Tag Archives: fantasy

Jan 23 2014
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Book Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of KingsTitle: The Way of Kings

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Series: Stormlight Archive #1

Genre: fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them. One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

The Way of Kings

The Review:

Having read (and loved) many of Sanderson’s other works, I was interested in reading this one, but hadn’t planned on picking it up any time soon. However, as every Sanderson fan I came across told me with passion that Way of Kings was the “best one yet”, I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and had to see what they were all raving about. And you know what? They were right. Not only is Way of Kings one of Sanderson’s best, but it is also one of the most rich and vibrant fantasies I’ve ever read. There were so many good things about this novel that I hope that by talking about just a few of them I can convince a few people to read it.

One of my favorite elements of this book was the world building and overall atmosphere. It was so evoking that I was able to immerse myself in it 100% every time I picked it up. It had that all-encompassing “epic” feel that I haven’t come across since classics like Wizard’s First Rule (Goodkind) and Magician: Apprentice (Feist). What helped make the story feel grand was the people of this world. There were multiple cultures throughout the novel, each with thorough, interesting histories that added a sort of flair to each of the characters.

Speaking of characters, every perspective was compelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed following each of their stories. I’m often hesitant reading books with multiple POVs because there’s always a risk that I won’t enjoy reading about a few of the characters (I have a friend who skips entire passages when this happens just so she can get back to the characters she likes). This was not an issue with Way of Kings. All of the perspectives were interesting, and they all added something special to the overall arc of the story.

As great as Sanderson is at characters and world building, he is also a master of creating cool magic systems. I enjoyed learning about the stormlight-based system in Way of Kings, but feel as though we’ve only just scratched the surface of its potential in this first novel. I’m eager to learn more about it as the series continues, as I’m sure we will. What I haven’t appreciated from this author before is a focus on magical creatures. There are a particular kind of magical beings, known as spren, who take countless different forms and added a great deal of wonder to the story.

As a side note: talking someone into reading of books they’re not interested in is something I never do – life’s too short to read books that don’t excite you, and it always irritates me when people try to push their own reading tastes on me. My hope with this review is to convince those few who love fantasy and were already eyeballing Way of Kings to pick it up sooner than they might have otherwise. A 3000 page novel is a hard sell and I’ll be the first to admit it’s incredibly slow-paced; however, not once was it ever boring. I find myself wildly impressed that someone can write a novel of this size without wasting a single page on needless description or repetition. It was truly superb, and has solidified Sanderson as one of my writing idols.

Overall, I am thrilled the Stormlight Archive series is going to be a multiple book saga and an eagerly counting down the days until Words of Radiance comes out – rest assured I’ve already purchased a copy and will be starting it as soon as I can get my hands on it!

Recommended Reading: I will be recommending this novel to anyone who loves high fantasy – it has everything I desire in that genre of novel and then some. At the moment, Name of the Wind is probably still my favorite fantasy, but Way of Kings is not far behind! I would happily recommend it any day over Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones… Just saying.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 15 2014
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Coming Soon: The Lascar’s Dagger by Glenda Larke

lascar's daggerTitle: The Lascar’s Dagger

Author: Glenda Larke

Series: The Forsaken Lands #1

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: March 18, 2014

The Overview: Saker appears to be a simple priest, but in truth he’s a spy for the head of his faith. Wounded in the line of duty by a Lascar sailor’s blade, the weapon seems to follow him home. Unable to discard it, nor the sense of responsibility it brings, Saker can only follow its lead. The dagger puts Saker on a journey to distant shores, on a path that will reveal terrible secrets about the empire, about the people he serves, and destroy the life he knows. The Lascar’s dagger demands a price, and that price will be paid in blood.

lascar's dagger

 Hosted by Breaking the Spine

 While there are many authors that I love, there are few that I’m more passionate about than Glenda Larke. I’ve read everything she’s ever had published including a series I had to pay top dollar to have shipped over from Australia. Everything she writes is golden and I am STOKED that she has another series in the making (The Lascar’s Dagger being the first book). If you like high fantasies like Goodkind, Sanderson, and even Hobb, this author should definitely be added to your list!

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 19 2013
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Book Review: Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon

RhapsodyTitle: Rhapsody

Author: Elizabeth Haydon

Series: Symphony of Ages #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won’t take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world– a world so real you can hear the sweet music of Rhapsody’s aubade and smell the smoldering forges deep within the Cauldron.

Rhapsody 2

The Review:

Finishing Rhapsody was my first step towards rereading this epic series by Elizabeth Haydon. The fact that I’m doing a reread at all should say something about how much I liked this series, espeically considering how many unread ones I still have on my shelves (I don’t usually pick up books I’ve already read more than once or twice a year… unless it’s an audio). I had three motivations behind the reread: I really enjoyed it the first time around (about ten years ago), I caught wind that the author is finally back to writing the series and wanted to get ready for the next release, and I felt compelled to figure out why I seldom recommended it even though I really liked it.

And what’s not to like? This book is the gateway into an epic world filled with unique cultures and histories unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It lets us explore the world through the eyes of several brilliant, vibrant characters who are incredibly likable and memorable despite their flaws. My favorite character, Achmed isn’t even human, but it’s his personality and interactions with the main heroine, Rhapsody, makes him the most entertaining and endearing in my eyes (he doesn’t even like her much, haha). Achmed, along with most of the characters, are so rounded that you don’t even scratch the surface of the mysteries surrounding them in this first book. Learning more about them was my main motivation to keep reading this series, and I have to say it didn’t disappoint!

So, why don’t I recommend this book even though I’ve just sung its praises? Because the first hundred pages (excluding the prologue) are among the most confusing and boring-assed of any that I’ve ever read. If not for a single thread of hope and interests in what was to come, I’m not sure I would’ve made it through the first time (much less the second). I just can’t bring myself to suggest it’s to people because a 100 page courtesy is too much to ask of a reader trying to find their next engaging book. It’s a shame too, because this really is one of the most memorable, unique fantasies I’ve ever read and would love to share the story as a whole with more people.

Overall, if you have the motivation (and time) to suffer a long winded book (and series) for an epic payoff, then you could possibly get the same enjoyment out of it as I have. Otherwise, perhaps stick to the great fantasy novels that provide a more, shall we say immediate gratification.

Recommended Reading: For brave fantasy readers who aren’t scared of long-winded authors. Also for those who don’t mind sex, violence, and language, as there’s a fair bit of all three.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 17 2013
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Coming Soon: The Widow’s House by Daniel Abraham

The widow's houseTitle: The Widow’s House

Author: by Daniel Abraham

Series: The Dagger and the Coin #4

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: August 5, 2014

The Overview: Lord Regent Geder Palliako’s war has led his nation and the priests of the spider goddess to victory after victory. No power has withstood him, except for the heart of the one woman he desires. As the violence builds and the cracks in his rule begin to show, he will risk everything to gain her love or else her destruction. Clara Kalliam, the loyal traitor, is torn between the woman she once was and the woman she has become. With her sons on all sides of the conflict, her house cannot stand, but there is a power in choosing when and how to fall. And in Porte Oliva, banker Cithrin bel Sarcour and Captain Marcus Wester learn the terrible truth that links this war to the fall of the dragons millennia before, and that to save the world, Cithrin must conquer it.

The widow's house 2

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

I am a huge, huge fan of this author! I consider his Long Price Quartet to be one of the best new generation fantasies on the market and was also blown away by his science fiction Leviathan Wakes (cowritten under the name James S. A. Corey). The Dagger and the Coin series is the last unexplored territory and I admit I’ve been kind of saving them for a rainy day – I just know they’re going to be amazing! Any of you out there who love authors like Goodkind, Hobb, and Feist, make room on your shelves for Daniel Abraham – he’s a keeper!

 What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 6 2013
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DNF Review: The Wizard Lord by Lawrence Watt-Evans

The wizard LordTitle: The Wizard Lord

Author: Lawrence Watt-Evans

Series: The Annals of the Chosen #1

Genre:  Fantasy

Rating: DNF

The Overview: The Wizard Lord’s duty is to keep the world in its delicate balance. He must govern lightly to protect his domain from power-hungry interlopers, such as certain wizards who previously fought to rule the world…But if the Wizard Lord himself strays from the way of the just, then it is up to the Chosen to intercede. The Chosen ones are the Leader, the Seer, the Swordsman, the Beauty, the Thief, the Scholar, the Archer, and the Speaker. Each are magically-infused mortal individuals who, for the term of their service, have only one function–to be available to remove an errant Wizard Lord, whether by persuasion or by stronger means. Breaker, a young man of ambition, has taken the mantle of Swordsman from its former bearer who wished to retire. Never did he realize that he would be called to duty so quickly, or that the balance of power in his world would be so precarious. He had a duty to perform.  A world to save. So why does he still have doubts…not just about himself, but about the entire balance of power?

The wizard Lord

The Review:

As the writer of my all time favorite Dragon series, The Obsidian Chronicles, Lawrence Watt-Evans had never failed to entertain me in the half a dozen books I’ve read from him so far. In fact, I liked him so much that I immediately went out and purchased every book he had on the market at the time – an impulse I have not yet regretted…Until now.

I have to say, for such a fantastic idea for a book, this one took a lot of time to get going. A hundred pages in, the main conflict of the story was finally hinted at… Although I don’t know that I would’ve been able to pick it out had I not read the back of the book. There was a lot of speculation and back-and-forth questioning by the main protagonist, which built great character right up front, but I think it could have been edited down a little bit without losing any of its impact. That said, it was still interesting and engaging even though not much was happening other than personal growth and discovery. I always appreciate authors who can take ordinary, everyday events and make them interesting to read about.

Then after that first hundred pages, when he finally got on the road I thought “great – now the story really begins!” The trouble is, it kind of didn’t. Sure, he was visiting new places for the first time, but it seemed like in every place he just rehashed everything that had been pounded into us before he even left on the journey. Not to mention that most of the scenes didn’t seem to add anything to the overall arc of the story. I’m a little sad to admit that I got a little bored reading it – and that saying something considering I just finished Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon (One of the most long-winded books I’ve ever read… But still strangely amazing).

I have been working really hard to live by the motto that “life is too short to read boring books” and finally decided to put it down. This was a difficult decision considering how dazzled I’ve been with his works in the past, but I’m to a point where I have so many great books just begging to be read that I will not force myself to finish anything I’m not enjoying.

Recommended Reading: although I found this great conceptually, it came across uneventful and repetitive. I really can’t see myself recommending it, and have figured out why it went out of print so quickly. I will, however, stand behind my recommendations of The Obsidian Chronicles as my all-time favorite Dragon series – which happens to be coming back in print January 2014!

 Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 2 2013
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Top Ten 2014 Releases I’m Dying to Read (Excluding YA)!

Top ten Tuesday pink

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

The topic a couple of weeks ago was the Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait to Get My Hands On, which kind of killed my momentum for this post because I featured all upcoming releases (I guess I should have looked ahead). Anyway, because all but one of the books on the aforementioned list were YA, I’m devoting this list to the adult genres:

Top Ten 2014 Releases I’m Dying to Read (Excluding YA)!

There are a lot of fantastic authors on this list but I’d have to say the one I’m most looking forward to reading is the final Patrick Rothfuss book (It remains my favorite fantasy to date). Although, I am also super eager for anything new by Abraham/Corey!

What 2014 releases are you looking forward to?

by Niki Hawkes