Review: The Paradox Trilogy by Rachel Bach

Series:  Paradox by Rachel Bach

1. Fortune's Pawn
2. Honor's Knight
3. Heaven's Queen

Hey guys.  Ever have that one relationship that transcends your understanding of love?  The one that makes you realize that everyone you've met in the past was just a test run for this real thing?  That relationship that, once it ends, makes you realize you'll never find anything like it again - and are therefore slightly hollow for the rest of your life?

Yeah, me neither.

I have, however, read the Paradox trilogy by Rachel Bach, and that's almost as good.

This is the series of books that made me realize that I could, in fact, be interested in Science Fiction.  Before this series, I had only read a couple of the classics (most notably Dune), and while I enjoyed them, I wasn't inspired to love the genre as a whole.  This is the series of books that changed it all.

Why?  I don't have any definitive answer, but I suspect I have a few reasons.  

1. Deviana Morris herself

I love reading books with strong female characters.  They don't have to be sword- or gun-wielding, but being more than a damsel-in-distress is pretty great.  And Devi is the type of woman who names her guns (and her super-powered space armor).  She goes for what she wants without any apology - without being a complete asshole about it.  She's not afraid to pick a fight if that's what's necessary, and she knows that what's right isn't always easy - but worth fighting for all the same.  She has a healthy approach to sex and relationships...even if those relationships can cause problems in the future.  While she appreciates a fine masculine physique, she doesn't become a puddle of googly eyes and insipidity the second her man-love walks into the room - and gets incredibly pissed if he screws her over. You know, like a real person.  I want to hug her, but I suspect that she might punch me if I tried.

2, Adventures in SPAAAAAACE

Oh, man.  There is so much going on here.  Alien races.  Mysterious deaths.  "Invisible" monsters.  A secret society.  Twisted "magic".  Saving the universe. "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles!"  (Okay, that last bit is a quote from The Princess Bride but you know what I mean.)  There are a few calm moments throughout the series, but for the most part this is a driving narrative that Deviana drives through to the end.  Each book expands on something introduced in the previous volume, giving the setting depth and dimension, making it feel like a real place.

3. Mystery/Quest

Fortune's Pawn starts out with our dauntless heroine taking a job that is deceptively dangerous.  While everyone knows that the ship - and whatever its mission is - leaves a trail of dead bodies behind it, it's not clear why.  By the time the real reason for the wake of corpses is revealed, the stakes have been raised so high it's hard not to inhale the next chapter...and the next...and the next, right up until the series is over and you're left feeling spent and satiated.

This isn't to say that the series doesn't have problems:  Devi gets into and out of scrapes faster than any twelve normal people and rarely has anything to show for it other than a few bruises.  Also, the entire ending of the series gets wrapped up a little to neatly for my taste - including a cameo by a Super Important Person that borders on deus ex machina.  It's a bit more of a fairy tale ending rather than a super space epic war-for-all-life type of ending, but I suspect that most people don't mind a happy ending.

To sum up:
Read this series.  Read it right now.

My favorite books of 2013

Every year I try and compile a "favorites" list of books that I have read throughout the year. Some of these books were not published this year it just happened that 2013 was the year I got around to reading them. I have included my review of the book instead of the book blurb in most cases. Enjoy!

#1 Ready Player One (2011) by Ernest Cline

Adult/Young Adult crossover, Science Fiction
Thanks Ernest Cline for making me act like your main character, Wade. I did not want to leave my room or intereact with real people until I had finished your book. I don't even know where to start. I felt connected right away because of the references to 80s pop culture and the author's obvious love for all things GEEK. I found this futuristic world so interesting and so plausible it was a little frightening. I loved this book! All of you should read it. Now!

#2 The Composer is Dead (2009) by Lemony Snicket

Picture book, humor, music
** spoiler alert ** This picture book/audiobook/musical recording was amazing! I don't read a lot of picture books and I have not read anything by Lemony Snicket but after hearing  an interview with Lemony Snicket on Fresh Air I knew that reading something by him was inevitable. I laughed out loud with the humorous undertones as an investigator goes through an entire orchestra, questioning whether they have killed the nameless composer. Clever, witty and dramatic you must read and listen to this book no matter whether you like picture books or not, whether you know about orchestras or not. A few of my favorite lines are "This is called decomposing" and "Violins are the stars of any orchestra". Actually, just reading about the violin section brought back fond memories of playing 2nd violin throughout my school years. Don't miss the informative quote about second violins, apparently we are a lot of fun at parties. Other memorable quotes include "Everyone forgets about us, said the Violas bitterly" and of course "...the Conductor! You've been murdering composers for years!" Ok, I won't quote any more. The music is great and all of the profiles of each orchestra section ring true. I'm being a bit evangelical about this book so please, read it for you and if you happen to have kids read it for them too!

#3 The Fault in our Stars (2012) by John Green

Young Adult, Abe nominee 2014, Realistic Fiction

Hazel is 16 and has terminal cancer. She knows she will die one day and it will be sooner rather than later but for now she is alive.  She is part of a teen cancer support group where she meets Augustus. His cancer is in remission and he is gorgeous. They become fast friends and grow closer as the book goes on but love and life is not easy when you are ill. There are funny moments and incredibly sad moments.  A very quotable and memorable book. And yes, it will be a movie next year. I dare you not to cry when reading this book.

The rest are unnumbered:

Winter of the World (2012) The Century Trilogy #2 by Ken Follett 

Adult, historical fiction

The second book in a planned trilogy, spanning a century, is just as good as the first. I love the historical context(WWII), I love the characters, I love that this author can create so many authentic characters. Even though I haven't read the first book in a couple years I was able to remember most of what happened before and how all the characters are related. One of my favorites! I also highly recommend Pillars of the Earth by Follett. Amazing read!

The Shining (1977) by Stephen King

Adult, Horror
My review is really long and can be found here:
http://www.wanderingmeander.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-shining-review-in-preparation-or.html

The River of no Return (2013) by Bee Ridgeway

Adult, historical fiction, fantasy…multiple genres
Goodreads plot synopsis: “You are now a member of the Guild. There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.
My comment: This has everything I like in a book; history, time-travel, mystery, romance.I love it!

The Golem and the Jinni (2013) by Helene Wecker

Adult, historical fiction, magical realism
The review is from an earlier post. It can be found here:
http://wanderingmeander.blogspot.com/search?q=golem

Seraphina (2012) by Rachel Hartman

Young Adult, fantasy
I LOVED this book! I really liked the main character. She was interesting, layered and not perfect but also not annoying! I liked the idea of dragons in this book. It was original and different. The ending did not leave you hanging but it was not completely resolved either. I just thought it was a great book and got angry every time I had to put it down or was interrupted. 

Honorable mentions: 

I do not have a personal review that I have written about these books but I did read them this year and they have stuck with me, in a good way!

Young Adult, Realistic fiction, 4 stars

Young Adult, Magical historical realism  ( I do not think that is a genre but it describes the book well). 
4 stars 

Adult, Nonfiction, 3.5 stars

Young Adult, Narrative Nonfiction, awesome! 4 stars

Young Adult, a story told in pictures, letters and other graphics. Very original and interesting. Read while listening to Chopsticks (unknown composer) and Bright White Jackets by April Smith. 4 stars.

Book Review: "Shadow and Bone" and "Siege and Storm"

For those of you who have been living under a rock, sheltered from the YA book world, you might not have heard of Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy.  If you're reading this, though, odds are that you are well aware and nothing here is going to be revolutionary.  I finished the first book weeks ago and it took me so long to figure out what I wanted to say that I had read the second book before I posted anything. 
I am heartily ashamed. 

If you like short versions of reviews, here's my summary:
These books are terrific.  Great characters, interesting setting, compelling relationships and genuine drama.  4.5+ stars.

 

Let's start with book one:  Shadow and Bone.
Our heroine, Alina, has a thankless job in an underappreciated and overworked army as a mapmaker, where she can be largely overlooked but at least she is close to her childhood friend and (secret) love of her life, Mal.  Problem is, she's not very good at her assigned career and the love of her life probably doesn't know how she feels.  But then, in a moment of danger, a rare and important power manifests itself and she is swept into the world of the Grisha and into the the path of the Darkling, the most important Grisha in the country. 

Okay.  So there's your synopsis, complete with setup for the requisite YA love triangle.  Here's the thing:  I actually loved this triangle.  Mal, so easy with the ladies, hardly notices Alina (not that she starts out as a catch or anything).  The Darkling, while giving off some serious creepster vibes, is also the perfect misunderstood tortured soul.  He takes Alina under his wing and gives her something she's never had:  a place to belong. 
To sum up in a gif:

That's before the sh*t hits the fan, of course, and as soon as you read the synopsis of the second book, you'll know what happens.
G'ah.  So many feelings.  I tore through this book in an afternoon.
4.5 stars.  I might rate it higher on a second read-through.


Now.  Siege and Storm.
Adding to the awesomeness that was Shadow and Bone, Bardugo now introduced the infamous Sturmhond, a pirate with an attitude and some serious get-it-done skills.  (See gif above for reaction.)  Mal is still around and despite his frustration and the book two angsting, has started to grow on me.  The Darkling has become a bit of a jerk, but there's still something alluring about him, even if he is the devil incarnate. 
Not only do we have pirates in this book, but we also have sea monsters and secret magics and rebellions and Alina putting a Snooty McBetterThanThou in her place.  All in all, incredibly satisfying. 
Book ends on a did-not-see-that-coming cliffhanger and I want the next book right now.
4.5 stars.  At least.

Overall thoughts:
It's really hard to write "OMG LOVE IT" reviews, because what can you say that isn't rabid fangirling? 

Read these books.  Read them now.  Support bookstores and libraries and authors that do clever things and write interesting characters that have more personality than a damp tissue! 
YAY.

Book Review: Crown of Midnight

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
Book 2 of Throne of Glass

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Review:
Oh my goodness, you guys.  
Seriously.

I read this book last weekend and had to look for the right gifs to do it justice.
This is the Celaena book we've wanted:  she's put in moral dilemmas, she has squee-worthy romance moments, she finds and loses friends, she gets all dressed up and she also straight-up murders the crap out of people.  There are reveals.  There are Serious Moments.  There is humor.
Basically:

 It's just....it's so much.  My poor little heart, cold and reptilian though it might be, was struggling to handle all the input it was getting.  (Randomness of the day:  when I tried to type "input" my finger muscles typed "pinup" instead.  Make of that what you will.)

So now Celaena is the King's Champion, which is great because it means she didn't die in a tournament for the honor.  Score.  The downside is that she is under contract for four years.  And it's not like the king is friggin' Arthur or something.  So her gig pretty much involves slaughtering people that are basically decent because she has the skills to do it.  She doesn't want to, but King Jerkwater has threatened to murder everyone she loves if she doesn't toe the line.

Mistress Kick-butt's reaction to the king's "plans"

Well, Our Lady Death-in-a-Dress decides she's not buying garbage that King Douchecanoe is peddling and is doing her best to weasel all sneakily out of killing sort-of innocent people. So we get Cunning Celaena and Secret Rebel Celaena.  One mission goes somewhat awry and she becomes Knife Fighter Celaena.  Then something spoilery-so-shall-not-be-revealed happens and she becomes Super-Murder Hyper-Slaughter Celaena.  (I liked that part.)  

Readers get to see more of her tender side when she finally - FINALLY - gets the guy that's been admiring her for longer than he cares to admit.  She's gooey on the inside.  Aww.
But even with her marshmallow center, her outer shell isn't made of candy.  It's made of titanium, and Not-Taking-Any-Bullsh*t Celaena draws a line in the sand and breaks her own heart to stay on the correct side of it.  When our heroine is at the lowest of the low, even I needed a hug. 

She can be decorative.  She can be petty.  But she also uses her brain more often than not.  She has a line even she will not cross.  She even has secrets that she hasn't revealed to the reader (which shouldn't have been a surprise, but still was because I was doing the reading equivalent of the "Phoebe Run" through this book).

To sum up:  We get to see our legendary assassin actually get bathed in blood.  We get to see her fall in love and dress all pretty.  We get to see her show her moral mettle - and suffer for her sacrifices.  AND we get a frickin' cliffhanger that makes me want to grab the next book.  Which is, of course, nowhere near being published.  

Read this book.  Read it right now.* 

5 stars!  

*"now" means "after finishing the first book"