Zenn Scarlett is a teenage girl who lives on Mars and is training to become a vet who treats alien megafauna. Earth has become extremely xenophobic and has cut off all contact with other planets, fearing alien contamination. This leaves the (human) Martian society decaying, unable to get all the materials that it needs. Zenn struggles with the resentful attitude of the local humans towards her alien patients, the absence of her parents and the apparent development of strange new mental powers, all whilst trying to pass her end of year exams.
I liked this book. It is imaginative sci-fi for a young adult audience. Zenn is a likeable main character, and the various creatures that she treats are wonderfully described. My favourite was the sunkiller - giant flying reptiles that carry whole cities on their backs. It really appealed to the young girl in me that wanted to be a vet! The Martian community has a bleak, western-like feel which I enjoyed and while the plot wasn't a page-turner it was interesting and well paced.
There were a couple of downsides. Firstly, I might have missed it, but I don't think it was explained why the Martian humans couldn't just trade with other planets for the things that they needed. Obviously the technology would be different, but it would have made more sense if they had adapted, although this would have ruined the plot. Secondly, sometimes the exposition was a bit clumsy - too much of Zenn's thoughts explaining things, which dented my immersion in the book.
These things aside, I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to my students who like sci-fi and also as something a little different for those who enjoy animal stories. I am looking forward to the sequel, and hope that it will reveal more of the universe and some more interesting creatures.
Score: 8/10
Friday, 10 May 2013
Martha Wells
I have to confess I have not written a review for a while because a. I had a Manuscripts Studies essay due in that I really wanted to do well and b. because I have been on a total Martha Wells binge!
I started by re-reading Death of the Necromancer which was even better than I remembered it. I am obsessed with 19th century London, so I loved the feel of the fantasy city of Vienne, where the book is set, which evokes a decaying 19th century city beautifully. I had also forgotten the mish-mash of 19th century literature references, from The Count of Monte Cristo to Sherlock Holmes which are brilliantly woven in.
I then read City of Bones for the first time and was completely blown away! It is set in a fantasy desert landscape, with cities nestled amid the ruins of an ancient civilisation that was almost wiped away in a mysterious occurrance 1000 years before. The main character, Khat, was someone I could really empathise with. He and his business partner are dealers in ancient relics, and I loved the way that it was all about the relics for them, and money was just something they needed to live. The plot was gripping and the heroine, Elen, and all the secondary characters were brilliantly realised. This is a book that desperately needs a sequel!
Finally I read the Raksura trilogy. Initally I found the first book to be quite disappointing. It took me a very long time to get into it, the main characters felt a little too alien. I persevered, however, and by the end of the first book was very glad that I had. The world, and the societies within it are fantastically detailed, imaginative and interesting. I liked the flipping of gender roles and the strong female characters.
Martha Wells is just an amazing writer. I love the themes that run through her work - ruins, abandoned settlements and the sense of previous societies, damaged male leads learning to trust and strong female characters. She writes with great imagination and flair, creating intricate societies and worlds that I would really like to visit.
Death of the Necromancer - 10/10
City of Bones - 10/10
The Raksura Trilogy - 8/10
I started by re-reading Death of the Necromancer which was even better than I remembered it. I am obsessed with 19th century London, so I loved the feel of the fantasy city of Vienne, where the book is set, which evokes a decaying 19th century city beautifully. I had also forgotten the mish-mash of 19th century literature references, from The Count of Monte Cristo to Sherlock Holmes which are brilliantly woven in.
I then read City of Bones for the first time and was completely blown away! It is set in a fantasy desert landscape, with cities nestled amid the ruins of an ancient civilisation that was almost wiped away in a mysterious occurrance 1000 years before. The main character, Khat, was someone I could really empathise with. He and his business partner are dealers in ancient relics, and I loved the way that it was all about the relics for them, and money was just something they needed to live. The plot was gripping and the heroine, Elen, and all the secondary characters were brilliantly realised. This is a book that desperately needs a sequel!
Finally I read the Raksura trilogy. Initally I found the first book to be quite disappointing. It took me a very long time to get into it, the main characters felt a little too alien. I persevered, however, and by the end of the first book was very glad that I had. The world, and the societies within it are fantastically detailed, imaginative and interesting. I liked the flipping of gender roles and the strong female characters.
Martha Wells is just an amazing writer. I love the themes that run through her work - ruins, abandoned settlements and the sense of previous societies, damaged male leads learning to trust and strong female characters. She writes with great imagination and flair, creating intricate societies and worlds that I would really like to visit.
Death of the Necromancer - 10/10
City of Bones - 10/10
The Raksura Trilogy - 8/10
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Quintessence by Daniel Walton
Quintessence is the second of two fabulous books I have been reading with exploration and maritime adventure at the centre of them. It is an historical fantasy set at the end of Edward VI's reign (mid-sixteenth century). The world is like ours, but it has been proven to be flat. The book opens with an English Admiral returning to London with a ship full of rocks and sand and a crew who are all dead within a few days. An alchemist, seeking to uncover the mysteries of life, wants to take the Admiral's ship and return to the mysterious island that he claims to have found at the edge of the world. The King's doctor and his family become entangled in this journey through both religious conflicts and scientific curiosity and the stage is set for an epic adventure that dwells on the themes of obsession, colonialism and religion.
Walton's writing reminds me of Tim Powers in that he creates a really strong historical background onto which he maps the fantastical elements of the story. He gives a lot of consideration to the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism that was prominent in England and much of Europe at the time. He also demonstrates a strong understanding of the issues of colonists and the colonised. These strong backgrounds enable him to give his characters powerful motives which makes for a great plot (although there is a bit of deus ex machina at the end).
I loved all of the characters, Parriss (the King's doctor) was probably my favourite as he is struggling with so many things throughout the story. The creatures of the island and surrounding ocean are all beautifully imagined too, and the science (or alchemy) of it is credibly thought out. As with Emilie and the Hollow World (my last review) I tasted notes of The Odyssey and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I loved the whole feel of this novel - it felt quite genuinely sixteenth century - and the sense of excitement at exploration. Highly recommended.
10/10
Walton's writing reminds me of Tim Powers in that he creates a really strong historical background onto which he maps the fantastical elements of the story. He gives a lot of consideration to the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism that was prominent in England and much of Europe at the time. He also demonstrates a strong understanding of the issues of colonists and the colonised. These strong backgrounds enable him to give his characters powerful motives which makes for a great plot (although there is a bit of deus ex machina at the end).
I loved all of the characters, Parriss (the King's doctor) was probably my favourite as he is struggling with so many things throughout the story. The creatures of the island and surrounding ocean are all beautifully imagined too, and the science (or alchemy) of it is credibly thought out. As with Emilie and the Hollow World (my last review) I tasted notes of The Odyssey and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I loved the whole feel of this novel - it felt quite genuinely sixteenth century - and the sense of excitement at exploration. Highly recommended.
10/10
Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells
Quite a while ago now I read Martha Wells' most famous novel Death of a Necromancer and I was totally blown away (if you haven't read Death of a Necromancer stop reading this and go and buy it now!). I just wanted to exist in the world she created, and I was so devastated that her other books were not a direct follow-on (I think she has written some about the children and other descendents of the characters, but it's not the same...) I didn't read anything else by her, figuring I'd come back to her later. Well now I finally have and I am very pleased to report that I love her work as much as ever.
Emilie and the Hollow World is the first of two books I've read recently that have an exploratory maritime theme, both of which have been awesome. It is a fantastical re-imagining of Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth - the events and characters are largely different but the gist and feel of the story are the same. If you enjoy the great old Victorian adventure stories (Haggard, Verne and Conan Doyle) then this is definitely a book for you. It has all the rollicking adventure with none of the inherent sexism and racism that the Victorian stories unfortunately bring to the table.
Emilie is a 16 year-old runaway who accidentally boards a ship heading for the centre of the Earth. She is a fantastic character - vulnerable without being pathetic, capable without being unrealistic - somewhat like Phoebe in Vacant Graves. She was my favourite character, although I also liked Miss Marlende - the fiercely intelligent scientists daughter at the centre of the expedition to rescue her father.
Martha Wells creates a fabulous world, both on the surface and at the centre of the Earth. The journey accross the ocean at the centre of the world brought to mind The Odyssey and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I particularly liked the ruined cities in the sea as I have a penchant for abandoned buildings!
When I reached the end of this book I didn't want to put it down and read something else, just like Death of a Necromancer I wanted to remain in this world. Martha Wells is a great author, and this is a great book which I highly recommend.
10/10
Emilie and the Hollow World is the first of two books I've read recently that have an exploratory maritime theme, both of which have been awesome. It is a fantastical re-imagining of Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth - the events and characters are largely different but the gist and feel of the story are the same. If you enjoy the great old Victorian adventure stories (Haggard, Verne and Conan Doyle) then this is definitely a book for you. It has all the rollicking adventure with none of the inherent sexism and racism that the Victorian stories unfortunately bring to the table.
Emilie is a 16 year-old runaway who accidentally boards a ship heading for the centre of the Earth. She is a fantastic character - vulnerable without being pathetic, capable without being unrealistic - somewhat like Phoebe in Vacant Graves. She was my favourite character, although I also liked Miss Marlende - the fiercely intelligent scientists daughter at the centre of the expedition to rescue her father.
Martha Wells creates a fabulous world, both on the surface and at the centre of the Earth. The journey accross the ocean at the centre of the world brought to mind The Odyssey and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I particularly liked the ruined cities in the sea as I have a penchant for abandoned buildings!
When I reached the end of this book I didn't want to put it down and read something else, just like Death of a Necromancer I wanted to remain in this world. Martha Wells is a great author, and this is a great book which I highly recommend.
10/10
Monday, 25 February 2013
Vacant Graves by Christopher Beats
Masked stormtroopers, mad scientists and mysterious miners make this book a non-stop riot of action, one which I thoroughly appreciated. Donovan Schist is the world-weary PI hired to rescue a girl from sex-traffickers in steampunk New York c. 1870. He thinks that it will be an easy job, but he is, predictably, wrong and he gets swept up in an intrigue that he could never have imagined.
Since I love both steampunk and noir I was bound to like this book. I haven't read the first one, so I can't comment on these books as a series, but I am going to get it at the next available opportunity. Donovan is a well-written character. I imagined him to be like the American bloke on Ripper Street (although I would guess that Christopher Beats probably didn't imagine him to be so good looking...). He was a soldier for the Union in the American Civil War, and in the reality of Vacant Graves they lost. His experiences in battle have both traumatised and jaded him, which was well portrayed, although I got a bit irritated with constant references to "limey bastards" being as I am British. I also felt that while his character wasn't racist towards the black or Irish characters in the book, in common with modern social mores, hating the British was a permitted racism - something that I'm not happy with. In fairness to the author, the character has reason to dislike some British people as he was fighting against them in the war, so it is realistic, but it got a bit wearing.
His "ward", Phoebe, grew on me throughout the book. She managed to be vulnerable without being pathetic, which is always a danger with women in Victoriana, and I liked that she had a valuable skill set that didn't feel tacked-on just to give her something to do.
The plot was good, and the smoky atmosphere of the industrial town well-evoked. The steampunk technology was well thought out without going into too much detail. It was quite violent and gory, so if that is not your thing you might not appreciate this book, and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody below the age of 15 as there is also details about the sex-trafficking operation.
Although I adore London, and am fascinated by Victorian London in particular, it was quite refreshing to read a steampunk series grounded in the history of somewhere different. I have studied some American industrial archaeology as well, so although it was a new setting I was able to perceive some familiarity in it which I liked. I recommend this book to lovers of steampunk and noir, and also to those who like a good manly adventure.
Score: 8/10
Since I love both steampunk and noir I was bound to like this book. I haven't read the first one, so I can't comment on these books as a series, but I am going to get it at the next available opportunity. Donovan is a well-written character. I imagined him to be like the American bloke on Ripper Street (although I would guess that Christopher Beats probably didn't imagine him to be so good looking...). He was a soldier for the Union in the American Civil War, and in the reality of Vacant Graves they lost. His experiences in battle have both traumatised and jaded him, which was well portrayed, although I got a bit irritated with constant references to "limey bastards" being as I am British. I also felt that while his character wasn't racist towards the black or Irish characters in the book, in common with modern social mores, hating the British was a permitted racism - something that I'm not happy with. In fairness to the author, the character has reason to dislike some British people as he was fighting against them in the war, so it is realistic, but it got a bit wearing.
His "ward", Phoebe, grew on me throughout the book. She managed to be vulnerable without being pathetic, which is always a danger with women in Victoriana, and I liked that she had a valuable skill set that didn't feel tacked-on just to give her something to do.
The plot was good, and the smoky atmosphere of the industrial town well-evoked. The steampunk technology was well thought out without going into too much detail. It was quite violent and gory, so if that is not your thing you might not appreciate this book, and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody below the age of 15 as there is also details about the sex-trafficking operation.
Although I adore London, and am fascinated by Victorian London in particular, it was quite refreshing to read a steampunk series grounded in the history of somewhere different. I have studied some American industrial archaeology as well, so although it was a new setting I was able to perceive some familiarity in it which I liked. I recommend this book to lovers of steampunk and noir, and also to those who like a good manly adventure.
Score: 8/10
Friday, 8 February 2013
The Holders by Julianna Scott
I read quite a lot of ARCs from this publisher - Angry Robot - and this book is an example of the reason why. I really enjoyed it, it is a great example of YA fantasy. The plot centres around Becca, a clever American teen, whose main focus in life is taking care of her younger brother Ryland. Ryland hears voices that aren't there, and the authorities are quite keen to institutionalise him. One day two men come from a school that is run by Becca's father. He left when Becca was 7, abandoning her mother, and she is understandably very angry with him. The men want to take Ryland to this school in Ireland. After some debate Becca agrees to this - but only if she can go too - and thus opens up a world of magic, romance and danger.
I gobbled this book up in one sitting, and was devastated to reach the end. I can't quite put my finger on why I liked it so much. Becca is a good main character, not stupid, passive or soppy. She does, however, fail to notice several very obvious things. The plot of this book is not subtle, and everything that happens is very obvious (to everyone but Becca) - you will not be surprised by anything that occurs. That might be part of its charm I suppose - like a Disney film, you know what you are going to get before you sit down.
The supporting cast are good, it is nice to see a love interest who is a decent and kind fellow rather than controlling or stalkerish although he could do with a bit more personality. I also liked how the relationship between Becca and her father is played out. I hope that it continues to be written this way - no trite platitudes but with genuine flaws in both parties.
The predictably could be considered a bit of a downside. This is not high literature. Additionally the main plot is dangerously close to plagiarising the TV series Heroes. Holders is a great read, however, and I can think of a number of girls in my library who will go crazy for it. It has left me wanting more.
Score: 9/10
I gobbled this book up in one sitting, and was devastated to reach the end. I can't quite put my finger on why I liked it so much. Becca is a good main character, not stupid, passive or soppy. She does, however, fail to notice several very obvious things. The plot of this book is not subtle, and everything that happens is very obvious (to everyone but Becca) - you will not be surprised by anything that occurs. That might be part of its charm I suppose - like a Disney film, you know what you are going to get before you sit down.
The supporting cast are good, it is nice to see a love interest who is a decent and kind fellow rather than controlling or stalkerish although he could do with a bit more personality. I also liked how the relationship between Becca and her father is played out. I hope that it continues to be written this way - no trite platitudes but with genuine flaws in both parties.
The predictably could be considered a bit of a downside. This is not high literature. Additionally the main plot is dangerously close to plagiarising the TV series Heroes. Holders is a great read, however, and I can think of a number of girls in my library who will go crazy for it. It has left me wanting more.
Score: 9/10
Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse by Nina Post
Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse is a slightly confusing comic-fantasy-detective story written in the hardboiled style. Kelly Driscoll is a private detective cum monster hunter who is hired to find an angel bent on ending the world. The angel is living in a tower block full of fallen angels who are bound to the building, so they cannot leave it. They therefore spend all their time having committee meetings about small things and watching the television show that the building manager records.
I liked the book. I love hardboiled detective fiction, and I thought this was very amusing. I really liked the various single-purpose angels that follow Kelly around (including Tubiel, the angel of small birds that are lost and Kermit, the angel of the 3:00am hour). Kelly herself was a great character, and I am also a fan of Af - an angel she meets whilst investigating the tower block.
It reminded me of Jasper Fforde, except without all the witty cultural references (although I did wonder to myself if the references were there but I didn't get them because I am British). I think that fans of Fforde should give this series a go.
Due to the streamlined nature of the style and the inclusion of fantasy creatures such as giants and the scorpion bartender in the elevator this book did feel quite trippy at times. It is very surreal and some people might find it a bit difficult to follow. I am, however, keen to read the next one.
Score: 8/10
I liked the book. I love hardboiled detective fiction, and I thought this was very amusing. I really liked the various single-purpose angels that follow Kelly around (including Tubiel, the angel of small birds that are lost and Kermit, the angel of the 3:00am hour). Kelly herself was a great character, and I am also a fan of Af - an angel she meets whilst investigating the tower block.
It reminded me of Jasper Fforde, except without all the witty cultural references (although I did wonder to myself if the references were there but I didn't get them because I am British). I think that fans of Fforde should give this series a go.
Due to the streamlined nature of the style and the inclusion of fantasy creatures such as giants and the scorpion bartender in the elevator this book did feel quite trippy at times. It is very surreal and some people might find it a bit difficult to follow. I am, however, keen to read the next one.
Score: 8/10
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