Category Book Reviews

Nov 28 2012

Book Review: Into a Dark Realm by Raymond E. Feist

Title: Into a Dark Realm

Author: Raymond E. Feist

Series: Darkwar Saga #2

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: The Conclave of Shadows has smashed the Nighthawks’ dread plot to destroy the Empire of Great Kesh, but the mad sorcerer Leso Varen hides on the world of Kelewan, and vicious Dasati warriors mass to invade. Sorcerer Pug, Magnus, Nokor, and disturbing Bek, full of bloodlust and uncanny strength, seek the solution in the heart of the Dasati Empire.

The Review:

Feist’s works are always impeccable and I’m hard-pressed to identify anything I don’t like in his stories. “Into a Dark Realm” was no exception, and in fact exceeded my expectations with its creativity and complexity.

What I liked about it was the total transportation into another realm. It provided a culture immersion that I haven’t really seen since his “Daughter of the Empire” trilogy written with Janny Wurts. This time, however, the world we got to explore was of another dimension -that of the Dasati. Following a male warrior from that evil and twisted world, we get to learn the mentality behind their rather brutal lifestyles. I really got caught up in the fascinating culture offered within this book, and found it to be one of my favorites in the entire saga.

As always, the characters are well-rounded with a nice balance between long-time beloved characters and the introduction of new ones. The story bounces back and forth between the multiple plot-lines seamlessly, maintaing my interest with each transition.

Overall, for the middle book in a trilogy, it advanced the plot nicely – revealing just enough to help build the momentum towards what promises to be an amazing conclusion!

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

Nov 24 2012

Book Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Series: Uglies #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait for the operation that turns everyone from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to party. But new friend Shay would rather hoverboard to “the Smoke” and be free. Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn’t very pretty. The “Special Circumstances” authority Dr Cable offers Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

 The Review:

Although the market has been flooded with futuristic post-america settings, I’m of the opinion that this trend first began with the “Uglies” trilogy. It’s fantastic and one of the most entertaining series in the entire genre. Scott Westerfeld really knows how to tell a good story.

This is one of those books that sticks with you. I’ll talk a bit about how much I liked the writing style, but the overall concept was my favorite element of this series: To remove the favoritisms that arise from appearances, society decided to make everyone gorgeous. At sixteen, all people undergo major surgery and begin their privileged, materialistic lives. As a young girl about to undergo this procedure, Tally Youngblood decides there might be more to life than pretty faces and endless parties. As the series progresses, it digs deeper into this society, revealing that not everything is as perfect as it seems.

The author has an engaging writing style that keeps you riveted throughout the story. Adding to that, he is incredibly creative, and often used a subtle touch with certain setting and language elements that just made the story that much more dynamic and interesting. I liked it so much, I bought the sequel before I was even halfway through it.

Definitely in my top 10 favorite teen books of all-time, Uglies is well worth picking up, especially if you’re a fan of the teen genre. What’s more, every last customer and coworker I’ve talk to about this series share my thoughts – this is a trilogy that’s worth reading!

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

  • “Partials” by Dan Wells
  • “Delirium” by Lauren Oliver
  • “Matched” by Allie Condie
  • “Skinned” by Robin Wasserman
  • “Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
Nov 19 2012
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Book Review: Jhereg by Steven Brust

Title: Jhereg

Author: Steven Brust

Series: Vlad Taltos #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: The first to be published, this is actually the fourth novel in the timeline of the VLAD TALTOS series. The books recount the adventures of the wisecracking hired killer Vlad, a human on a planet mainly inhabited by the long-lived, extremely tall sorcerers known as the Dragaerans. One of the most powerful bosses in the Jhereg–Dragaera’s premier criminal organization–hires Vlad, one of their guild members, to assassinate Mellar, who stole millions from the Jhereg leadership and fled. Unfortunately, this thief turns out to be protected in a way that makes it difficult for Vlad to do his job without gaining the permanent enmity of a friend. The reader also learns more about Vlad’s past in this, and in other, lives.

The Review:

Jhereg was nothing like I thought it would be… it was better! I was expecting a typical “boy gets a dragons and goes out on an epic adventure” book (I guess I need to stop judging by the cover alone). What I ended up with was a cheeky, magical, modern-day assassin mystery that blew my socks off.

Highly interesting characters and plot-lines, it was an extremely fast-paced novel that keeps you page-turning to the very end. And when I say fast-paced, I’m not joking around. The author has an incredible “no words wasted” writing style that makes for an exciting read. Trouble is, if you blink or get distracted for even a moment (as I am wont to do) you’ll likely miss something important and plot-advancing – so stay focused!

Initially, I thought a draw-back to this series was the lack of attention on setting. I couldn’t tell if the book was taking place in a complete fantasy world or just in a twist of our modern-day (and actually, I’m still not sure). I initially thought the author was lazy, but now I’m starting to suspect he’s a bit brilliant. His overall mastery over other elements of the craft is what clued me in. You see, the story is written in a strong first-person narrative – done well enough that I always felt totally immersed into the character. I now think the reason the reader doesn’t get to see the settings clearer is that the main character doesn’t pay much attention to such commonplace (for him) details. If this is truly the case, the Brust did an excellent job sticking to his chosen perspective, and I applaud him on it.

Overall, it was a unique read that I wish I’d picked up years ago. The author has a good fusion of fantasy and mystery that really maintained my attention. Though not the first book chronologically, it is the first book according to the publisher, and that’s good enough for me (especially since the author admitted he has no clue in what order his books should be read).

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

  • “Dragon Weather” by Lawrence Watt-Evans
  • “The Thief’s Gamble” by Juliet E. Mckenna
  • “Mistborn” by Brandon Sanderson
  • “Black Sun Rising” by C.S. Friedman
  • “Sword-Dancer” by Jennifer Roberson
Nov 14 2012
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The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

Title: The Adamantine Palace

Author: Stephen Deas

Series: Memory of Flames #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: N/A

The Overview: The Adamantine Palace lies at the centre of an empire that grew out of ashes. Once dragons ruled the world and man was little more than prey. Then a way of subduing the dragons through alchemy was discovered and now the dragons are bred to be little more than mounts for knights and highly valued tokens in the diplomatic power-players that underpin the rule of the competing aristocratic houses. The Empire has grown fat. And now one man wants it for himself. A man prepared to poison the king just as he has poisoned his own father. A man prepared to murder his lover and bed her daughter. A man fit to be king? But uknown to him there are flames on the way. A single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon on the loose, unsubdued, returned to its full intelligence, its full fury, could spell disaster for the Empire. But because of the actions of one unscrupulous mercenary the rivals for the throne could soon be facing hundreds of dragons …Stephen Deas has written a fast moving and action-fuelled fantasy laced with irony, a razor sharp way with characters, dialogue to die for and dragons to die by.

 The Review:

Unfortunately, this was a book I didn’t finish, which bums me out because I’d been looking forward to reading it since I first laid eyes on it. I don’t usually write reviews for the books I didn’t care for, preferring instead to focus on the recommend-worthy titles. I decided to make an exception in this case because I believe there are a few people out there who would enjoy this book a lot more than I did.

‘The Adamantine Palace” was difficult for me to walk away from, as the storyline was actually quite interesting – it kept me trying for about 100 pages. I liked the world, I liked the plot, and I liked the dragons. What I didn’t care for was the writing style. There were times where it was just underdeveloped enough that it read like a draft rather than a finished product. The dialogue was also a bit weak. Everybody spoke with the same voice and there was little variation in tone. It was unfortunate because it made interesting characters come across one-note.

I’ve been in the book business long enough to know that just because I don’t care for a title doesn’t mean others wont. If you might be one of those people, the digital world we live in makes it easy for you to find out. Just go to www.bn.com and download a digital sample. After reading the first few pages, you’ll know if it works for you or not.

Other dragon books you might like:

  • “Dragon Weather” by Lawrence Watt-Evans
  • “Joust” by Mercedes Lackey
  • “Dragon Champion” by E.E. Knight
  • “The Last Dragonlord” by Joanne Bertin
  • “Dragonflight” by Anne McCaffrey

by Niki Hawkes

Nov 10 2012

Book Review: Dragonlance – Dragons of Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Title: Dragonlance: Dragons of Dwarven Depths

Authors: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Series: The Lost Chronicles #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Tanis and Flint seek out a haven in the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin while Raistlin is strangely drawn to the haunted fortress known as Skullcap. Sturm seeks the legendary Hammer of Kharas, and Tika embarks on a perilous journey to rescue those she loves from certain death.

But it is the Dwarf, Flint Fireforge, who faces the most crucial test. The heroes race against time to save the lives of those dependent on them and Flint is forced to make a difficult choice, one on which the future of mankind may rest.

The Review:

Even though the Lost Chronicles are the latest in publication, they actually fall in the middle of the Dragonlance saga chronologically. It is an expansion of some events that happened that didn’t quite make it into the original series. Happy to have anything new from these authors, I was thrilled when it was released, and found it to be an incredibly nostalgic read.

I don’t think the original manuscript was a full trilogy, and so the authors had to add quite a bit of additional scenes to create a more sustainable storyline. This might be the main reason why certain elements were a bit repetitive. The perspective jumps around between about a dozen characters, and unfortunately that means we get the thoughts on certain events and behaviors several times over as we go through each character’s mental assessments. There was also quite a bit of series recap, but that didn’t bother me much – it’s been ages since I read the original story.

The characters are what make this saga so enjoyable, and I must say my favorite in this book was Tasslehoff – he is so delightfully irritating and cheerful that I have to give kudos to the authors for creating such a memorable character (one of many).

Overall, it was a fun addition totally entertaining the whole way through. I highly recommend it for fans of the series.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

Nov 8 2012

Bonded by Michelle Davidson Argyle

Title: Bonded

Author: Michelle Davidson Argyle

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 2/5 stars

The Review:

Ever wondered what happens after the fairy tales end? In “Bonded” Davidson takes you on a journey that’s not quite as happily ever after as you might expect. With these three novellas, she tells her interesting take on the next chapter of some familiar characters. Each of the three novellas used a unique voice to explore the darker side of fairy tales, and gave off sort of a Brothers Grimm feel.

The stories were actually quite thought-provoking. Sure, there are elements of Grimm, but I also thought there was a good tribute to Aesop’s fables. There were definitely a lot of morals woven into the stories such as: “be careful what you wish for” and “the grass is always greener”.

The writing was unique and overall well done, progressing the story smoothly and keeping my attention throughout. The only criticism I had was that the dialogue seemed a bit forced on occasion, but it still managed to flow within the overall “voice” of the story.

If you’re looking for a fairy tale to break the mold, this may be the next book for you!

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

  • “Bitterblue” by Kristin Cashore
  • “Once Upon a Winter’s Night” by Dennis McKiernan
  • “The Ill-Made Mute” by Cecelia Dart-Thornton
  • “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” by the Brothers Grimm