I love the movie and have to give the book four stars because so much of the movie comes straight from the book. However, I actually think this is oneI love the movie and have to give the book four stars because so much of the movie comes straight from the book. However, I actually think this is one of those rare cases where the movie is even better than the book. Still, I recommend the book to anyone who is a fan of the movie. (And if you haven't seen the movie - what are you waiting for? It's a classic.)...more
Ugh, I can hardly believe this was written by Mary Burchell, my favorite vintage romance author. An admirable person - her writing helped her rescue JUgh, I can hardly believe this was written by Mary Burchell, my favorite vintage romance author. An admirable person - her writing helped her rescue Jews from the Nazis - she usually has unusual characters and interesting scenarios. I can usually overlook some of the paternalistic manner of her heroes, who are often much older than her heroines, because of sound character development and the fact that many of her books were written in the 1930s and 1940s. I could not get over them in this book.
*spoilers* Published in 1947, this book is about an orphaned teenager, Norma. Her indifferent distant relative guardian has died. Her new guardian, not related to her by blood, was the half-brother of that distant relative. We are given the impression that Justin Yorke is more than twice her age. Norma has never felt loved or like she belonged anywhere. A teacher observes, "Norma Lacey will be either violently unhappy or fantastically happy when she grows up. She has load of unused emotions and affections, and everything will depend on whether she spills them on someone worth while or someone quite unworthy."
The unworthy Justin sees this at once. His family long ago lost the huge estate near the smaller estate where he lives. He will do *anything* to get it back. He breaks up Norma's friendship with a nice young man and throws her in the path of Sir Richard, the current owner of his family's estate. He plans for them to marry and trade homes with him so he can return to the family mansion. He manipulates Norma at every turn and cruelly implies he will turn her out if she does not go along with his plans.
Of course, in the end, he realizes he loves Norma and tries to make amends. Fortunately for him she loves him back, ugh, I can't imagine why. When she tells Sir Richard that she can't marry him because she is going to marry Justin, Richard exclaims "But -- good lord! He's your guardian."
Sherry Thomas, author of The Burning Sky (first book in the Elemental Trilogy), is not the next J.K. Rowling. Of course, there IS no next J.K. RowlingSherry Thomas, author of The Burning Sky (first book in the Elemental Trilogy), is not the next J.K. Rowling. Of course, there IS no next J.K. Rowling, but that doesn’t stop publishers from comparing new authors to her.
The most recent author to be compared to Rowling ad nauseum is Samantha Shannon, author of The Bone Season. I bring this up because if I WERE to compare a new author to Rowling, it would be Sherry Thomas, not Samantha Shannon. I am a public librarian, and if a Harry Potter fan asked me for a new book they might like, I’d recommend The Burning Sky (and not The Bone Season). Like the Harry Potter series and unlike The Bone Season, it has moments of true warmth and levity.
The Burning Sky is similar to the world of Harry Potter in many ways. Attendance at a boarding school, check, although in this case it is a decidedly unmagical Eton College. Spells based on latin, check. Prophecies and seers, check.
But the author paints her own magical world in The Burning Sky. The magical domain and the nonmagical realm co-exist. The greatest elemental mage of a generation has been prophesied. This person, able to manipulate earth, air, water and fire, will face the Bane, the powerful mage and tyrant of Atlantis. Prince Titus, the teenaged figurehead Master of the Domain, has known since a young age that he is destined to assist the mage and die in the process.
Then, through a careless bit of magic, Iolanthe Seabourne reveals herself to be the prophesied elemental mage. Atlantis and the Bane want to use her. Prince Titus does too – he wants to use her to bring down Atlantis and the Bane. The Prince gets to her first, and puts into action a plan he has worked on for almost his whole life.
Iolanthe and Titus have a distrustful but dependent relationship. Iolanthe, disguised as a boy, attends Eton with the young Prince, and there are moments of joy and humor in their day-to-day interactions with fellow students. One plot device I enjoyed was the Crucible, a magical training tool that Titus and Iolanthe virtually disappear into to prepare for the challenges that await them.
I won’t reveal anymore, but The Burning Sky is a fun, suspenseful, and yes, magical read. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Harry Potter or similar series.
Edit 11/28/14: I listened to the audio version, narrated by Philip Battley, and loved it. I hope he does the rest of the books in the series. ...more
I keep a book in my car to read when I stop at a restaurant or have to wait in an office. If the book is really good, it escapes from the car and becoI keep a book in my car to read when I stop at a restaurant or have to wait in an office. If the book is really good, it escapes from the car and becomes a primary book I'm reading. An advanced reader copy of Doon has been my car book for the last couple months, and it did not escape from the car.
It's not terrible, but it's not particularly engaging. Two teenagers get pulled into Doon (as in, Brigadoon) before the Centennial Day when Doon is open for one day. Each has a romance and struggles with whether to stay in Doon or return to their own world on the Centenniel. There is a mystery involving a witch who wants to destroy Doon, and many villagers think the girls are in cahoots with her.
The humor is fairly lame but may appeal to some of the teenaged female audience this book is aimed at. There are a lot of modern references that will date the book pretty quickly. The passage of time did not make sense to me because the impression I have is that time is supposed to pass differently in Doon and that was not always the case in this book. But it may be that I zoned out when that was explained. I will not seek out the sequel set up by the book's ending....more
Meh. It wasn't terrible. The love trilogy was a bit of an eye-roller. I was relieved when I finally finished the book.Meh. It wasn't terrible. The love trilogy was a bit of an eye-roller. I was relieved when I finally finished the book....more
In this 200th anniversary year of the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a new book by Jo Baker called Longbourn is getting a lot of atIn this 200th anniversary year of the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a new book by Jo Baker called Longbourn is getting a lot of attention. Longbourn is the Bennet family estate, home to Elizabeth, the future Mrs. Darcy.
Longbourn takes place at the same time as the events of Pride & Prejudice, only the focus is on the Bennet family servants. Mrs. Hill is the housekeeper, Mr. Hill the butler, and Sarah and Polly the two maids. The point is made that Polly is really named Mary, but since there is a Bennet daughter named Mary, the maid must be called by another name. The book stresses how different life is for the servants than it is for the family. In Pride & Prejudice, we are made keenly aware that the Bennets do not have a lot of extra money to maintain their estate, but in Longbourn we see how much more work this means for the family servants.
Elizabeth’s youthful high spirits and hardiness are demonstrated by her walk to Netherfield from Longbourn without any regard for her petticoats; in Longbourn we understand the extra work those high spirits cause for the maids who must clean the petticoats. The author does not hold back regarding any of the unpleasant tasks of the day, whether emptying chamber pots or washing the “monthly napkins.”
Longbourn does not read like a Jane Austen novel, although the details about dress and manners are there. It reads like a modern novel written about that time period, rather than a book written at that time. Things happen and are described that would never be present in an Austen novel. I found Longbourn very slow starting; it did not really catch my attention until well into the book. I kept at it because the book is getting so much buzz and because of my affection for Pride & Prejudice.
In addition to the many historical details about what it was like to be a servant during the time of Pride & Prejudice, the plot revolves around Sarah, the housemaid. She is interested in Ptolemy, a footman for the Bingleys, but also shares a high level of awareness with the Bennet family’s mysterious new manservant James.
I understand a movie is already in the works, and I think Longbourn could be a terrific movie, condensed and focused on the most interesting parts. It’s not a bad book, but in the end, my favorite parts were the times we got to see glimpses of the beloved characters from Pride & Prejudice. I might have enjoyed rereading P&P a lot more. Still, many Jane Austen fans will enjoy reading Longbourn.
*spoiler*
Near the end, due to certain circumstances, Sarah is now serving at Pemberley and the man she is in love with has disappeared. When Sarah finds out he has been seen with a troop of road engineers, she leaves her position and goes out to wander about until she finds him. She is not robbed, she is not raped, and somehow she manages to feed herself. I found this totally unbelievable. There had to be a less dramatic, more plausible way to get the two lovers back together by the end. ...more
Heft was not quite what I expected. It was even better. A “colossally fat” former professor has not been outside his home for years. He has everythingHeft was not quite what I expected. It was even better. A “colossally fat” former professor has not been outside his home for years. He has everything he needs delivered. His primary pleasure is eating. Twenty years early he met a student he felt a great kinship with. Their loneliness drew them together: “I sensed her loneliness the moment she walked into my classroom, & I thought it likely that she could sense mine, although I tried to shield her from it.” (p. 28) Circumstances cause her to leave school and him as well, but they maintained a correspondence for 18 years.
One day out of the blue she calls him and tells him she is going to send him a letter. What she sends him is a photo of the son she never told him she had. Divorced, she is worried about her son and thinks a relationship with Arthur will help him. She wants them to meet. Thus begins a chain of events that are played out in the novel. Arthur calls a maid service so he is not ashamed to have Charlene and her son Kel over. The maid, Yolanda, then becomes woven in to the fabric of Arthur’s life. (The descriptions of the book I’ve seen do not even mention her, which is a real omission.)
The book is told alternately by Arthur and Kel. Each has a distinct voice. Neither is a trustworthy narrator, and yet you sense their essential honesty and wait for them to reveal the truth. They both felt like real people to me.
Heft has a lot to say about loneliness and making connections. It started slow, but once the story got moving I wanted to know what happened next. I listened to most of it on audiobook on a long trip, and I couldn’t wait to get back in the car to hear more. The book surprised me, both with plot twists and with the depth of the characters. The relationships are complicated and unexpected. Characters tell each other lies and it's so believable, the way the lies are told and the reasons for them.
Kel is the kind of person who makes friends easily and becomes the leader of any group, yet even he can feel awkward and out of place. His mother gets a job at a prestigious high school so Kel can attend, and Moore perfectly captures his shame and horror his first day when he is wearing the “wrong” clothes. She captures the shame and horror Arthur feels over his weight.
The author has a lovely way with words. There were many passages that were just a pleasure to read. For example, when Arthur receives the photo of Kel, he thinks (p. 52): "I can tell he's a dreamer. He fears things. The death of his mother, perhaps, or his own death. Disobedience. Authority. He is trustworthy but doesn't trust others. In his heart there is bravery & cowardice. He is a baby & a man. His face is a boy's face. His face is a crystal ball. I am sure that other pictures of him show him smiling. I am sure that several girls have pictures of him smiling & that sort of thing. I am sure that several girls have pictures of him without his knowing it."
I thoroughly enjoyed the way Yolanda and Arthur conversed. I felt like I was eavesdropping on two people working their way into friendship. Once, when Yolanda is upstairs cleaning, her phone rings. Arthur guiltily picks it up and sees that the call is from “Junior Baby Love.” Junior is Yolanda’s no-good boyfriend and the father of her unborn child. After that, Arthur refers to him as Junior Baby Love (or, occasionally, JBL) which cracked me up and never got old for me. (The narrator on the audiobook, Keith Szarabajka, was especially good at disdainfully repeating “Junior Baby Love.”)
Heft is about loneliness and the burdens we all carry. Sad things happen, but overall it is a hopeful book. Arthur is unsure about his relationships: "In a fit of sentimentality & self-pity, I asked [Yolanda] today if she would let me meet the baby after it was born and she asked if I was firing her. I took this as a very good sign." (p. 350) Arthur is honest about himself, his failings, his weight, and his relationships, but he is also hopeful.
Some people might be dissatisfied with the ending of Heft, but I loved it. It allowed me to imagine what will happen next. Although Heft is not classified as a young adult novel, I think many teens would enjoy it. I recommend Heft to readers who enjoy immersing themselves in the lives of characters who feel real, who have ever felt lonely, or who have struggled with personal burdens. In other words – all readers....more
**spoiler alert** Ashfall by Mike Mullin starts with a terrific premise. The dormant volcano under Yellowstone National Park, which last erupted 640,0**spoiler alert** Ashfall by Mike Mullin starts with a terrific premise. The dormant volcano under Yellowstone National Park, which last erupted 640,000 or so years ago, explodes, burying the western U.S. under ash and creating a world of darkness.
The main character is a teenager who lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Alex’s family wants him to come along on a visit to family in Illinois; an argument ensues and he convinces his parents to let him stay behind alone for the weekend. When the volcano erupts his house is crushed by flying debris and he is trapped. He manages to free himself and make his way to his neighbors’ home. Eventually, he decides to strike out alone, travelling over the ash on his father’s old skis, to find his family in Illinois. He finds a traveling companion, a teenaged girl named Darla, and Ashfall tells the story of their journey together.
The science of the eruption seems plausible, but the timeline struck me as extremely condensed. I can believe rifle-toting farmers refusing to let other refugees on to their property, but some of the other conditions seem unlikely in the early days after a disaster. Darla and Alex encounter a woman who is afraid they are going to kill and eat her and her children because a mob captured her husband. “They’d built a bonfire. … Above it, spitted like a pig, there was my Roger. … They were roasting my Roger. Roasting him like a pig.” (p. 289) I found this very unbelievable.
Later, Darla and Alex end up in a refugee camp run by FEMA. There is no food except a single cup of rice per person each day. Even if the U.S. were down to the last remnants of food, I don’t think the last thing left would be white rice. After striking an authority figure, Alex is thrown into a punishment hut and left to die. (Darla rescues him.) The authorities also shoot all animals brought into the camp. (Darla carries a rabbit through all kinds of trials only to see it shot at the camp.) I don’t believe the U. S. government would treat its citizens the way people are treated in Ashfall so soon after a disaster. Neglect and incompetence I can believe, but not the behavior described in Ashfall.
The dissolving of American society into anarchy is not hard to imagine, but it all seems to happen too quickly. Still, this book is a quick read with a lot of action, and it will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, Delirium, and other dystopian series. ...more
Other reviewers have no doubt written long and thorough reviews of this book so I'm not going to. However, I will note the following. I am normally reOther reviewers have no doubt written long and thorough reviews of this book so I'm not going to. However, I will note the following. I am normally reading several books at one time. At home, I usually have one book by my bedside to read before bed and one at the dining room table to read while eating. Originally The Ocean at the End of the Lane was my bedtime reading, but I found it so disturbing that I had to move it downstairs. This is about the highest praise I can give to a creepy book like The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Also, I got teary-eyed reading the acknowledgements. Neil Gaiman rocks....more
Me, reading a contemporary YA wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance? Not my usual style. I read this book for one reason – the main character works in her Me, reading a contemporary YA wrong-side-of-the-tracks romance? Not my usual style. I read this book for one reason – the main character works in her mom’s porcelain doll store. And even though Caymen calls the dolls soul-sucking and her best friend calls the store the little shop of horrors, I still enjoyed all the parts about the dolls.
For the most part, the author did a good job with the story. I thought the do-I-like-him, does-he-like-me inner struggle was well done. However, I thought the major plot twist at the end was trickery, and Xander was too close to perfect to be real. I also really disliked the girl’s name – Caymen. What does it mean, where does it come from, and why do you give your heroine a name with “men” in it?
My biggest complaint, however, is that there is no way someone stays in business for 17 years running a porcelain-only doll store.
I can imagine recommending this to young adult readers looking for an HEA romance. Four stars for being the kind of book it’s trying to be. ...more
First published in 1958, Have Space Suit - Will Travel is a classic work of science fiction. Written before man walked on the moon, it is set in a notFirst published in 1958, Have Space Suit - Will Travel is a classic work of science fiction. Written before man walked on the moon, it is set in a not-too-distant future when trips to the moon are not routine but are regular. Kip Russell wants to visit the moon. When a soap company holds a contest with a trip to the moon as a prize, Kip goes all out to win. But he doesn't win first prize; instead, he wins a consolation prize, a used spacesuit.
He's disappointed but philosophical and puts in time repairing and improving his suit. While fooling around in it in his backyard, Kip hears a distress call from space, and next thing you know he's on a pirate spaceship, cooperating with a 10-year-old genius to find an alien "mother thing" and escape.
This is a quick read and rollicking good time. There is a lot of actual science in it, more than you'll find in most newer science fiction. Kip is a likeable narrator, and his relationship with Peewee, the 10-year-old girl, is realistic and touching. I particularly enjoyed the character of the Mother Thing, a sort of alien cop/juvenile detention officer from a race of beings who sing to communicate.
Heinlein is my new hero with this quote from Kip: "Dad claims that library science is the foundation of all sciences, just as math is the key - and that we will survive or founder, depending on how well the librarians do their jobs."
If you like classic science fiction and long for an adventure in space, I recommend Have Space Suit - Will Travel....more
**spoiler alert** If indeed The Bone Season is the first in a seven-book series, it’s an ambitious project. The author clearly has a terrific imaginat**spoiler alert** If indeed The Bone Season is the first in a seven-book series, it’s an ambitious project. The author clearly has a terrific imagination and has done a good job of world-building. The book includes a helpful glossary, something I wish more fantasy novels would include.
The Bone Season is set on an alternate Earth. It’s a cross between fantasy and dystopia. Clairvoyants – people in tune with the aether and sentient spirits who have not gone on – are not supposed to exist. If someone is found to be a voyant, they are captured and sent to prison. And some of them are taken to a place called Sheol I, formerly known as Oxford. Sheol I is ruled by a race called the Rephaim. They are not human, and they take the human voyants as slaves. The implication is that this for the humans’ own good, but in essence it is human trafficking.
There are a lot of characters in The Bone Season, and I had a hard time keeping them straight, especially the alien Rephaim. The author spins out her world at a good pace, filling in Paige’s background while describing her life in Sheol I.
However, the author's publishers do her no favor by comparing her to J.K. Rowling (because this series will also be seven books). I can think of books the plot reminds me of - The Hunger Games, Divergent, Pure - but the Harry Potter series is not among them. The Harry Potter books are full of joy and humor; The Bone Season is pretty much joyless and humorless.
That’s not to say it’s not well written. It is. But it’s not genius, just a pretty good debut fantasy. I’ll read book 2, although I’m not feeling any anxiety to get my hands on it now.
One reason for that is this spoiler.
*spoiler*
The main character, Paige, is captured and basically becomes a slave to her Rephaim master Warden. He treats her better than most of the masters treat their human voyants, but she is not in control of her life. Over the course of the book it becomes clear that he is not like the others. He and Paige slowly come to trust each other. They form a bond. All of that was predictable but fine. It made sense for the plot. Then came The Kiss:
“I had always known there was no heaven. Jax had told me so, many times. Even Warden had said so. There was only white light, the last light: a final rest on the edge of consciousness, the place where all things meet an end. Beyond that, who knew. But if there was a heaven, this was what it would have felt like. Touching the aether with my bare hands. I could never have anticipated this. Not from him. Not from anyone.”
Oh, blech. Suddenly The Bone Season has become Twilight! Since this change in their relationship comes near the end of the book, I expect much more of the same in future books in the series. I would respect this author a lot more, and look forward to the rest of the series more eagerly, if she had made a choice other than to send these two characters down this kind of romantic path.
I read an Advance Reader Copy of The Bone Season. It will be published in late August. ...more
The Dark Unwinding has pretensions of being a new Woman in White with a bit of Gaslight thrown in. I loved the premise – poor relation sent from LondoThe Dark Unwinding has pretensions of being a new Woman in White with a bit of Gaslight thrown in. I loved the premise – poor relation sent from London to a remote estate to commit her eccentric uncle so her aunt and cousin can inherit his money – but it didn’t quite live up to the idea. It’s not a bad book – it kept my interest – but it’s predictable and not very suspenseful. It was clear which of the handsome young men was the hero. The character development is not deep, although there are some intriguing side characters. As a debut novel, it’s a good start. ...more
I was intrigued by the concept - a series of alternating stories about zombies and unicorns, as if it's a competition - but the concept was better thaI was intrigued by the concept - a series of alternating stories about zombies and unicorns, as if it's a competition - but the concept was better than the reality. Like most story anthologies, the quality varied greatly. The book includes five star stories and two star stories. I was disappointed in the story by Naomi Novik, whose Temeraire series I love. I thought the best story was Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot. Margo Lanagan's story A Thousand Flowers was pretty interesting also, and Kathleen Duey's The Third Virgin got me thinking. I guess I am in the unicorn camp, as overall I enjoyed those stories more than the zombie stories.
If you are a fan of strange story anthologies and modern fantastical tales about zombies and unicorns, this book is for you....more
I loved, loved, loved the concept of this book - a bone china doll made from the bones of a dead girl who can't rest until the doll is buried in her eI loved, loved, loved the concept of this book - a bone china doll made from the bones of a dead girl who can't rest until the doll is buried in her empty grave. I am a doll collector and a fan of Holly Black so I was eager to read this.
Alas, it did not live up to my expectations. I probably would have liked it more if it was not by Holly Black, because from her I expected more genuine creepiness and other-worldliness. Instead, it is more of a "middle-schoolers dealing with growing up" story.
I imagine the intended audience of middle schoolers will enjoy this book very much....more
I love birds, so when my library received an advance reader’s copy of Canary in the Coal Mine I took it to read and review.
I’m not sure whether the opI love birds, so when my library received an advance reader’s copy of Canary in the Coal Mine I took it to read and review.
I’m not sure whether the opening will grab the 8-12 year-old kids the book is intended for. It’s pretty grim, describing life in the coal mines for canaries and miners, and the friends and family the main character canary Bitty has lost to the mines. The best part of the book is the middle, when Bitty heads to the state capital to try to do something about mining conditions for miners and canaries. He meets other bird species and learns to speak a few words in “foreign” languages like cat and mouse.
The personification of the birds aside, the book is not very factual about birds. For example, it would not be a good idea to free pet birds and let them go live in the wild.
But Bitty is an admirable main character, the narrative does contain some light humor, and the plot moves along. I don’t think this is destined to become a classic, but the right child might enjoy it. ...more
One Came Home by Amy Timberlake is a charming coming-of-age story set in 1871 Wisconsin. The narrator, Georgie Burkhardt, is 13. Her beloved older sisOne Came Home by Amy Timberlake is a charming coming-of-age story set in 1871 Wisconsin. The narrator, Georgie Burkhardt, is 13. Her beloved older sister ran away; one week later, the Sheriff brought back an unidentifiable body wearing her sister’s dress. Georgie, a crack sharpshooter, is certain that her sister is alive and is determined to prove it. Woven in to the plot is information about the large flocks of passenger pigeons that existed before they were hunted to extinction and details about town life in 1871.
There is nothing particularly new here, but I enjoyed the author’s writing. For example, Georgie arranges to rent a horse for her trip to find her sister. She waits for the horse to be delivered.
Billy was late, but all I could think was My horse! My heart pattered like it was Christmas. I do not highly regard girls who get lathered up over horses: Oooooh, cinnamon! I love a cinnamon-colored horse! When an admired boy is riding atop an admired horse, it is a scene of such ridiculousness that it scarcely bears commenting upon. Yet here I was with sugarplum horses prancing in my head. (p. 42)
Georgie has a believable voice. Parts of the plot are implausible, and the ending did not surprise me. Still, it’s a sweet tale that is likely to be enjoyed by the intended audience of grade schoolers and by many adults as well. ...more
This is a terrible book with an interesting premise and a great cover. I was bored and I didn’t buy anything that was happening. There was nothing oriThis is a terrible book with an interesting premise and a great cover. I was bored and I didn’t buy anything that was happening. There was nothing original about the story and no interesting characters (and no character development). The children did not act in believable ways for their ages. The plot did not hold together. The end was unsatisfying. I don’t know why this book is getting buzz. It must be that cover. ...more
Poison started off slow and got better. It interested me enough to finish it, but it does not stand out from similar fantasy coming-of-age novels abouPoison started off slow and got better. It interested me enough to finish it, but it does not stand out from similar fantasy coming-of-age novels about a teenaged girl with special powers. Some of the writing is quite derivative - I've seen the routine in which a young man teaches two young women how to act when disguised as men at more than one renaissance faire - but there were also plot twists I did not expect. The heroine has spunk and the hero is not a handsome controlling jerk, so those are points in Poison's favor. I'd call this a light summer fantasy beach read....more
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the first book in The Kingkiller Chronicle. (The second book, The Wise Man's Fear, has also been publishedThe Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the first book in The Kingkiller Chronicle. (The second book, The Wise Man's Fear, has also been published. The third book is being written.)
I recommend The Name of the Wind to any lover of detailed, lengthy epic fantasy. Imagine if Harry Potter, years after his adventures at Hogwarts, had ended up alone and now tending a bar for patrons who have no idea who he is. A scribe happens along and realizes who he is, and he begins to tell his life story to the scribe to record.
This isn’t Harry Potter, of course, but that gives you some idea of what this book is like. The world building is slow and deliberate. I wished the pace would pick up a bit at times, but that’s a minor quibble. I’m glad I kept going. This is a tale to savor and enjoy, and there are two more books to go.
This is a familiar tale to ease into. It’s original enough to feel fresh, but it follows fantasy patterns we know and love. Although we meet Kvothe’s parents, he becomes an orphan. He struggles to find enough money to stay alive and later to stay in school, and he has an intense rivalry with a spoiled rich kid who is not as talented as he is. There is A Girl. There is an older man who serves as Kvothe’s original mentor. There is a terrible force responsible for the death of his parents.
None of this detracts from the effectiveness of the tale. It ends in the middle of the story, but with a line determined to send you off to find the next book in the series. I read The Name of the Wind in short bits over about a month. I wish I’d started it when I had a large block of time to finish it quickly so I could have immersed myself in the world. I’m going to aim for that with book 2!...more
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