REVIEW: GOING POSTAL

Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Yes, but you can absolutely read the Discworld series out of order
UK Publisher: Corgi
UK Release date: 2005
Genre: Fantasy

Moist von Lipwig was a con artist and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork’s ailing postal service back on its feet. It was a tough decision. But he’s got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too. Maybe it’ll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it’s a death sentence either way. Or perhaps there’s a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who’s prepared to push the envelope...

Being a big fan of Terry Pratchett's other books, and the TV version of this book, you can easily imagine my thoughts after reading Going Postal. It didn't disappoint; in fact I loved it.

When I tell you about the main protagonist, Moist von Lipwig, you may wonder why I loved it so much. Moist was a con artist, swindler and trickster. I shouldn't have liked him, because he stole, cheated and lied at every turn. And when he wasn't doing that, he was running away like a coward. But I did really like him and I found his story to be captivating, humorous and fast paced. Perhaps it was because of his witty narrative and charisma. Or perhaps it was because he started out at his lowest point - on the hangman's noose - and from there he could only go up. He struggled to see the error of his ways, and continued to manipulate people into being on his side, however it wasn't done maliciously. And because he ended up caring for the people in the post office, it turned out to be a good thing. In fact, this quick wit, bravado and fast mouth, were the very things needed to bring life back into the post office.

In his typical style, Terry Pratchett included plenty of humour and wit. I smiled and giggled my way through the book. However there was also a moral element to the story. Vetinari, the leader of Ankh-Morpork, may be fearsome, but he is also fair. He doesn't just punish Moist von Lipwig for his crimes. He offers him a choice, and a chance at redemption.

The story held plenty of action, twists, turns and surprises. And of course, a handful of weirdness. I love the way Terry Pratchett took something so normal, like post and stamps, and turned it into this fantastical and frantic race to succeed, and do right by the common people of Ankh-Morpork. I have no idea how stamps came into being in our own world, but it was fascinating to see how the idea of them developed in this story.

Once again Terry Pratchett creates magic on each page. If you love a book with fantasy, humour and bold characters, then please read this!

Rating: 5*

REVIEW: PANTOMIME

Author: Laura Lam
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Strange Chemistry
UK Release date: 7th February 2013
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide. Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

The rich setting for Pantomime encompasses elements of magic, fantasy and historical Victorian period. Ellada has all the finery of the rich upper class, contrasted against the poor and the beggars. Whereas Gene has all the luxuries of the rich, she still suffers from the restrictive traditions and formalities and from the burdens of a mother that wants her to marry well and be like every other girl coming of age. 

Then there is the circus; a whole different world in itself. As soon as you start reading Pantomime you are thrown into the Circus of Magic. I loved reading about what circus life is really like behind all the glitz and magic. There were so many different personalities and characters like the 'freaks' and clowns, and whilst I expected them to be like a big family I didn't quite expect the dark and sinister 'hazing' that Micah received when he started there.

The magical element in the story is Vestige and the mysterious Penglass domes. I wasn't really sure what exactly Vestige was, although it had a steampunk feel to it. I'm hoping that the world building and magic is explored in more detail in subsequent books, as there is so much potential for this to develop into something beautifully complex and colourful. Whilst this book focused more on the characters and their development, I would really love to find out more about the different countries and their dwindling magic.

What makes Pantomime different from so many other books out there is the big twist in the story. Actually I think there are two surprises. One I picked up on fairly early into the plot, as there were some little hints floating around. But the other I hadn't quite guessed, although it made sense when I found out. I can't tell you what these twists are, because it would completely spoil the story. But I will say that Pantomime will get you thinking, it will open your mind, and hopefully remind people that no matter what our differences everyone deserves to live their life how they want to, with freedom, equality, and respect. I also really admire Laura Lam for writing a book that dares to pick such a unique and slightly taboo topic and write it with really sensitivity.

Pantomime is a dark, gritty world where all the fun of the fair can turn sinister at any time.

Rating: 4*

REVIEW: THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE

Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Strange Chemistry
UK Release date: 4th October 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.
And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be. (Goodreads)

Ananna is gruff, tough and most certainly rough around the edges. But as a pirate's daughter that has grown up aboard a pirate ship, who can blame her. She's not the sort of girl that I would want to meet in a dark alley, and to start I didn't take an instant liking to her. But she very quickly grew on me, as she  wouldn't take stick from anyone. I loved the way she could stand up for herself, fight her way out of a situation and give as good as she got. And despite her stubborn and coarse nature, she seemed to develop a little soft spot for the assassin sent to kill her.

I loved that Naji and Ananna were bound together by an Impossible Curse. There’s something very fairytale and romantic about the idea, and the fact that they had to remain within a certain proximity of each other meant they were forced to spend time together and get on to some degree. Although Naji was completely blind to Ananna and her feelings and also very reticent about sharing anything, I could see why Ananna might start to fall for him. Because Naji is an assassin that wears black clothes to cover his entire body and face, he has this dark, mysterious appeal. His scarred face gives him a vulnerable and self-depreciating quality.

The story is set in some magical, exotic and rugged places, from deserts, the ocean and a magical jungle on an unusual floating island. These different places add to the action and the plot and give the story a really mystical air. I'm really intrigued to see where Ananna and Naji might visit next and I really hope it's some where new, different and special.

Plot-wise, the story starts with Ananna running away and very soon after sees her and Naji set off on a journey fraught with danger and adventure. There is dark magic mixed in and strange women from other worlds. Like Ananna I didn't know who could be trusted, and coupled with being on the run this made Anannna's situation seem very scary. She seemed to relish a lot of this danger though, getting involved in the action whenever she could.

A slight pet peeve for me was Anannna’s use of incorrect grammar, to make her speech more colloquial and pirate-esque. She regularly used double negatives even when she intended for the end result to be negative. I'm not know sure why this bothered me so much, it just did. Despite this, I still really enjoyed   this book.

The Assassin’s Curse is a pirate fantasy bursting with romance, action and adventure.

Rating: 4*

REVIEW: THE PECULIAR

Author: Stefan Bachmann
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: HarperCollins
UK Release date: 18th September 2012
Genre: Steampunk faery fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.
In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.
One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.
First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong. (Goodreads)

In The Peculiar, Bachmann has created an alternative England where a door to the faery world was once opened. This alternative world incorporates elements of Victorian England, gothic steampunk and magical fantasy, and is both wonderfully vivid in its opulence but also darkly dangerous. Since the destruction of Old Bath and the introduction of faeries to the country, there has been an uneasy alliance between humans, changelings (half humans half faeries), and the different types of faeries from sprites and gnomes to Sidhe. Neither side understands or trusts the other. And it is unfortunately the half bloods or changelings that bear the brunt of this prejudice and mistrust. I do love this world that has been built, but I do feel more could have been done to add depth and development to the characters.

My feelings towards Mr Jelliby are a little ambivalent. He’s the kind of upper-class gentleman that doesn’t like to rock the boat and is rather ineffectual. But despite the fact that he can be indecisive and cowardly, he doesn’t just idly sit back and let events unfold without trying to intervene. I’m not fully convinced this was down to character development, and I did sometimes doubt the believability of his actions. Would such a nervous character really be able to step up as the hero without more persuasion than just thinking ‘well someone has to do it’?

Poor changeling Bartholomew and his little sister have been forced to live hidden away from everyone else. It is only when the curious Bartholomew spots a mysterious lady magically whisk away his young neighbour, that he sets out into the wide world. I felt I understood and liked Bartholomew a lot more, with his desire to have a fairy helper and yet even greater desire to protect his sister.

The story is written in third person from Bartholomew’s and Mr Jelliby’s perspectives. Occasionally the perspectives overlapped, to give an omniscient narration within the same chapter. I found this a little  disconcerting, as my preference is to keep third person perspectives quite separate. Something that also stood out about the writing was that the story gave no context straight away to what the characters' motivations were. You are plunged straight into the story and have to figure out what is going on as the characters Bartholomew and Mr Jelliby do, and decipher what Mr. Lickerish might be up to. I actually liked this though, as I had to keep guessing and wondering how their paths might all cross and come together.

Despite some of the narrative and character niggles, I enjoyed The Peculiar as a visually splendid Victorian delight, mixing up steampunk and gothic, faery fantasy to create something that children will love.

You can read an excerpt of The Peculiar on Goodreads and you can also listen to Peculiar Pieces, the music written by Stefan Bachmann to accompany the book.

Rating: 4*

THE GATHERING DARK BOOK EVENT & TRAILER

Earlier this week I had the great privilege of meeting Leigh Bardugo as part of her tour for her first YA fantasy The Gathering Dark (aka Shadow and Bone). Not only is Leigh an amazingly lovely person, but as Leigh described how she came up with the idea for her debut book, I literally got goosebumps...

Previously Leigh worked as a makeup artist. And as Halloween was always a time when everyone wanted spooky makeup done for free, Leigh decided to go out of town and escape from work. Her getaway with friends included a Halloween party for which she kindly offered to give the hosts a makeover as a goodwill gesture. Unfortunately they offered the entire party a free makeover courtesy of Leigh. So after several hours of slaving away at the party, Leigh wasn't best pleased. As a show of her feelings, the next night she decided to stay in and read when everyone else went out partying. But after falling asleep, she awoke in the strange country house to pitch blackness. As she panicked trying to find the light switch, she started thinking about a place where the dark was permanent and couldn't be turned off by the flick of a switch. This is turn made Leigh think about where this dark place would be and who might create such a terrible place. And thus, with some research which included Russian post-war stories, Shadow and Bone was born.

Having read the book, I can truly say it is beautifully written and enchanting. I loved the Russian elements, and now having heard of Leigh's background some of the characters and their roles in the book make perfect sense. In case you are intrigued, here is the blurb for the book:

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? 

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.
But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

There seems to have been a spate of YA books being bought recently for film, and The Gathering Dark is no different. Dreamworks have picked up Leigh's book for future film production and I can't wait to see who is cast for it. A few months back before this news was known, Casey at Dark Readers also saw the book's potential and decided we needed to make a trailer for the book.

So here is the video trailer the fab Casey and Amina put together for The Gathering Dark.

You can check out Leigh and The Gathering Dark here:

Amazon
Twitter
Goodreads

REVIEW: THE CORPSE-RAT KING

Author: Lee Battersby
Series: No, standalone
UK Publisher: Angry Robot
UK Release date: September 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

Marius don Hellespont and his apprentice, Gerd, are professional looters of battlefields. When they stumble upon the corpse of the King of Scorby and Gerd is killed, Marius is mistaken for the monarch by one of the dead soldiers and is transported down to the Kingdom of the Dead. Just like the living citizens, the dead need a King — after all, the King is God’s representative, and someone needs to remind God where they are. And so it comes to pass that Marius is banished to the surface with one message: if he wants to recover his life he must find the dead a King. Which he fully intends to do. Just as soon as he stops running away.

Marius de Hellespont is a liar, cheat, thief and witty charmer. A little like Jack Sparrow, he seems to always land on his feet no matter what ridiculous situation he ends up in. And trust me, he ends up in a number of bizarre and unexpected circumstances, and usually on the wrong end of the law or moral compass. Particularly because he is now dead. Marius' initial response to his situation and duty to find a new king was to run away, and it makes him seem as cowardly and pathetic as you would expect a looter of the dead to be. Whilst his character developed and grew throughout the book, making Marius a just-about likable character, his daring, cunning and unreprehensible behaviour really made the story.

At first the writing tended towards the over descriptive, which sometimes slowed the plot down with its tangential diversions. But further into the book, the plot, dialogue and wit improved by bounds and had me chuckling away. In fact the story reminded me a little of the madcap adventures that befall Voltaire’s character Candide in his book of the same name. Both plots have a philosophical bent to them and involve a series of rather absurd adventures and mishaps.

Although some of the secondary characters could have benefitted from a little more fleshing out to avoid them feeling one dimensional, my favourite character was King Nandus, who had a slightly strange (and possibly inappropriate) affection for horses. Found in the underwater wreck of his groundbreaking ship, the skeletal form of Nandus unfortunately takes on a few too many horse-like qualities, which made the story both humorous and endearing. The fact that the poor man didn't even realise the truth of his situation made it all the more pitiful and comical.

Despite the darker themes of death, deception and looting, overall the story had an underlying moral and spiritual emphasis, as Marius very slowly started to see the error of his ways. I loved the rather maccabre idea of the dead needing a king to rule their deathly kingdom, and being able to extend their deathly grip into the mortal realm to get Marius and Gerd to find them a ruler. What on earth would their job be as a King of the Dead?

The Corpse-Rat King is an absurd and fantastical tale of a man about to learn the error of his ways the hard way.

Rating: 4*

REVIEW: MAGIC STUDY

Please note: although I won't give spoilers for this book, there may be spoilers for the first in the series.

Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: Yes, #2
UK Publisher: Mira
UK Release date: May 2008
Genre: Fantasy

With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep. But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Nor the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in battle of good against evil. And once again it will be her magical abilities that will either save her life...or be her downfall.

Although Magic Study wasn’t as stunningly good as Poison Study, I still enjoyed the second book in the Study series. Yelena has a very different journey to make in this book, as she leaves Ixia and Valek behind. She still manages to make me smile, and she still learns and develops as a character. Her connection to Kiki, a rather wild and wilful horse, was very unexpected but I found their interactions very humorous and sweet.

I was really sad that Yelena had to leave Valek, as he’s such a dynamic character. But you don’t need to be too disappointed, as he pops up in the book with his typical deadly fighting moves and protectiveness over Yelena. Perhaps not as often as I would have liked but enough to keep me going.

With the introduction of Yelena’s family and the Magician's Keep, a wealth of new characters are invited into the story. Once again, Snyder is skilled at creating wonderfully real individuals, and also balancing the action packed plot against the character driven elements. And it must be said, the plot was just exploding with action. The downside was that the plot often felt repetitive - Yelena would go off on her to own to solve a problem and end up getting caught, tortured and very much in trouble. A little deviation and variety wouldn't have gone amiss.

Both Cahil, the surviving prince and apparent heir to the Ixia throne, and Yelena’s brother, did however really confuse me. They would blow hot and cold, and I couldn’t figure out their true characters. This wasn’t a downside though – I loved the fact that the characters were three dimensional; they had secret motivations and agendas and changing emotions. Like in real life, I couldn’t predict what they were both up to, and this made the plot more interesting.

Magic Study had a lot to live up to, and although it didn't surpass Poison Study, it was still an action packed fantasy.

Rating: 4*

REVIEW: POISON STUDY

Author: Maria V. Synder
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Mira Books
UK Release date: 2007
Genre: Fantasy

Yelena has a choice – be executed for murder, or become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. She leaps at the chance for survival, but her relief may be short-lived. Life in the palace is full of hazards and secrets. Wily and smart, Yelena must learn to identify poisons before they kill her, recognise whom she can trust and how to spy on those she can’t. And who is the mysterious Southern sorceress who can reach into her head? When Yelena realises she has extraordinary powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death... (Goodreads)

First off I absolutely loved this book. In Poison Study, Snyder has created an amazing fantasy world, simple but extremely well written. Her writing style has a natural ebb and flow to it that makes it easy and pleasurable to read.

The main protagonist, Yelena, starts off as a criminal and prisoner in the Commander’s cells. Her only reprieve from the noose is the offer of a job as food taster to the Commander of Ixia.

Even when she is saved, she is vilified and shunned by everyone. I loved the fact that Yelena had such an interesting and dangerous role, having to learn about different poisons, whilst fighting off those that still looked down on her. It gave the whole plot a unique and different take.

Yelena was intelligent, brave, witty and tough. She's already been through so much and yet Poison Study has so much in store for her - but this one girl that gets up no matter how many times you put her time, and for that I adore her. Even though to begin with I didn’t fully know what Brazell and Reyad had inflicted on Yelena, I knew enough to feel sympathy for her, and I smiled whenever she was able to prove people wrong.

The fact that Yelena had to work for the most dangerous, lethal and ruthless man in the country added an extra element of danger. Valek was cunning, tricky, and brutal. Yet I loved seeing his soft side peek through, and see him protect Yelena. His character and personality was so magnetic and charismatic, that I was irresistibly drawn to him.

Snyder has also developed an amazing cast of secondary characters from the ‘power’ twins Ari and Janco, to some of the most sinister characters such as Brazell and Mogkan. Each one felt very real, with different traits and sides to their personality, and I liked that some characters you just couldn’t figure out at first. Were they going to be mean and pick on Yelena or could they be potential friends? The guessing and intrigue really kept me interested and on my toes.

Although some overarching elements of the plot were easy to predict, there were so many sub plots and twists that the story never bored me. I loved the mix of action, threat, and subtle romance.

A fantasy masterpiece, Poison Study, is a beautifully written story filled with wonderful characters and crammed with danger, mu rder and fighting.

Rating: 5*

REVIEW: THE HEIR OF NIGHT

Author: Helen Lowe
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Orbit
UK Release date:
Genre: Fantasy

In the far north of the world of Haarth lies the bitter mountain range known as the Wall of Night. Garrisoned by the Nine Houses of the Derai, the Wall is the final bastion between the peoples of Haarth and the Swarm of Dark--which the Derai have been fighting across worlds and time.

Malian, Heir to the House of Night, knows the history of her people: the unending war with the Darkswarm; the legendary heroes, blazing with long-lost power; the internal strife that has fractured the Derai's former strength. But now the Darkswarm is rising again, and Malian's destiny as Heir of Night is bound inextricably to both ancient legend and any future the Derai--or Haarth--may have. (Goodreads)

When you start reading Heir of Night, you can’t deny that a hugely complex world and history has been built for the story. Helen Lowe has created an environment rich with different gods, heroes, magical items and even a spiritual world beyond the ‘gate’.

For me however, there were too many characters to focus on. I didn’t feel like I knew enough about each secondary character to make them substantial in my mind and I got a little confused between the characters to start with. I think this was compounded by the fact that there was a lot going on in the story - there was so much back history to learn and so many new strange things happening, like the hunt, that I really had to concentrate to keep up with the action. If fewer points of action and fewer characters had been fleshed out this might have worked a little better and I might not have struggled so much to finish. 

I also expected Malian the protagonist to be older than she was. At 13 years, I thought the story would revisit her after she had grown up, but in fact the story stayed with her at that age. As the only heir to the Night throne, Malian is vital to the clan surviving and has been brought up to know her duty, which is perhaps why she seems knowledgeable and mature. However she wasn’t treated with reverence by everyone, particularly her father, and I did feel a little sorry that other members of the household were dearer to her than him.

I liked young Kalan. No matter what he stood by Malian and protected her, and I can see a great relationship and partnership developing between them.

Heir of Night is a richly descriptive fantasy with masses of action and magical learning.

Rating: 3.5*

AUTHOR POST: RACHEL HARTMAN & SERAPHINA

Today I am really excited to have author Rachel Hartman joining me on the blog to talk about how she developed the world for her novel Seraphina, what sparked the ideas for it and how did she balance the world building against the characters.

If you've read Seraphina, or even if you're interested in writing, you really must read this insightful and funny account into what went into writing Seraphina.

The world came first, which seemed the natural order of things to me. There was no single moment when it came into being, no Big Bang or separation of the land from the waters. Rather, it came in bits and pieces over many years. 
I had my first inkling when I was twelve and had to write a narrative poem for school. Inspiration struck hard, and I wrote a long poem called “The First Adventure of Sir Amy,” about a little girl knight saving a king from an opera-singing witch. It was quite silly, but it established a number of things: the name Goredd (it rhymed with Fred, the name of Sir Amy’s horse); King Kiggleworth, who later became Prince Lucian Kiggs; and the presence of dragons.  

When I was sixteen, my father took a sabbatical year at Wye College, Kent. I was an avid reader of the English classics, and I was awestruck by the way literature intersects with real life in England. We walked the path of Chaucer’s pilgrims, lived near Jane Austen’s brother’s estate, and were just a short hop from places mentioned in David Copperfield. History was just as palpable and present. Roman walls seemed to converse pleasantly with Georgian houses and Norman churches. I conceived an abiding love for Medieval architecture. The texture of Goredd comes from Canterbury most of all, and from the bucolic hills and close horizons of Kent.  

After university, I wrote and illustrated a comic book for a number of years, and that’s when these disparate elements – things I’d seen, read, and invented – began to solidify into a unified whole. The comic was set in Goredd, and featured a girl named Amy (who was no longer a knight). My love of Medieval history had turned into a large collection of Medieval reference books; I studied the illustrations closely, absorbing details of ornamentation and the forms of everyday objects, and then tried to base my drawings in truth, which was often more astonishing than my imagination. I didn’t want the hackneyed Middle Ages that everyone already knew; I wanted to revive overlooked details and make them live again.  

From the material world grew the cultural world. I wanted there to be religion, or the trappings of religion that interested me most: cathedrals full of candles and statuary, shrines covered with offerings. I was wary of giving offense, so I invented my Saints, very different in nature from Christian saints. My people needed music and medicine, a national epic and history, neighbours and holidays. I put all these things in the comics, learning as I drew, as if my pen were teaching me. I sat back and watched it unveil the world. 

Of course there had to be dragons, because of the dragon in my poem. I soon discovered, however, that I did not enjoy drawing dragons. My dragons all looked like dogs. It was a disaster. I couldn’t bring myself to abandon the idea, however. Luckily, I hit upon a solution: the dragons could take human form.  

And that was the origin of shape-shifting dragons: an expedient of illustration that ended up being a tremendous wellspring of ideas, the happiest of happy accidents.  

So the world has been with me a long time, slowly accumulating detail and depth. I’m not sure whether other writers work this way, or whether it’s my own eccentricity, but once I had the world the characters were easy. The characters generally showed up whole and ready for work; I almost feel like a movie director, and they’re actors I’ve been working with for a long time. Some are what I’d call “utility infielders.” That’s my American roots showing. In baseball, a utility player is one who can play multiple positions. Maybe he’s not the best at any one position, but his flexibility is handy in a pinch. Josef and Lars are of this type; they’ve played a number of different roles over the course of many drafts. 
Having such a well-established world from the beginning allowed the characters space and time to stretch and develop. I must underscore, however, that the world never stops growing. Quighole, the dragon ghetto, was a recent development. I needed something concrete to keep people wary of dragons even after forty years, so I decided there should be an enclave of quigutl (small, flightless dragons who can’t take human shape) in the city. I was telling a friend about this over lunch one day, and she said, “But why do people find the quigs menacing? Are they aggressive pan-handlers?”  

I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at that suggestion. If it makes me laugh, it wins. That is why the book contains pan-handling lizards, and that is how a world grows, piece by piece.

Thank you so much Rachel for taking time to talk about Seraphina! Personally I would love to see Rachel's drawings, even the ones where dragons look like dogs! If you would like to find out more about Rachel Hardman and her book Seraphina you can find it here:

www.SeraphinaBooks.com
http://rachelhartmanbooks.com/

Seraphina was released earlier this week. You can read my review of it here or you can head on over to Amazon to grab yourself a copy.

REVIEW: THRONE OF GLASS

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Bloomsbury
UK Release date: 2nd August 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

Celeana Sardothien is an infamous assassin. Yet the seventeen year old is living out the rest of her days imprisoned and set to work in Endovier’s harsh salt mines. All because she made the mistake of getting caught. So when the Crown Prince of Adarlan rescues her from the mines with an offer she can’t refuse, her freedom is finally within reach. She must compete as the Prince’s champion against twenty-three warriors, thieves and assassins to win a place as the King’s assassin and gain her future freedom. But as contestants start turning up dead, Celeana could be next unless she finds out who is behind them and what evil is lurking in the castle.

Throne of Glass was an easy and enjoyable read and I found it both captivating and fast paced. The world of Erilea and its surrounding countries is beautifully crafted and wonderfully written. The plot itself erred on the simple side, and in my opinion would have benefitted from more plot twists, action, and intrigue. However the story certainly had plenty of romance and sexual tension. There is also an underlying hint of fae and magic that permeates the story, although this has been squashed by the King of Adarlan and remains forbidden and lost. This exists as part of a huge backdrop to the story, where the king has been on a long campaign to domineer the surrounding lands. This aspect really intrigued me, and although we didn’t see much past the glass castle of Rifthold in this story, there is so much potential to find out about the political upheaval in these other kingdoms.

Celeana was a fiery, fierce and sassy protagonist. Her strength as an assassin meant she could be arrogant, daring and haughty. And yet her troubled and tortured past made her vulnerable as well as emotionally and physically scarred. The time she had spent in the mines left her starved and beaten but not broken. Her personality shone through, showing an incredible strength of will. This balance of courage and fragility made her an interesting and likeable character as well as a mysterious and attractive individual to both the Prince and Captain Westfall.

A big part of the plot was this love triangle between Celeana, Dorian the Crown Prince and Chaol, Captain of the Guard. I know love triangles can often put readers off, but her Chaol and Dorian are both great characters; both strong and kind in their own way. Celeana and Dorian shared interests in reading and had such witty and sharp dialogue exchanges; whilst with Chaol, Celeana was more like an equal able to challenge each other physically in training. As a reader I liked both men and did wish that Celeana would just pick one rather than continue to flirt with them both. I did however love the dichotomy these characters felt, not knowing whether to trust Celeana, and whether they should be locking her up or falling in love with her.

What really intrigued me about the story is how it began and developed. Sarah J. Maas started writing about Celeana on fiction press ten years ago and has written and published several prequels to Throne of Glass, all novellas looking at Celeana’s life as an assassin before her imprisonment. Sarah J. Maas admits that the story started by thinking what Cinderella might be like if she was an assassin. You can certainly pick up some classic fairy tale qualities and elements to the story, although here they are packaged in a dynamic, dangerous and epic style.

Throne of Glass is an epic YA fantasy debut filled with action, forbidden romance and magic, and a deadly heroine both dangerous and vulnerable in equal measures.

Review: 4*

EXCLUSIVE PREQUELS TO SERAPHINA & THRONE OF GLASS

This is a quick note to highlight the prequels to two YA fantasy stories...


FREE NOVELLA TO THRONE OF GLASS
Bloomsbury are kingly offering readers the chance to read the free prequel novella to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, The Assassin & The Pirate Lord on SugarScape. It's only available for a few more days, so get reading. On this site you can also read a taster for Throne of Glass.

EXCLUSIVE PREQUEL TO SERAPHINA
Rachel Hartman has written a short prequel to her amazing fantasy, Seraphina, which is available for download on Scribd here.

I loved both of these books, so take the chance now to read the prequels and I would definitely recommend reading the books too!

REVIEW: SERAPHINA

Author: Rachel Hartman
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Random House
UK Release date: 10th July 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

In the realm of Goredd, dragons and humans live side by side in a fragile attempt at peace. Their differences keep them apart; dragons believing humans are irrational, indulging in unnecessary emotions, and humans believing dragons are cold, dangerous creatures with no soul. When Seraphina is dragged into the limelight by her musical talents, she risks exposing her dangerous secret. But it is this secret that will help uncover a dangerous plot to upset the balance between humans and dragons.

Seraphina is a complex and captivating fantasy featuring dragons as we have never seen them before. They are able to transform into saarantrai or human form and live alongside humans. However the peace between dragons and humans is very precarious and tenuous. Neither side fully trusts the other and their differences makes them suspicious and wary of each other.

I love the fact that dragons are scientific, rational, logical creatures; they don’t understand or want human emotions, which sully the mind and infect their rational decision-making. Their lack of affection, sympathy or appreciation for art and music puts them at a distance from humans, which seems irreconcilable. And this is why I loved Orma, a dragon secretly living in Goredd in human form. He struggled to understand the emotions and physiological reactions he was feeling as a human, and yet he refused to ignore them. He was heartwarming and full of funny contrasts.

Although I struggled a little with the first chapter, once I got into the story I found it completely absorbing and captivating. There are so many different elements to the story from the extravagant world building, intriguing and multilayered characters, and underlying tension and prejudice between human and dragon kind.

As the female protagonist, I can’t think of anyone better than Seraphina. For someone so young she was mature, vulnerable, sassy, reserved and outspoken all at the same time. Despite wanting to live a quiet life, her talents as a musician draw her into the palace and into the public eye. Here she meets Prince Lucian, a strong man with his own insecurities. Their interactions and the slowly building romantic tension between them was charming and thrilling. A big plus for me was that Hartman didn’t feel the need to constantly remind the reader how attractive Prince Lucian was. His personality and Seraphina’s feelings for him did all the work, leaving me slightly infatuated and very fond of him.

The concept of Seraphina’s ‘mind-garden’ is unusual and strange and yet so brilliant. Here Seraphina controls and tends her ‘unruly’ thoughts to prevent her visions and breakdowns. Unusual characters and landscapes bloom in her mind and threaten to expose her secret. I won’t say more about this, but will only say you must give this book a read!

Seraphina is a beautifully unique and fascinating debut fantasy. I can’t wait to read more from Rachel Hartman.

Rating: 5*

You can check out the all-new Seraphina website here: www.SeraphinaBooks.com and view the trailer for Seraphina below:

IN MY MAILBOX: DEBRIS AND FOREVER

In My Mailbox was started by the lovely Kristi over at Story Siren - check out her blog for more information on this meme.

I know it's not classy to brag, but please excuse me just this once. Normally I get most of my books from the library, and if I'm lucky I get to buy the occasional book. But this week, I got sent a book from Angry Robot. I'm so excited.

So firstly today IMM is Debris, the futuristic science fantasy debut novel by Jo Anderton.

Debris, Jo Anderton
October 2011
Angry Robot
In a far future where technology is all but indistinguishable from magic, Tanyana is one of the elite. She can control pions, the building blocks of matter, shaping them into new forms using ritual gestures and techniques. The rewards are great, and she is one of most highly regarded people in the city. But that was before the “accident”.
Stripped of her powers, bound inside a bizarre powersuit, she finds herself cast down to the very lowest level of society. Powerless, penniless and scarred, Tanyana must adjust to a new life collecting “debris”, the stuff left behind by pions. But as she tries to find who has done all of this to her, she also starts to realize that debris is more important than anyone could guess.

I also bought Forever,  the concluding story in The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. It has a very shiny silver cover and I can't wait to find out what happens to Grace and Sam.

Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3) by Maggie Stiefvater
July 2011
Scholastic
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

What's in your mailbox this week?

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: WITCHLANDERS

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that highlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. Here is my choice for this week:

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley
Published by: Antheneum
Release date: 30th August 2011
Genre: YA, Fantasy

Summary (from Goodreads): High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future. It’s all a fake. At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated? But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned—Are about him.

IN MY MAILBOX #1

I like surprises, and today I definitely got a big one when I arrived home!

A shiny new copy of The Unremembered (Vault of Heaven #1) by Peter Orullian arrived through my letterbox today.

Eek, excited!

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: A DOUBLE WHAMMY

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that highlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. I'm being greedy this week, and have two books I'm waiting to be released...

The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle #2) by Patrick Rothfuss

Published by:  Gollancz

Release date: 1st March 2011

Genre: Fantasy

Summary (from Goodreads):

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." 

An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's road. 

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women. 

In The Wise Man's Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

The Unremembered (Vault of Heaven #1) by Peter Orullian

Published by:  Tor Books

Release date: 12th April 2011

Genre: Fantasy

Summary (from Goodreads):

The gods, makers of worlds, seek to create balance—between matter and energy; and between mortals who strive toward the transcendent, and the natural perils they must tame or overcome. But one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures far too powerful to allow balance; he is condemned to live for eternity with his most hateful creations in that world’s distant Bourne, restrained by a magical veil kept vital by the power of song. 

Millennia pass, awareness of the hidden danger fades to legend, and both song and veil weaken. And the most remote cities are laid waste by fell, nightmarish troops escaped from the Bourne. Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation. And the evil from the Bourne swells…. 

The troubles of the world seem far from the Hollows where Tahn Junell struggles to remember his lost childhood and to understand words he feels compelled to utter each time he draws his bow. Trouble arrives when two strangers—an enigmatic man wearing the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come, to take Tahn, his sister and his two best friends on a dangerous, secret journey. 

Tahn knows neither why nor where they will go. He knows only that terrible forces have been unleashed upon mankind and he has been called to stand up and face that which most daunts him—his own forgotten secrets and the darkness that would destroy him and his world.

RANTING DRAGON'S LIST OF FANTASY AUTHORS TO FOLLOW

The Ranting Dragon have come up with a list of Top 10 Fantasy Authors to watch out for. The following has been taken from their website, so follow the link to get their full article.

1. Sam Sykes

Our top spot goes to Sam Sykes, the man best known for his debut novel Tome of the Undergates.

2. Patrick Rothfuss

The man. The legend. The beard. Rothfuss exploded on the fantasy scene in 2007 with his debut novel The Name of the Wind. He has a way with words and humor that keeps you reading.

3. N.K. Jemisin

We loved both her novels, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms. Even if you haven’t had the chance to read them, you won’t be able to deny the intelligence of N.K. Jemisin after you read some of her blog posts. Jemisin often provokes her readers to think about issues in a new way, and her blog doesn’t center only on fantasy and the craft of writing.

4. Mark Charan Newton

Newton is not simply a young fantasy author. He knows both sides of the business, starting as a young editor for an imprint called Black Flame and then going on to help create Solaris before selling it in 2009, the year his popular novel Nights of Villjamur was published. 

5. Peter V. Brett

Peter V. Brett is famously known for writing his debut novel The Warded Man on his mobile phone while commuting on the subway in New York City. 

6. Kameron Hurley

If you’ve read our website at all, you can safely assume that we think that Hurley’s debut novel, God’s War, is awesome. And by proxy, that the woman herself is awesome.

7. Blake Charlton

Being an author of fantasy is usually interesting enough for us, but between his writing career and medical school obligations, Charlton has, without a doubt, the most interesting life of the authors in this list. Best known for his epic novel Spellwright, Charlton has much to say on many topics, including writing with dyslexia. 

8. Catherynne M. Valente

Valente is known for her poetic prose, refreshing voice, and incredible imagination. She’s also quite opinionated, intelligent and ambitious with her works. Not only does she write novels and short stories, she’s also an esteemed poet. Her latest novel Palimpsest was nominated for the Hugo in 2010. If you’re looking for an author who will expand your mind, challenge your ideas, and say what she thinks, you have to follow Valente.

9. Mary Robinette Kowal

Regardless of whether you have heard of Mary Robinette Kowal, know that she’s a fantasy world veteran who served as secretary and then vice-president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She’s also written numerous short stories and her debut novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, has been described as a Jane Austen novel with magic.

10. Peter Orullian

Peter Orullian is the new kid on the block. His epic debut, The Unremembered, will be released in April.