his development, though we don’t really spend any time in his head, and I don’t recall what happens to the character.

As with the first book, half of these characters are pretty terrible people. Either they’ve done terrible things, they want to do terrible things, they’re doing terrible things, or they will do terrible things. Or terrible things have been done to them. The tentative relationships between Glokta and Ardee, Ferro and Logen, Glokta and Vitari, the growing trust between all of Logen’s group… All of these are well done as well. Mismatches and uncertainty and snatching things where you can find them… Again, it all feels real.

In many ways, this is typical fantasy. The Shanka are basically orcs, Bayaz appears to be Gandalf, the set up for Jezal to be a king is rather obvious… But there’s also grit and realism which was absent in The Lord of the Rings, which people usually point to as the archetype. I’m not sure I wanted to know that men’s nipples chafe when travelling in a rainstorm, but I know for sure that Tolkien wouldn’t have included that in his mythology!

Yes, it’s fairly obviously a part of the tradition. But I think it comments on it, too, and stretches it a little. It’s not all typical. And if you’re expecting Tolkien’s eucatastrophe, Joe Abercrombie seems fairly set to disappoint you.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Siege and Storm

Posted January 3, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Siege and Storm by Leigh BardugoSiege and Storm, Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm, the second Grisha book, wasn’t quite as absorbing as the first, Shadow and Bone — though that would be difficult, since I read the first half of Shadow and Bone while walking back from the library. I’m not even kidding. I think the pacing was a bit off here, and the fact that the book is almost 100 pages longer did it no actual favours. It’s still a pretty quick read, but the extra 80 pages felt like unneeded bulk.

Or perhaps that’s the added time I spent disbelieving that Mal would keep being such an idiot. He plays right into the hands of his rivals. It’s like he liked Alina when she wasn’t powerful, when she needed him to look after her, and he could feel superior because he was taking care of her, he was the only one who saw her worth, etc. Granted, Alina herself is changing (and I liked that journey, the way the power is changing her and the conflict she feels about it) and of course that concerns him, but it doesn’t seem to be about that. He just doesn’t like that she’s no longer devoted to him and that she’s no longer his to protect.

Which is, well. Kinda gross.

Nikolai, on the other hand, is pretty awesome in all his guises. I like that the way he acts is carefully examined — he’s manipulative, and he knows it and uses it, but at the same time, he’s not 100% comfortable with it. He seems to care about his mother and about Alina. He also genuinely cares about his country, rather than wanting power for the sake of power. And unlike Mal, he’s very clear about what he wants and expects of Alina.

The Darkling isn’t much in evidence here, with just a handful of scenes. That leaves the book a little lacking, I think; his opposition isn’t enough felt for a good 100-150 pages in the middle. It makes the showdown at the end very sudden. I’m not mourning the loss of his manipulation of Alina — interesting parallel to Nikolai, who is at least open about it — but he felt a little… lacking in bite.

I’m interested to read the third book, and hopefully it’ll get more of the momentum back. This seems like a lot of criticisms, but I did enjoy Siege and Storm enough not to drop it another star.

Rating: 4/5

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