magic

Age of Ash (Kithamar #1) by Daniel Abraham

Posted on by eabrenner

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for a review. (I was really excited to get to read this early.)

What a stunner of a book! Pure joy to read. Abraham’s ability to drive big story and large drama with small characters and private intrigues shines here: Tregarro’s and Sammish’s unrequited loves, Elaine a Sal’s clandestine and doomed affair, Gray Linnet’s daycare treasure hunts. Even the side and small characters have their impact on the story. The lives of the main characters feel full and lived in, particularly Alys and Sammish and the people of Longhill.

Alys’s coming of age is so effective and powerful, her longing to find her place in the world as she grows combined with her grief for her bother and what it drives her to. The crucible of her journey was so enjoyable to follow her through, and the scenes where the impurities burn away and leave only Alys’s essence behind are some of the best in the book. I loved the conversation and confession between her and her mother.

I didn’t see the shape of this book until halfway through, and that is so refreshing. I value the lack of exposition at the beginning to set up the story, the absence of clues to give the game away. The choice of Alys and Sammish as the reader’s entry into the story, the dramatic framework, the gateway for information is brilliant. That distance between the two sets of characters, the two parts of the story, allows the story to unfold, allows an ambiguity and uncertainty about who is the hero and who is the villain. BY the time it becomes clear which is which, you feel every inch caught in the trap along with these characters, wondering how they’re going to solve this, fearing that every scene may be their last. Abraham uses the knives in the story for theme as well as plot devices, and keeps the characters, the whole city, and reader on the edge of the blade.

Thrilling to see the cracks already forming as Andomaka goes forward into the next phase of this story. While there is a victory at the end of this book, it’s unclear how long it will hold, and what complications wait on the horizon. Can’t wait for the next volume.



View all my reviews

Mr. Impossible (Dreamer Trilogy, #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Posted on by eabrenner

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Stiefvater delivers, as always. I love the ways these characters are growing, growing apart, changing, getting in their own ways, lying to themselves, trying on identities, and trying their best to look out for each other, as misguided as their efforts are. You can have more than one coming of age in your life, and I’m excited to see Stiefvater explore that idea through these characters and this story.



View all my reviews

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark

Posted on by eabrenner

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Love the intersection of steampunk and the workers’ right movement, the transition from one era of the world to another as shown by a moment in the life of one desperate young woman, the liminal space of the angel’s den that allows her to reconcile with the burden and consequences of her own choices. Excellent addition to Clark’s alternate magical Cairo.



View all my reviews

St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid, by C.L. Polk

Posted on by eabrenner

St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid by C.L. Polk

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Listened to the Levar Burton Reads podcast of this story, and his reading is fantastic. I really appreciate that he highlighted Teresa’s inner landscape of acknowledging, receiving, and giving love. There are a lot of things going on this story, and that wouldn’t necessarily have been the element that stood out to me the most, but it is at the heart of the character, and drives the story above all other aspects.

This story has so many things I love – witching, witching with bees, birdcage elevators, women being strong in different ways, academic competitive friendships, and horrible people getting what they deserve.



View all my reviews

Autumn Princess, Dragon Child (Tale of Shikanoko, #2) by Lian Hearn

Posted on by eabrenner

Autumn Princess, Dragon Child by Lian Hearn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Spoilers ahead . . .

.

.

.

.


Jokes on me! I skimmed the ending of book four to make sure Aki and Shika didn’t reconcile, and it looked safe to proceed, so I read volume two. In addition to being slower moving than volume one, I cared less and less about the characters as I went. Everyone was a scheming whiny asshole, and all the women kept getting screwed over, or reconciling with men who treated them badly. Before anyone pushes up their glasses and tries to say “well, actually” in my direction, I understand that the author is following traditional Japanese epics as a guide, and that everyone is probably meant to be a scheming, whiny asshole, but that doesn’t mean I have to want to read these books. This is not what I’m here for.

Aki had a rape baby, and then died at the end of the book. It was supposed to be a big heroic and sad sacrifice, and I might have appreciated it more if she hadn’t been raped, had a baby, and then considered reconciling with her rapist just before died. Also, the rape was unnecessary from a plot and character arc perspective, so . . . I’m done. I’m stopping here. This series will remain unfinished, and all four volumes are now in my giveaway pile.



View all my reviews