Book: Neverwhere
Author:Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fiction
Length:370 pgs.
Summary: Stuck in a relationship and job where he is a whipping boy, Richard Mayhew breaks free of his daily not-caring ritual when a bloodied girl dressed in rags literally drops at his feet. By helping her, he loses track of his entire existence (literally), and must embark on a journey through "this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London he knew."
Excerpts:
pg 7 - There are four simple ways for the observant to tell Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar apart: first, Mr Vandemar is two and a half heads taller than Mr Croup; second, Mr Croup has eyes of a faded china blue, while Mr Vandemar's eyes are brown; third, while Mr Vendemar fashioned the rings he wears on his right hand out of the skulls of four ravens, Mr Croup has no obvious jewelry; fourth, Mr Croup likes words, while Mr Vandemar is always hungry. Also, they look nothing at all alike.
pg 49 - To say that Richard Mayhew was not very good at heights would be perfectly accurate, but it would fail to give the full picture. Richard hated clifftops, and high buildings: somewhere not far inside him was the fear--the stark, utter, silently screaming terror--that if he got too close to the edge, then something would take over and he would find himself walking to the edge of a clifftop and stepping off into space. It was as if he could not entirely trust himself, and that scared Richard more than the simple fear of falling ever could. So he called it vertigo, and hated it and himself, and kept away from high places.
pg 93 - Varney looked like a bull might look, if the bull were to be shaved, dehorned, covered in tattoos, and suffered from complete dental breakdown. Also, he snored.
Why should you read this book?
I love Neil Gaiman. This is the second book I've read by him (Stardust was the other). I saw the movie MirrorMask and loved it. Gaiman's tone is clever and funny; when you read his books you feel like he is sitting there telling you a story, rather than you reading a book (especially so with Stardust, where the characters are more archetypal). His descriptions are precise, accurate, and oftentimes hilarious because he doesn't give any of his characters a break; see my excerpts above for an example.
If you like Doctor Who or Monty Python, this is a book for you. If you write fiction that takes any hint whatsoever from fairy tales, mythology, or legends, Gaiman is an excellent example to read to get a feel for what other writers are doing. (Another good example would be Marquez, but I'll save that for when I review Of Love and Other Demons.) Gaiman, to me, is what I imagine the Grimm Brothers were to their contemporaries. All three men take inspiration from life, make the most mundane or horrible facts fantastical, and demand in the nicest way possible that you get something out of the story by the end. I highly suggest reading the author note at the end to really drive this point home.
Book: The Glass Harmonica
Author: Louise Marley
Genre: Paranormal Historical Fiction
Length: 369 pgs
Summary: The year is 2018 and Erin is the premiere virtuosa on the glass harmonica, an instrument that, over the centuries, has been known to make its player and select members of the audience go mad. Though she publicly denies these rumors, secretly she is terrified they are true once she starts to see visions of a girl who does not exist.
The year is 1761 and Eilish Eam, an Irish orphan, has been plucked from her unlucky existence to play Benjamin Franklin's new invention: the glass armonica.
Excerpts:
pg 116 - It was the terror that lurked in [Erin's] nightmares, that stalked her when she was weakest, most vulnerably. It was the fear that made her snap answers to stupid questions, made her impatient and angry at the probing and pushing of interviewers and reporters and historians. She was afraid. She wasn't afraid of her wraith, of ghosts or visions or manifestations. What she feared was that, like her predecessors, like the ancestral virtuosi who had first played her precious and mystical instrument, her nerves were breaking down. She was afraid she was going mad.
Why should you read this book?
This book is well-written: all the characters have backstories and motivations, and the setting is fully realized. Despite this, I felt no connection with the characters. I read the entire book, but I never felt drawn to the story, wondering what would happen next. And I should have, because this was an interesting idea. As a musician, I loved the history of the glass harmonica; as a historian, I thought Marley's depiction of Benjamin Franklin was great; as a scientist, I loved the idea of applying music to neuro-therapy. As a writer, I thought something was lacking, which may be because the back cover copy made the story seem more action-oriented, a time-travel similar to The Lake House (which defies so many laws of physics and time-travel, even).
A pleasant read, the one thing that really annoyed me was Marley's use of "'twas" and "'tis," beyond the 1761 dialogue. For example: Eilish pushed the basket again, trying to make her two seed coins clink together. Talk brought no food. 'Twas money she needed. In my opinion, Marley should have stuck with a first-person narrative for the 1761 story, and third-person for the 2018, if she wanted to write like that. But then, another reader will find it charming, and think I'm crazy for not liking it. Such a subjective profession this is...
Book: Poison Study
Author: Maria V Snyder
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 361 pgs
Summary: Yelena has murdered a man. And the punishment for death, for any unnatural death, even accidental, is execution. Luckily, the Commander's food-taster has just died, and Yelena, being the next up for execution, is offered the job by the Commander's right-hand man, Valek. As her tasting and smelling skills improve, Yelena's survival instinct (a droning sound emitting from her mouth) turns out to be a sort of raw magic. And in a land where magic is outlawed, punishable by death, Yelena finds herself facing death from all angles.
Excerpt:
pg 104 - "You remind me of a pretty bird, willing to sit on the windowsill as long as nobody comes too close, but prepared to fly away if somebody does."
Why should you read this book?
It's an entertaining read. I was most intrigued by Valek, who surprises Yelena with the facets of his personality, and therefore the reader. The political intrigue wasn't the most groundbreaking, but then, the story was more a fantasy coming-of-age than anything else, so I can forgive that. I liked it enough to look for the next book, Magic Study, but I have to admit that Yelena's horrible past just didn't really come across with fervency. But once again, that may not have been the point.
Book: Animating Maria
Author: Marion Chesney
Genre: Regency Romance
Length: 160 pgs
Summary:This is the fifth book of the School for Manners series in which twin sisters Amy and Effy Tribble advertise that they can make eligible matches for any troublesome yong woman. This time, however, they have a perfect client: Maria Kendall. She is pretty, well-mannered, graceful, and has a rich dowry. Unfortunately, there are two problems in Maria's way: 1) she tends to daydream a lot because 2) her parents are gaudy, self-important, and like Mr Collins about Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice, know the monetary value of everything they own (and like to reflect upon that). Her parents have chased away every eligible suitor in Bath, and now Maria journeys to London, where she meets the Duke of Berham. Can Maria climb down from her dreams to see the quality in the Duke? Can the Duke get past the common Kendalls?
pg 87 - The fact was that that glorious present had made Amy feel attractive and fascinating, and when a good-hearted woman feels attractive and fascinating, she quite often is.
Why should you read this book?
This is one of those light reads that I always suggest to my mother. The romance is traditional, which is my specialty, and means that the physical romance never gets past kissing, or, as in this case, a little petting (and that's usually after the couple has agreed they're going to marry). Chesney does a good job of making the characters fun to read about, and you do think about them after you've finished the book, which I always consider a victory for the author. I will say, however, that I was a little disappointed by the ending, because Chesney uses a quick fix to get her couple together, and then sets us up for the sequel.
Read this for a good example of traditional romantic fiction and an easy read.
Book: Once Upon a Marigold
Author: Jean Ferris
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 272 pgs
Summary: The hook on the front cover of this book reads Part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink. This book is actually a young adult fantasy, and I didn't realize that until I found the book in that section of my local library, but hey. I have loved Ferris ever since I read her Rosie & Raider trilogy (Into the Wind, Song of the Sea, and Weather the Storm). ...I can't believe I remembered the characters and titles without looking them up. Seriously, I read these books when I was thirteen. Anyway, Once Upon a Marigold is about Christian, a little boy who runs away to live with a forest troll, and spends his developmental years roaming the forest and reading every book he can "borrow." All the while, Christian uses his foster father's telescope to watch the goings-on in the royal castle across the river, and subsequently, falls in love with the "ugly duckling" Princess Marigold. This is a time when p-mail (aka pidgeon-mail) is modern, when Queen Mab of toothfairy fame is losing control of her business, and when a curse may not be a curse after all.
Excerpt:
pg 48 - And that was how their long p-mail correspondence began.
April 19. I'm 17. I'm an Aries. Why did you decide to write to me? - Marigold
You seemed so absorbed in your book. I wanted to know what you were reading. - C
For some reason, he was reluctant to tell her his name. The more anonymous he stayed, the bolder he felt--as if he were someone else, an alternate version of himself, a version who casually corresponded with a princess. A version who couldn't tell her his own birthday because he didn't know it.
You can see me? - Marigold
P.S. What does the C stand for?
He thought her first question sounded a bit alarmed, as most people would be if they found out they were being watched. But the fact that she'd added a P.S. meant she was curious about him, which he took as a good sign. He debated a long time about how to answer.
Sometimes I can see you. The C stands for my name.
Why should you read this book?
Because it's actually pretty funny, and funny is hard to do in books. It starts a little slow, but the characters are vivid, and interesting, and are people I wouldn't mind knowing in real life. And let me tell you, writing young adult fiction is hard. You have to get the exact amount of detail in there so the reader understands just what you want them to understand, without losing their interest. The plot runs really quickly as soon as Christopher starts to interact with Marigold, and you'll find yourself skimming just to know what happens next. But don't do it. Read it thoroughly and enjoy the pacing and narrative voice, and learn something from it. Once Upon a Marigold is great for anyone wanting to learn how to speed up their story, and to make their characters seem vivid (if a little stereotyped for some of the secondary roles).
Book: Green Rider
Title: Green Rider
Author: Kristen Britain
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 480 pgs
Summary: Karigan G'ladheon has been unfairly kicked from school because she, the daughter of a mere (if rich) merchan, insulted a spoiled heir in a sword fight. Instead of facing the suspension board, Karigan decides to run away from school and make her way home. Seems like a good plan, until a rider dressed in green with two black arrows in his back blocks her path and asks that she finish his mission by sending an important message to the king. Being the spontaneous girl she is, Karigan accepts, and thus begins the typical fantasy story about the journey from being an innocent, ignorant, yet fiesty, schoolgirl to an experienced warrior who may not know what her future holds, but at least knows she has the strength to withstand just about anything.
Why should you read this book?
Ok, I admit it, I picked this book up because it had the word "green" in the title and I basically love all things green. I was actually searching for a different book, one that was actually on my reading list, when I stumbled upon this one. All in all, a good read. Nothing spectacularly interesting, Britain tends to rely on a lot of fantasy cliches. The redeeming factor, thankfully, is the main character. Karigan is a strong female lead in a predominantly male-led genre, and is easy to relate to despite her dangerous path.
I will say, however, that this book felt long. It was interesting, but I put it down a couple times because Karigan's "wild ride" lasted almost half the length of the book. By the time Karigan reaches her destination, there's a lot left to happen and I inwardly groaned at where my bookmark sat in the pages. Read this if you're looking for a strong female lead who has more on her mind than the usual stereotypic schoolgirl, and be as confused as I am that a "mere schoolgirl" still apparently attracts kings and lords and dark elves. How old is Karigan, anyway? And why can't we have stand-alone fantasies anymore? I hear the sequel is even longer than this was, which has me thinking twice about reading it. A respectable read, but nothing to inspire the writing muse, in my mind.
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