Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have bought this book for my daughter, she is in the right age for a YA novel. But then I thought, what the hell, the book is out in public for anyone to read, so I read it. Actually I listened to it, since I picked up the Audible version. I try to write my review as if I were a few years younger :)

The story is interesting. The idea of the hidden magic world below a real town is not that original, but still compelling. There is still much can be said or written about it. I thought I was familiar with the story of the first book in the series since I saw the movie, but listening I gathered that the book was different. Anyway, I learned enough backstory to enjoy this volume. The creatures and the magic system was awesome. I could hardly wait to see them in work. Unfortunately the authors didn't expand the full potential these creatures were capable of. I expected more use of magic and more direct conflict and fight. More about this later.

There were some really good characters, I liked Link and Liv the best. Oh, and the old ladies. Unfortunately they were not the main characters. I found Ethan - who supposed to be the hero - a weak, girlish kid. He did nothing else but think of Lena. He didn't play computer games, he didn't play soccer, he didn't hang out with his friends. He did nothing what a guy at his age would do. Actually I didn't understand why he insisted on belonging to Lena. There was no future for them, because they couldn't be together as mortal and immortal. OK, I could accept this because of the power of love overcomes every barrier. But the girl consequently refused him and sent him away, she was impossible go get on with. If was Ethan I would have left Lena and picked up Liv. I just couldn't believe that Ethan was able to love Lena with such an intensity. I'm not too romantic, I suppose.

As I said I would love to see more fight. Some may say that this is a YA book for fifteen to eighteen years old kids, and we must be careful writing about violence. Come on. These kids already played through Call of Duty Black Ops II. Twice. They watched ol' Skywalker get burned and turned dark in Star Wars. They watched the ork battle in The Lord of The Rings. I don't say that the book should contain extreme violence, but if my thirteen year old son would read it he would fall asleep bored.

It's same with the sex. I support that there shouldn't be forthright sex scenes. But again: come on. Most of our kids had their first sexual experience before the age of eighteen. A seventeen year old boy spends most of his day thinking about cars and computers games and girls. And when they think about girls they don't stop at holding hands and innocent kissing. I didn't, and I was a quite average guy. "YA books shouldn't have sex in them" is a myth, which should be busted. YA books shouldn't have steamy sex scenes, I agree. But guys put your hands on your heart and say: "when kissing, I strictly forbade my hands trying to explore my girl's touchy spots". You cannot, because you would lie. But in this book that wouldn't even be possible, because when it gets hot, the mortal one of the couple gets burned for real.

I had one other problem with the book: it was too long. It was too long, because of the repetition of the same thing over and over again. It could have been compressed into half length. Making it shorter would have increased the tension and quicken the pace. Also it could have helped to avoid having long discussions before or during actions. It was annoying how the characters explained the evident while I was eager to know what was really happening. Our kids are growing in a very intense environment and got to used to fast image video clips and action movies, not explanations stretching until becoming boring.

I have to mention that I loved the narration, and the southern accent. I also liked the style the book was written, it flowed smoothly.

I wonder what my daughter will have to say about the book.

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Zelda Pryce: The Demon Hunt by Joss Llewelyn

Jack and I are sitting in my car, waiting for Jenny, who is late. Girls and shopping - tell me about it! Jack taps his fingers on his knees, watching the people passing by on the sidewalk. He checks his watch hundredth time.

"She's late" he says.

I sigh, and reach to the back seat, pulling out my e-reader from my suitcase. I hand it to him and say:

"Here. Read something."

He shrugs, flips the cover open and switches the device on. He is silent for a while, browsing the titles, and I enjoy Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing from the CD.

"Hm... Zelda" says Jack. "Interesting name. What is this one about?"

I glance over, and see the cover of Zelda Pryce: The Demon Hunt written by Joss Llevelyn.

"Are you familiar with arcana?" I ask.

"Arcana? I have heard the word, but not sure what it is."

"It means deep, secret wisdom, known only by few selected."

"Kind of mysticism."

"Not exactly, but kinda."

"Like magic?"

"No. Arcana is more like science, but you won't read about it on the Popular Science's website."

"Because it's secret?"

"Known only by few." I nod.

He is clicking through the first pages to the beginning of the story.

"Is it a good one?" he asks.

"You bet. Zelda is a young arcanist, who builds arcane objects to help people. Prosthetic legs and arms, these kind of things."

"There is nothing mystic in a prosthesis." I can see the doubt on his face.

"There is, if it glues itself to the human body using arcane forces, and gives you the speed of a puma or the strong grip of a robot arm."

"Oh, cool."

"There are many exciting objects in the book. My favorite is the Certainty Engine, which predicts the future."

"That sounds interesting" says Jack and his expression changes, he is curious now. "Any action in the story?"

"A ton of action. Zelda and her friends go around the world to find this Certainty Engine. Exotic places. But I enjoyed more the cool ideas packed in the book. For example the one about the responsibility of humankind concerning the extinction of animal species."

"That's deep stuff, uncle."

"Yeah, it is."

"I will read this" says Jack and does as he says: starts reading immediately.

He doesn't get far, the back door opens, packages and shopping bags arrive at the back seat, followed by the smiling Jenny.

"Uncle, Jack, what's up?" she asks while arranging the packages next to her.

"You're late" says Jack.

"I'm sorry, but you know how it is when you do shopping. Time flies."

"My longest shopping was ten minutes" says Jack.

"Because all of your clothes looks the same."

"Hey, guys, just relax." I say, then start the engine. I pull out of the parking into the traffic.

"What are you reading?" asks Jenny.

"Zelda Pryce, the third book" says Jack.

In the mirror I see Jenny's wide smile.

"I love those books, especially the fantastic gadgets."she says. "I want Hypatian wings."

"What wings?" Jack turns towards Jenny with puzzled face.

"The ones made of copper. You put them on your back and you fly."

Smile appears on Jack's face, and he says:

"That's an excellent idea! Then you can go shopping with your little wings, and we don't need to spend the half of the day waiting for you."

I shake my head, but actually I can imagine her with those copper wings, flying around, laughing. It would be so Jenny.

Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

I liked The Name of The Wind, the first book of the Kingkiller Chronicles for the same reasons I like The Wise Man's Fear. It picks up the story right at the point when the previous book ends.

The author is very good in storytelling; I really enjoyed the way the book was written. (I listened to the audiobook, the voice narration added a lot to the pleasure.) Generally I enjoy more the fast paced stories. In this book the author took his time to build up the plot, and to explain the whys in detail, so I cannot say that the story flows quickly. But it didn't bother me at all. Moreover, I enjoyed that everything what happened had a well-established reason and explanation.

There were more adventures in this book, and they were more interesting. The trouble Kvothe got into were more serious, and the mood of the story grew darker.

The characters were well drawn, alive and believable. It was satisfying that Kvothe was not an undefeatable hero, who always won. He had his talent and also his flaws.

There is a well explained magic system, which makes the whole thing believable.

Sometimes the story got a little bit lengthy, I wouldn't say it was boring, but I could imagine some cuts.

All in all, it was an excellent book; I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

Zelda Pryce: The Razor's Edge by Joss Llewelyn

Zelda Pryce is a young talented security expert, who uses arcane machines in her work. When she accepts a job to test the security of the British Museum she finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy against arcane objects. If these objects would disappear, thousands would suffer, even die, because arcane devices are widely used, for example as prosthetic limbs.

Zelda joins the French secret agent alchemist, racing against time to find the dangerous person behind the misuse of the Checkov Gun, Occam's Razor and other magical devices. A talented thief also appears and helps them time after time. They travel from London to Rome, and from the Castle of Frankenstein to the Taj Mahal.

The story is entertaining, and I found the arcane devices interesting. They are based on real objects, persons and theories, and they moved my imagination.

The Name of the Wind

This is the first book I read from Patrick Rothfuss, and I defenitely will read more. The story is very entertaining, and well written, I could see the the whole plot unfolding in front of my eyes.

The characters are deep, well drawn, without any cliches. For me the most important about characters, that their acts are based on their emotions, thoughts, earlier experiences. So nothing sudden an unexpected happens, nor they have attributions only for the sake of the story. Rothfuss did it well.

I enjoyed the world building. It is so detailed, that I had the feeling like reading a real story, not a fiction. The places were well described. I was not overwhelmed by the history, but always got enough information to be able to place what was happening. The magic, mithology and arkana is worked out well, make sense, not overdone.

At the beginning I thought it flowed slowly for my taste, but then I realised that every event had its importance, and was referred to later. I was sorry when I arrived at the end, and decided to buy the next book in the series.

The Dragon and the Lotus by Joseph Robert Lewis

Author: Joseph Robert Lewis

Description: As a child in Kathmandu, Asha was bitten by a dragon and gained the ability to hear the souls of all living things. Years later in India, she uses her strange gift and her training as an herbalist to save people possessed by ghosts, poisoned by legendary beasts, and tortured by the cruel doctors of Ming. And to fight the occasional bear or tiger, of course.

With the help of a beautiful blind nun and a sleepy little mongoose, Asha confronts both victims and predators, including the man who stole her childhood and killed her lover. But when she journeys into the west, Asha discovers that there are fates worse than death and there are human monsters that can only be defeated by a woman with the strength of a dragon. (From the author's web site.)

What I think:

This book takes us to interesting places, interesting time, and interesting alternative reality. For people sitting at home (I mean the country we leave in) almost all the time, Asia itself is an exotic location. I like to learn about foreign cultures and people. This version of the alternative Asia even more exciting.

The book consists of separate stories about Asha and Priya wandering through the land to heal people. First I was not comfortable with reading the separate stories, they seemed not connected, except that they were adventures of the two women, of course. But later there came the connections, references to experiences in the previous chapters, memories of past events, returning characters. And finally the book became a complete story.

Dragons are always compelling. They are big, dangerous (at least most of the time), dreadful, it seems impossible to defeat them. It is also the case with the one in this story, and the way it is defeated is very interesting.

This whole soul-hearing thing is amazing. The way Asha hears the "sound" of living souls is well worked out. During their journey, the two women met with people with very strange illnesses, and Asha had to find cures unheard of.

There is one thing I should mention what I didn't like: I found the dangerous acts short. The reader usually eager to get to the point, and to know what happens, yes. But before the climax, the reader loves to be delayed, and bite the nails in suspense what happens next. So I would like to fidget a little more before the victory comes.

Rating: four stars.

Red Smoke Rising

Author: Rick Anthony

Description: from Amazon:

Over a hundred years have passed since the invaders came to steal the drug, since Mia's homeland was occupied. Once they understood the drug's secrets, the Nor army was unstoppable, superhuman. Mia's people were overwhelmed and defeated - slaves in their own lands.

In the time that has passed, Mia and the Underground have stolen the drug, along with the knowledge of how to use it to create an army of their own. Now, the time has come for the resistance army of shapeshifters, Masters and Trademasters to stand against the Nor Empire and take back their homeland... before their chance is gone forever.

My opinion:

I'm not really into fantasy, at least lately. I have read quite a few in my teens, but later I was more interested in sci-fi. So I'm not a fantasy expert, but someone who wants to discover it. Red Smoke Rising is a good start, I can tell.

Fantasy books use different sources to explain how their magic works. In this book it is the drog called ku which makes possible shifting shapes, modifying material, augmenting human capabilities (and other magic) by altering the aura.

The story is about fighting over the possession of the drug. Who owns the ku, owns the magic, therefore owns the power. The story also about rebellion against oppression and fighting for liberty. The Nor empire took over the land of Muoro, and now it is the time for the slowly developing underground rebels to strike back and expel the powerful Myrmidon soldiers.

The book is fast paced, full of action, I liked that. I also liked that I met many kind of fantasy creatures like ogres, zombies, golems, werefolfs, trolls, even a minoatur and a dragon. The author gave explanations how they came into existence, and placed them in the story well. During the first two thirds of the story it was already interesting and entertaining, and in the third one it intensified and lead to a great battle of freedom. At that point I didn't to put it down until the last page.

Concerning the characters, I would have appreciated some more build up. There were some minor things out of place, related to how they reacted in certain situations, but overall, they fulfilled their roles in the story. They were likable, even Oni, the ogre, and I could identify with them.

Format / Typo issues: just a few punctuation errors, not disturbing.

My rating: I give it four stars. I certainly suggest it for reading.