Category: Fantasy

watch?

Posted on by Greig

The Secrets of Ghosts

Sarah Painter

the secrets of ghostsI was really looking forward to this book after seeing a lot of potential in the author’s first book (reviewed here in 2013 and 2014).
Unfortunately it has the heroine suddenly act stupidly in a way that’s out of character in order to service the plot.
This is absolutely guaranteed to pull me out of a story. It’s a personal pet hate and it seriously diminished my enjoyment of the book.
It was nice to go back to Pendleford and I enjoyed Katie becoming the lead character (though I don’t get why she’s calling herself a Harper when she’s a Moore in the first book).
I would love to see the author try writing an adventure in a more overtly fantastical universe. The small town romance stuff is nice but is seriously threatening to get repetitive now.
Totally worth a read though.

Rating: B-

bauxite?

Posted on by Greig

The Portable Door

Tom Holt

The Portable DoorThis book is the first of a series set in an around a firm of consulting magicians. Within that series this is the first of a trilogy starring Paul Carpenter.
We follow our uninspired and unremarkable hero as he interviews for and unexpectedly gets a job at a mysterious but seemingly ordinary business. He then goes on a series of increasingly fantastical misadventures before the real nature of the firm is revealed to him. All this while he nurtures a crush on his fellow new employee Sophie.
I enjoyed the book when I first read it back in 2004. What I can tell you now that I couldn’t then is that it’s a case of diminishing returns with the rest of the books in the series. I only stuck with it as far as I did because I wanted to find out what happened to Paul.
Recommended for lovers of comical fantasy especially those who know a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan (which I don’t but apparently it enhances the experience).

Rating: B

nanette?

Posted on by Greig

The Language Of Spells

Sarah Painter

the language of spellsI first read this less than a year ago and quite enjoyed it. The author has since brought out a sequel. I read the first chapter of that book and decided that I’d best re-read this one first in order to be up to speed with the new novel.
My original review still stands – click on the link to see it.
I’m sure a review for the follow up will appear on the blog soon enough.

Rating: B

boo?

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The Name Of The Star

Maureen Johnson

The Name of the StarThis is a thoroughly enjoyable YA supernatural thriller.
Rory, an American girl, has moved to London from Louisiana for school while her parents teach in Bristol.
On the day of her arrival a murder very much in the style of Jack the Ripper is discovered.
Just as she begins to make friends and starts to adjust to living in a strange country she finds herself caught up the murderous events.
This book is really entertaining and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel even though I’ve heard rumours that it has the worst cliffhanger in the world!

Rating: B+

wadjet?

Posted on by Greig

Half-Off Ragnarok

Seanan McGuire

half-off ragnarokThe latest Incryptid book is the first to feature Alex Price as the lead character, taking over from his little sister Verity.
Alex is a scientist specializing in reptilian cryptids and the book finds him working the Reptile House of a Zoo under a false identity.
When people and animals start turning to stone Alex has to investigate.
While this book was fun in the same vein of the first two books there were just a couple too any convenent coincidences in this one and it took me out of the book for a while.
Still don’t let that put of the series I think they’re well worth reading if you like a slice of escapist Urban Fantasy.

Rating: B

taptap?

Posted on by Greig

The Cormorant

Chuck Wendig

the cormorantThe third Miriam Black book (after Blackbirds and Mockingbird) finds our favourite foul-mouthed and (ever so) slightly unhinged psychic pulled into a seemingly inescapable trap in the weirdest parts of Florida.
I found this book hugely enjoyable. It started off slowly but as the plot unfolds it reveals itself to be the strongest entry in the series yet.
One way it does this by giving Miriam some resolution about parts of her past. It also helps that when Wendig gets to the sharp end of events he makes it deeply personal for our nomally detached and cynical protagonist.
This is also the most overtly fantastical Miriam Black book to date but it’s applied in a way that adds depth to Miriam’s world without losing the noir feel.
The Cormorant is highly recommended but you will need to read the earlier books to get full value (luckily they’re also great reads).

Rating: A-

maladicta?

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Monstrous Regiment

Terry Pratchett

monstrous regimentThe 31st Discworld book is the story of Polly who goes to war disguised as a boy in order to find her brother.
It’s a rare one-off story in the Discworld series even though it does feature Sam Vimes, William de Worde and a few other characters from earlier books.
Some people love this book and think it’s one of Pratchett’s very best. I personally think it isn’t quite that good – but it’s still a great read.
I read it back when it came out but apparently I didn’t get around to putting it up on the blog – entries were much more intermittent prior to 2005.
If I remember correctly I thought it was OK but not great. I enjoyed it more and I definitely appreciated the overt feminist themes better this time around.
Monstrous Regiment works as an introduction to Discworld but it wouldn’t be my first choice as the book to begin with.
You do know you should be reading Pratchett right?

Rating: A-

starlight?

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The Shambling Guide To New York

Mur Lafferty

shambling guide to new yorkThis enjoyable slice of urban fantasy was a Christmas gift from my parents this year. I’m not usually so good at reading gifts promptly but this seemed like a quick, fun read and I was not wrong.
An ordinary human finds herself working for a supernatural publishing company editing a travel guide and subsequently smack in the middle of events as chaos hits New York.
As I said it’s a fun a read and an intriguing start to a series. Recommended if you like a bit of urban fantasy.

Rating: B

unity?

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Thief of Time

Terry Pratchett

thief of timeI came across the dust jacket for this book while hunting for something else in my flat. After reuniting the book with it’s jacket I found myself with a notion to read this book again. I’ve read it before on multiple occasions and I reviewed it in 2005 and 2009.
This is my favourite of the Susan Sto-Helit books for a few reasons but the main one is probably the presence of the Time Monks and in particular Lu Tze the Sweeper.
As with every Discworld book this is a fun read – it’s just not as good as the very best work in the series.
If you haven’t read any Pratchett before I recommend that you start as soon as possible. Now would be good…

Rating: B

reparo?

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsThis is the first time I’ve read this book since I read it in a crazed four hour sprint on the day of it’s release.
Obviously since then I’ve seen the films they made of it a couple of times so I had a decent memory of the plot.
What surprised me with a more leisurely reading is how powerful certain passages of the book were. In particular the entire sequence of Harry facing Voldemort in the forest and of course the chapter inside Snape’s memories.
The book also wraps things up in a much more satisfying way than the film. I loved that the only thing Harry uses the Elder Wand for is to repair his own original wand.
Despite the pacing issues (a wee bit too long is spent with the lead trio hiding in the countryside) this is actually one of the strongest books in the whole series. It’s certainly a satisfying denouement.
So this wraps up the project of re-reading all the books having seen the films.
Overall my verdict is that the books are better than the films. A couple of the films are downright bad. Even the weakest of the books (Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of Fire) are entertaining where the worst film (Half-Blood Prince) is a total waste of time and talent.

Rating: A-