Book blogging (mostly)
Fantasy
Giant Thief
2
Note: An electronic copy of Giant Thief was provided to me for review by the publisher Angry Robot Books.
Easie Damasco is a scoundrel and an thief, and everyone seems to want him dead. Despite near constant threats to his life, nothing deters him from continuing his life of crime at every possible moment. As a result, Giant Thief is a fast-paced, non-stop action fantasy novel full of comedy that never lets up from beginning to end.
From the first line, we learn a lot of what we can expect from Giant Thief: “The sun was going down by the time they decided to hang me.” This is a great opener – we immediately learn that Easie is the type to look at even the most serious situations in a carefree manner. Also, we see that he’s the type of guy who puts himself in a position where people want him dead. Unfortunately, this quick-draw opening and the subsequent chase actually left me a little bewildered. Who is Easie? Why should I care whether or not he is captured and killed? Even by the end I felt like I had only scratched the surface of understanding Easie as a character.
I had a similar problem with the main villain, Moaradrid. Easie continually referenced the warlord’s evil nature, and was obviously scared of him, but I never felt that fear as a reader. Maybe it was a result of not connecting strongly with Easie, or a lack of information on who Moaradrid was, but I felt more like I was being told the bad guy was bad, rather than seeing it for myself.
In a recent interview Tallerman mentions that he “stripped out more and more of his dialogue with each redraft”, which makes me wonder if perhaps the novel would have worked better had some of this dialogue been left in. I can see the purpose of stripping out “justifications” from the villain, but at the same time if it leaves me questioning the depth of his insanity, the villain becomes neutered.
While it leaves a little to be desired, if you are looking for a funny, fast-paced fantasy adventure that doesn’t rely on cheap magic tricks to get out of every sticky situation, give Giant Thief a shot. Plus Easie is totally a medieval Han Solo, and how often can you say that?
“[T]here are only so many absurd promises you can make to a horse” (357).
The Dragon Rider
01 month ago
The Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I think it’s important to note that I listened to the audio version of this book because it is, without a doubt, the reason I disliked it so much. Funke’s story seems pretty good, and if I had read it, I imagine it would have been closer to 3 or 4 stars.
However, it must be said that the narrator Brendon Fraser is, unequivocally, the worst narrator I have ever heard in the 150+ audio books I have listened to over the last few years. Here are just a few examples of why he is so bad:
1. He smacks his lips and chews loudly when characters are eating.
2. He coughs, moans, grunts, squeals, etc. even when the text does not imply these things are happening.
3. When the text does note coughing, etc. he exaggerates them needlessly and tediously.
4. Every piece of dialogue is overacted and extravagant for no reason.
My guess is that Fraser doesn’t actually enjoy reading, and so he feels the need “spice up” the book in order to make it entertaining. Maybe others who don’t often read would enjoy this type of narration, but it was endlessly frustrating and nearly impossible to get through in spite of an interesting plot. If you are interested in this book, please don’t listen to the audio version.
Finnikin of the Rock
41 year ago
We interrupt your regularly scheduled episode of “Talk About How Long The Tale of Genjii Is” to bring you this post on Finnikin of the Rock. (I actually finished this a few weeks ago, and just didn’t get around to writing about it.)
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a good story. The Hunger Games isn’t the most sophisticated piece of literature, but it was a lot of fun to read, and it does contain quality writing. A good story, however, isn’t enough to make me overlook major flaws in a novel.
You may not have seen this coming but, in spite of its promising plot, Finnikin of the Rock has far too many flaws for me to overlook. Finnikin, the son of the captain of the guard, is from Lumatere. Ten years ago, however, his homeland was cursed, and since then no one has been able to cross its boundaries, either in or out.
Like I said, this is definitely a promising story. Unfortunately, between a lack of consistency in the geography of the world, and flat, boring characters there isn’t much else to like about this book.
Speaking of boring characters, why can’t any of them communicate like normal human beings? Why do they always have to jump to conclusions, and flee from each other at the slightest (assumed) offense? The School Library Journal review on Amazon.com calls Finnikin and Evanjalin’s relationship “intensely emotional”. I think a better description is “annoyingly unrealistic” or “frustratingly devoid of reason”. It’s not a good sign when even The Tale of Genji, in which characters purposefully obfuscate their language by speaking in ancient Chinese poetry, has more open communication.
Suffice it to say, I don’t recommend Finnikin of the Rock. If you could consider the plot apart from the characters, no doubt you would be able to find some moments to enjoy, but those pesky characters just keep getting in the way.
Full Database entry on Finnikin of the Rock. Beware spoilers.
The Well at the World’s End Volume II
21 year ago
Considering 
The Well at the World’s End was split into two volumes arbitrarily, it’s not worth reiterating what I said in my post on Volume I. No time passes between the volumes, and the quest for the Well picks up right where it left off. What is worth mentioning, however, is how great the book continues to be.
Without the surprise of the language, or the need to grow accustomed to it, I had a great time reading Volume II. Unfortunately, there’s really no good way for me to explain what exactly I liked so much without spoiling specific moments. Of course the experience of reading it would still be great, even if you knew everything that happens, but that’s no reason to spoil such a great tale.
If, as I hope is the case, I’ve convinced you that you should read this book, but you don’t have a friend or family member you can borrow it from, I have some great news. You can actually download The Well at the World’s End for free thanks to Project Gutenberg. You can even put it onto your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or any other eReader that will accept ePub files. You officially have no excuse not to read this book.
Just in case there is any doubt, allow me to state my opinion clearly: I recommend this book. It’s a great adventure and the medieval language helps make it feel like an ancient story from a long lost age. I honestly have no complaints. Considering you can grab a copy for free online, there’s no reason to not at least give this one a try.
“Alas!” she said, “and had I lain in thine arms an hundred times, or an hundred times an hundred, should not the world be barren to me, wert thou gone from it, and that could never more be? ” (53)
Full database entry on The Well at the World’s End Volume II. Beware spoilers.
The Book of Three (Audio)
41 year ago
I can’t exactly remember who or what referred me to The Book of Three. All I know is a few weeks ago I received a “the book you placed on hold is now available” email from the library and so I went and picked it up.
The Book of Three tells the story of a young assistant pig-keeper named Taran who lives in a mythical realm known as Prydain. If you have seen the movie “The Black Cauldron” you have seen a movie loosely based on this book. (Interesting note – the second book in this trilogy is actually called The Black Cauldron, but the movie of the same title is based on the first book. Go figure). Anyways, Taran has to recover his lost pig, but ends up having a grand adventure along the way.
The story is your classic hero quest, but what makes this book so good is the plethora of interesting characters. From the sassy and hilarious Eilonwy, to the pathological liar/bard/king Fflewddur Fflam, The Book of Three is absolutely bursting with entertainment. By the end, the story was just a means for placing these great characters into situations in which they could interact with each other. That isn’t to say the story was boring, but the dialogue was by far the star of the show.
I highly recommend this (the narrator is excellent on the audio book, but I’m sure actually reading it would be just as good) to anyone who enjoys lighthearted fantasy. Personally, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series if for no other reason than to see what everyone is up to next.
The Well at the World’s End Volume I
51 year ago
We spent Easter weekend with some friends in Denton, TX. While there, I had the opportunity to go to the best used book store I’ve ever seen: Recycled Books. In addition to being clean, well-organized, and having the most amazing selection of books, they also had a wide array of collector’s items. As I was perusing the fantasy/sci-fi collector’s section, my attention was drawn to The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris. I glanced at it, saw that it claimed to be “the first fantasy novel ever written”, but decided to put it back and picked up The Well at the World’s End instead. I didn’t know anything about this book, but it fascinated me for some reason. Plus, the back had a quote by C.S. Lewis saying it was great. That, plus the $4 price tag, were enough to sell me.
All that said, I probably should have actually read some of the book to see if I would enjoy it, rather than buying it blindly. I was quite shocked when I opened it up and the first thing I read was “Long ago there was a little land, over which ruled a regulus or kinglet, who was called King Peter, though his kingdom was but little” (1). What? Why does a book written in 1896 (about the same time as James Joyce’s Dubliners, as a matter of fact) sound like it is from the 15th century? I was disappointed, frustrated, and by page 20, I was ready to quit. I pushed on, however, and I’m extremely glad I did.
The Well at the World’s End may utilize archaic language, but once you get used to it, you realize what a rich world the story contains. Ralph, the main character in search of the Well, is youthful, brave, and not afraid to love. While at first I found the language to be a hindrance, by the end I found it added to the sense of fantasy and antiquity that make the book so interesting.
It’s also interesting to consider Morris as an influence on Tolkien and all modern fantasy writers (a common claim I saw online when looking up information on Morris). In terms of tone and style there were definitely some similarities to The Lord of the Rings (perhaps I will detail these on a later blog post?). If you are at all interested in fantasy, and are willing to make the effort to get comfortable with the archaic writing, you will really enjoy The Well at the World’s End. It surprises me to say this given my early dislike of the book, but in the end I was enthralled with the tale and can’t wait to find out what happens in Volume II.
“Maybe thou art seeking for what is not. Or maybe thou shalt seek and shalt find, and there may be naught in what thou findest, whereof to give thee such gifts as are meet for they faithfulness and valiancy. But in thine home shouldst thou have all gifts which thou mayest desire” (257).
Full database entry on The Well at the World’s End Volume I. Beware Spoilers.