They’re out! The L.O.S.T. Trilogy is back, with spectacular new covers. Print, Kindle, Nook — choose your format and enjoy!
Book Review: The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Neilsen
I don’t just write books for young adults–I read them, too! I remain, as always, an unrepentant science fiction and fantasy geek, and I crave both classical and fresh takes on the material I love most–you know, kings, princes, queens, dragons, aliens, dragons AND aliens are always a plus…
On to this review of The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen.
Genre: Fantasy, heavy on mystery and intrigue
Summary: Resourceful and cunning orphan Sage has no choice but to go with mysterious nobleman Conner when the man comes looking for boys of a certain age and appearance . . . boys who just happen to share a lot in common with the king’s long-missing son. Conner has collected himself a group of competitors, and he pits the boys against each other to see which one can impersonate the lost prince. The winner gets a kingdom. The losers get a blade to the throat. Sage has no doubt that Conner intends to make his chosen prince a puppet, and he knows Conner’s motives are far darker than Conner would have him believe. Yet if Sage doesn’t compete, he’ll die–either at Conner’s hand, or the hands of his rivals. Reality blends with lies until a shocking set of twists and turns lead Sage to the ultimate truth, which may be more dangerous than the bloody game Conner has him playing.
My Reading/Listening Experience: The audio version of The False Prince turned out to be excellent. The reading is smooth, flawless, and well-paced, highlighting fresh, lyrical prose and a plot that just won’t quit. Sage is complex and layered, a perfect blend of defiance and dedication. His rivals and Conner are believable and very real, but never predictable. Every time I thought I had things figured out, a new twist would turn my brain upside down, and sometimes I wanted to play the narrative on fast speed just to find out what would happen next.
Really Cool Stuff: Plot twists! Other books claim to have them, but compared to False Prince, they’re kidding. Really! Murdered royals stashed underneath a palace. How gross is that? Trying to figure out who the good guys are–and really being taken for a ride.
Would I Let A Younger Kid Read This: Yes. I think the plot would keep them going even if some of the nuances of good vs. evil and where those blend into gray might get missed. Some of the violence might be briefly disturbing, but nothing is gratuitous, and all would be good fodder for discussion about right, wrong, and everything in between.
Would I Give This Book To My Daughter Who Reads Everything But Is Way Pickier Than Me And Gripes If I Give Her Something Boring: No question. She’s getting it from the Christmas box, if she doesn’t find it and swipe it sooner, like she did the latest installment of the Mercy Thompson series. She’ll bug me the whole time she’s reading it to tell her what’s going to happen. I will refuse to tell her, because I am the meanest mother on Earth.
But I Don’t Like This Genre: The mystery and intrigue trump the fantasy element. You’d have to be brain-dead not to like this.
Read more about this book at http://www.jennielsen.com/books/ascendance-trilogy/the-false-prince. There will be a movie–and, and, the sequel, Runaway King, is already out!
Visit Podcast of Ice and Fire
Check out the Podcast of Ice and Fire’s broadcast about my essay in Beyond the Wall–in which we debate the cosmology of George R. R. Martin’s Westeros, opine about whether or not Theon Greyjoy will ever redeem himself, and hash out the true worth of Jaime Lannister.
Oh, and touch on the fact that Edward in Twilight is still an antisocial twit who glitters. (This part of the talk happened in the last five minutes–it’s in the aftershow portion).
Let the hate mail begin!
But first, have a look at this:
Logo is by Victor. Amin Javadi from Podcast said the artist made a black and white version, and they added the colors. THIS is what I had to talk to during the whole interview. Intimidating, yes? Good thing I was wearing my direwulf WINTER IS COMING shirt. Nyah!
Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I don’t just write books for young adults–I read them, too! I am a self-confessed science fiction and fantasy geek, and I want to review the books that really feel DIFFERENT to me. Or wonderful. New, fresh, interesting, that’s what I’m after!
Now to this review’s star: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.
Genre: Urban Fantasy . . . With a Touch of Angels
Summary: Karou, a 17 year-old art student in Prague, can sketch like nobody’s business, speak dozens of languages (some not of this world), and wish her hair permanently blue. She can walk out of our plane of existence to a shop owned by a monster named Brimstone–a monster who collects, of all things, teeth. For reasons unknown to Karou, Brimstone raised her in his unusual shop, and he sends her on errands all over the world, mostly involving his collection of teeth. She exits the shop via doors that open onto the world’s major cities and some very out of the way places, but black handprints have begun to appear on these doors. They seem sinister to Karou, but school and Brimstone’s errands leave her little time to consider them. When she’s almost killed by one of the gorgeous strangers making those handprints, she finds herself yanked into an otherworldly battle she can barely conceive of, much less understand. She’s drawn to Akiva even though he tried to slaughter her, and in his flame-filled eyes, she may find answers about herself and her past–answers that she can scarecely bear to accept.
My Reading/Listening Experience: The audio version of Daughter of Smoke and Bone is about as perfect as a reading can get. The cadence and accents are perfect, and I looked forward to every moment I spent with the book. The characters–wow. Karou, Brimstone, Karou’s best friend–even her jerk of an ex-boyfriend live and breathe and fail and succeed like real people . . . even when they aren’t people at all. Laini Taylor writes crisply and without cliches, and doesn’t shy away from real life. At first the fantasy element is almost slipstream, and even when we’re pitched headlong into other worlds and confronting races barely known to us, it never becomes overwhelming. The story seemed well-paced and pulled me through, and my interest never waned.
Really Cool Stuff: Brimstone! I want him for my father! A conversation about essential vs. non-essential aspects of the male anatomy that will live with me forever and become advice I give my grandchildren. Seraphim and Chimera. I want to be a Chimera. A wolf I think, or maybe…maybe a wickedly dry-witted monster just like Brimstone. The snake lady made me love her, too. And the scary female Seraphim. I want to read a book about her someday. If Laini Taylor kills her, I may have to resort to stalking.
Would I Let A Younger Kid Read This: Hmm. Tougher than some. There is real violence here, not just gratuitous beatings and smackings readers can ignore. This book delves into the very real pains of poverty, madness, and exploitation in our world and others, and the writing is so realistic that the images live in my mind and heart. So, I probably wouldn’t hand this to a kid under 14 unless I knew they were mature and tough enough to take on those subjects. There is unabashed sexuality, though again, nothing gratuitous–so, same issue–probably not under 14 unless I knew the kid could handle it.
Would I Give This Book To My Daughter Who Reads Everything But Is Way Pickier Than Me And Gripes If I Give Her Something Boring: Absolutely. Already have it in her Christmas book box. Well, if I can pry it back from my friend Judy. She wanted to leave work last Friday to finish it. Seriously.
But I Don’t Like This Genre: This book is a genre-defier. Shut up and read it. You’ll really reall like it. If not you can send me hate mail.
Read more about this book at http://www.lainitaylor.com/p/books.html.
The sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, doesn’t come out until November. That’s four months! NO FAIR!!
Book Review: Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfield
I don’t just write books for young adults–I read them, too! Lots and lots and lots of them. I confess to being a serious and dedicated nerd and geek. Science fiction? Bring it on. Fantasy? Um, yes. HUGE THICK FANTASY? Yes!! I also love contemporaries, horror, good middle grade, wickedly cool picture books, and lots of supposedly “grown up” novels, too. My half-hour commute to and from work gives me time for a glorious indulgence, which is audiobooks. I’m currently listening to Scott Westerfield’s Leviathan series, so I thought I would share my impressions of Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath.
Genre: Steampunk, Alternate History
Summary: The year is 1914, and the world is sharply divided between Darwinists, who use genetic manipulations to create fantastic ecosystems that function as machines, and Clankers, who rely on old fashioned gears, gas, and engines. In this alternate World War I landscape, genetically fabricated airwhales powered by bacteria and bees compete with zeppelins and terrifying mechanical walkers, and warships armed with terrifying canons that fire lightning into the sky. Young Prince Aleksander, the rightful heir to the (Clanker) Austro-Hungarian throne, wakes to find his peace-loving and protective parents slaughtered and his own “allies” trying to kill him. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp, a young girl in Britain who lost her father in a terrible ballooning accident, leaves her former identity–and her gender–behind to join the (Darwinist) British Air Service. When fate brings Alek and Deryn together, they join forces to try to save their own lives . . . and the world.
My Reading/Listening Experience: Before I finished the second CD of Leviathan, I had ordered Behemoth and Goliath. The narrator is brilliant, the characters completely alive to me, and the story–action, action, action! I am lost in the world, I can’t wait to see what happens next, and I’m finding excuses to drive around and sit in my car just to get five minutes more.
Really Cool Stuff: Genetically modified bats that poop flechettes to rip mechanical aircraft to ribbons, message lizards, a wild count protecting the prince who seems to be the son of Count Dracula and James Bond, a strong female heroine with a big heart who is NOT over-the-top kick-butt . . . but who will still kick your butt, stormwalkers shaped like Hindu deities, neurotic giant jellyfish who serve as living hot air balloons, a classic love story drifting along in the background and breaking my heart, and –and–AND–the Perspicacious Loris. I need me a Perspicacious Loris in the worst way.
Would I Let A Younger Kid Read This: Yes, nothing offends my neurotic giant jellyfish parental sensibilities. The strongest swear-word is “blisters.” Well, “barking spiders” might rate, too. I don’t think the German word for stupid-head counts.
Would I Give This Book To My Daughter Who Reads Everything But Is Way Pickier Than Me And Gripes If I Give Her Something Boring: YES. I will probably buy them for her in hardback.
But I Don’t Like This Genre: Read these anyway. They rise above any category label you might want to pin on them. Great story + great characters = it doesn’t get any better than this.
Read more about them at http://scottwesterfeld.com/books/leviathan/ .