Give this a miss

I totally agree with Professor Paradox's review, except that it took me only 15 minutes to read!<br />I loved the trilogy but somehow this book has altered my view of His Dark Materials. Probably because I feel like I've been ripped off - this book offers nothing to extend the trilogy, rather it annoyed me that it is clearly a quickly-written, no-depth-to-it, money-making venture. Disgraceful!<br />

Magic Lost, Trouble Found

Magic lost, trouble found is a book of strong and interesting characters placed in an equally solid fantasy world. This is more fantasy than anything but being set in the fantasy city of mermeia it has an urban feel to it.<br /><br />The book follows a short span of Reine Benares life as she tries to work her way out of a rather tricky sistuation. She's a seeker, she finds things and has moderate magical ability, this doesn't bother our heroine and the fact that thanks to a friend of hers she gets lumped with a powerful stone that exponentially enhances her magical skills doesn't sit well with her. This book thrives on the difficult and sometimes funny situations are heroine gets into, she lands into one mess after the other but its her her attitude that really makes this book shine; she's a lead that exudes a great deal of control not only in herself but in how she manages to effect the situations she's manuvered into without being in your face and gun-ho, she's clever thoughtful and her first person narrative works well. <br /><br />The narrative is descriptive and gives a good sense of a fantasy world thats claustrophic and atmospheric, though the world does seem a bit narrow.<br /><br />The rest of the characters are without exception drawn perfectly, all of their places in the book are just right. The characters and plot develope very nicely and the next book is set up whilst giving this a good ending. <br /><br />This makes for a strong read; I think why I like it so much is because of its subtly, this extends to everything from the world to the characters and particually Reines's love life, theres a couple of men in her life but her scenes with them fit in with the plot and don't feel stuck on. If you like this I would reccommend poison study by Maria v. synder as its got a similar tone to this.

The trials and tribulations of the Fitz

Book 2 of the Farseer trilogy continues Fitz's life of trouble and strife, pain and suffering, torment and injustice. It's a great tribute to Robin Hobb's writing and story telling skills that she can make you want to read a tale that's so full of loss and misery. The trick is that her characters are alive, with depth of personality. The villains are irredeemably wicked so that the reader is frustrated with impotence at not being able to get in there and sort them out, give them what they deserve. But the heroes are far from perfect: they have foibles and faults that we can all relate to and forgive, their intentions are good but they make mistakes, misunderstand situations, get their priorities wrong, go off on ego trips - just as most of us would in their situation. Their mistakes often have dire consequences and they have to pay dearly when that happens. Fitz is young and impulsive and he sometimes rails against the constraints his elders place upon him. His rebellious spirit makes it difficult for his mentors and allies to plot a straight course through the political mire. Where there was a single path that led to possible disaster, there are now multiple possibilities. As The Fool foresaw, Fitz generates alternatives.

The characters in this trilogy have invaded my sleep, in more ways than one. The books keep me awake far into the early hours, reading when I should be sleeping and then, when I do eventually turn out the light, the world of the Farseers sidles into my dreams. Stories don't get much more real and powerful than that. I recommend these books to anyone who enjoys fantasy - but with one proviso: don't expect a happy ending.

Tolkien for adults

I found the first in the series difficult to get into. The characters weren't over sympathetic. I persevered, and really enjoyed it. This sequel, however is instantly gripping. The characters develop interestingly, and the storyline is intriguing. I used to love Tolkien, but grew out of it. This is better by far - more realistic, if that makes sense in a fantasy, and with much more believable and less perfect characters. Excellent.

Hooks you in and won't let go!

I came to read this after having the pleasure of reading book 1, Poison Study, and not being able to put that down. As soon as I finished it, I knew I had to get this to find out what happens next, and I'm very glad I did! Having ordered a copy, I knew it was going to take several weeks to get to me, so I ordered an e-copy as well, so I could get on and read it!<br /><br />The story picks up directly after the end of Poison Study and goes into Yelena's adventures in Sitia. Whilst she doesn't face the same"intense" threat to her life that she did during the first installment, she has equally captivating challenges to overcome as she travels"home". Finding her family, making new friends and avoiding death are just some of the trials she has to make it through, and the story is woven beautifully. I reached the end and still have questions unanswered, which will have to wait until book 3, Fire Study, is released (March in the US, Oct in UK).

what a twist!!!!

thought the book was a good edition to the series. yeah it doesnt tell much about of any of the events of the heresy itself, but man did it make me totally rethink how i read the other books!! obviously we all know how the story ends, but now after reading legion im not really sure ive been routing for the right side!! good twist!!!

A great addition to everything Malaz

I would have given this 4 stars normally, but there is always some idiot that gives one star and an explantion like 'I thought this was a book about knives'. Contrary to the said one star review, you could easily read this stand alone, I will admit that reading GOTM first may make it more enjoyable, but there is more about Daseem in Erikson's later novels. <br /><br />I am look forward to Return of the Crimson Guard.

A brilliant conclusion to one of the greatest fantasy stories

After the heartbreaking ending of Royal Assassin, things are about to get a lot worse for FitzChivalry Farseer. While the seemingly-relentless barrage of torments and angsts Fitz suffers can get almost funny at times, the effect is that as the book nears its end you realise you have no idea what is going to happen. And, while there are long sections where nothing much happens at all, Hobb's writing saves the day as Fitz explores the hidden past of his world, or uses magic to spy on the loved ones he wants so desperately to be with. Admittedly, this can seem a bit contrived, as if Hobb belatedly decided she'd rather not write from a first-person perspective. Nevertheless, they're enjoyable to read.<br />Fitz's continued development as a character is probably the series's masterstroke. He has realistic gripes, worries and hopes. He makes the wrong decisions with the best intentions. He wants nothing more than to go home and live in peace with his childhood sweetheart. But he does his duty instead. As is said in the series itself, sacrificing your life for your people means so much more than simply dying for them. Fitz learns about self control, and morals, and I learn with him.<br />Funnily enough, one of the gripes people have about this book- the abrupt ending- is one of my favourite elements. After over a thousand pages of tragedy and betrayal the happy ending (or the happiest ending Fitz could make for himself) is thrust on you all in one go, which adds to the emotional impact. Perhaps there would have been issues with this if the ending had resolved less or felt too cliched or sloppily done, but I think it's done wonderfully. Regal's fate, in particular, is one of the most satisfying things I've ever read. The ending in general wrapped everything up quite nicely, in just a few pages. The lesson is that a really good ending doesn'tr have to take up the last hundred pages of a book- a lesson I wish Hobb had remembered in Fool's Fate.<br /><br />Most highly recommended. Memorable characters, very well-written, some great twists and an epic story with an original take on the dragon myth.

Gorgeous book

Really recommend this book.<br />It has lovely pictures and my eldest daughter loves it.<br />She is 7.<br />I would recommend for that age onwards.

Slightly Disapointed - Touch the Dark was better

Did not live up to expectations. The ending was not good. What happened to Tomas in the end? Maybe I skipped more than I should have.<br /><br />I was hoping Mircae was going to perform the ritual. After all it was Tomas who did it under not so special circumstances.<br /><br />The title should read Claimed by the shadowS.<br /><br />However, sadly, i think i will continue to reading further series for Mircea character.

A marked improvement over the last episode

"A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow" is the first part of the third book of the"Song of Ice and Fire" series (stick with me here). After the excellent first volume (A Game of Thrones), the somewhat disappointing second (A Clash of Kings) meant that for me, Martin had a bit of catching up to do in this one. I am pleased to say that this is a more than satisfactory continuation of the saga.<br /><br />My intro suggests that there is nothing wrong with this book, but as I stated in my previous review, a 5 star book has to be one of my favourites. While this is a very good book, there are a few things that stop it hitting the heights.<br /><br />Firstly, the chapters again follow a specific character and although this works better than in"A Clash of Kings", the one problem I had with it here was that a number of the featured characters have quite a small part in this book and as such, the amount of time between their chapters meant that it was quite difficult to remember where they got to and what had happened to them. I often found myself looking back to the previous instalment to refresh my memory, which obviously impacts the flow. <br /><br />My second issue was also a good indication of how goods the book gets. The last few chapters really ramp up the suspense and action and I found myself turning the pages faster and faster. Then suddenly, I turned over only to be confronted by the Appendices, which take up a rather hefty 50 pages or so. Although I really enjoyed the story, hitting this situation invoked an even bigger feeling of anti-climax than is usual when reading a good book.<br /><br />The only other item (more of an irritation than a problem) was that Robb Stark, who has generally been seen as the"good guy" basically had more and more things go wrong, with very little respite. I have never been one to insist that a book be happy and indeed enjoy a good tragedy, but the fact that the"hero" (if there is such a thing in Martin's story) had everything go wrong, seemed to be a bit too depressing for me. I understand that the tragedies a character encounters make their redemption all the sweeter, but it just seemed a little too much.<br /><br />Anyway, enough of the bad... Here's what I liked. I have always enjoyed Jon's and Arya's stories and they made up a lot of the backbone of this book and with good result. They were exciting and contained a nice balance of good and bad. Tyrion is, as always, an excellent source of amusement with his wit and self-depreciation and I like the fact that he kind and ruthless sides. Funnily enough, each book increases the number of characters that blame Tyrion for their mishaps or bad luck and for an unaccountable reason, I find this very amusing. I am sure that by the end of the series, he will have been blamed for all the woes of the world.<br /><br />My favourite character has become Daenerys. She has been through a lot of hardship and has really earnt the position she has attained. Again, she shows a very human side (when quite clearly she is much more than that... Mother of Dragons, etc.), but also initiates and condones some moments of real brutality and ruthlessness. What I particularly like about the character is that whatever she does, it is borne out of necessity and in this way she reminds me of another great, strong female lead in the mould of Mara of the Acoma (leading lady in the excellent Empire series by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts). It is good to see another fantasy book where a main character is a strong and moral lady striving to succeed, rather than another muscle-bound warrior.<br /><br />As a page-turner, this has been the best of the series and I couldn't believe how quickly I finished it when the only time I get is my train journey to work. When I finished this one, I immediately bought Book 3: Part 2 and the early signs are that it will be just as good. The series as a whole has an excellent balance between success and failure, humour and drama and adult themes and fanciful things. The duality of the characters is still one of the strong points of the saga and the writing encourages you to read"just one more chapter".<br /><br />I will be writing a review for part 2 and if this one is any guide, this could be sooner than you think.<br />

More of the same

The Nightwalkers series by Jacquelyn Frank is interesting in its variety of 'things that go bump in the night', the nightwalkers. These include Demons (not evil demons but creatures that have affinity with wind, fire or mind), lycanthropes, shadowdwellers and vampires. 'Damien', the fourth in the series, features the Prince of the Vampires, someone who has walked rather by himself over the last 900-odd years but who finds himself working with the other Nightwalkers against the ex-demon Ruth who has appeared in the previous books.<br /><br />When Damien rescues Syreena from Ruth he finds himself instantly drawn to her and they begin to explore if they have any future together. Vampire Lore believes that relationships with other nightwalkers is utterly taboo, Damien has his position as Prince of the Vampires to consider, along with the feelings of his lieutenant, Jasmine. However when some writings in the Library of Nightwalker books are studied it seems like there might be something significant to learn about relationships between Vampires and Lycanthropes. Can Damien and Syreena truly find happiness together? What changes might happen to each of them as they spend time together? How can Ruth's growing powers be countered?<br /><br />This book felt rather like a repeat of all the others. Although initially Damien was portrayed as a rather traditional Vampire - cool, world-weary, etc - he soon morphed into the traditional male character that has appeared in all the previous books. Syreena, too, wasn't entirely convincing as a character. Even the plot elements were rehashed from previous books, including a rescue scene where two beings end up breaking a long-held taboo because of their feelings. The concept of the taboo between Vampires and Lycanthropes was pretty much the same as in the previous book, Elijah, when Siena (Syreena's sister) and Elijah (a demon) had to face this, and in this book it didn't particularly feel resolved. The fight against Ruth was also disappointing as it didn't move on particularly and was a minor part of the story anyway. The focus on Jasmine for significant chunks of plot was slightly puzzling, unless she's to get a book of her own in future, and the jumping about of point of view between Syreena and Damien in some chapter sections was confusing at times.<br /><br />Those who enjoy this series will like this book as it is so similar to the others. Jacquelyn Frank's writing style is good and, despite the fact that little actually goes on, the book doesn't ever really drag. However the similarity with previous books and the lack of underlying plot and consistent characterisation mean that this story, for this reader at least, was rather disappointing.<br /><br />Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

A joyous new journey.

Having read about Terry Pratchett in the press a lot recently, I decided I'd give his Discworld series a bash and am I glad I did. In this first book in the series we meet the characters Rincewind and Twoflower in the city of Ankh-Morpork and follow them through a series of bizarre quests and adventures that take them to the very edge!<br />A few hours into the book I was calling my wife who was out shopping at the time and begging her to pick up the next installment as I feared I would finish this one and have nothing to help me continue my own Discworld foray.<br />Terry Pratchett has given me a momentous escape; another place to where I can escape for a while and live vicariously the fantasy within the books.<br />Dive in and smell the magic. Though that might be the aroma of the River Ankh. You'll soon recognise it.

Exciting contemporary fantasy with real cutting edge

Fantasy is a much maligned genre , yet it has given us a slew of hugely gifted writers. George RR Martin, Robin Hobb, Steven Erikson, Clive Barker, China Mieville to name some of the top of my shiny bonce. There is a new name to add to that list. Joe Abercrombie is a freelance film editor but on the evidence of The Blade Itself he has a new career as a writer . This is terrific stuff. <br />The best fantasy writers all create wonderful characters( You could argue any good writer has to do this what ever the genre but I feel fantasy for some reason lends itself to vivid but multi-layered characterisations) and this novel has several. <br />There is the Northern barbarian Logen Nine fingers -"The Bloody Nine"- a prodigious fighter separated from his band of men after yet another battle. He is also possessed of dry intelligence with the wry self awareness to realise that his monumental reputation will bring him nothing but constant strife . <br />There is Inquisitor Glotka, a former soldier for The Union -which encompasses the land between the inhospitable frozen North and the steamy exotic South who has been left a cripple after spending two years as a guest of the Gurkish , one of the Unions numerous enemies. He is now a torturer for the State , wracked by pain from his physical deformities and constantly undergoing a sardonic internal dialogue . <br />Then there is the aristocratic Jezal dan Luther , would be fencing champion and the archetypal preening arrogant toff. He treats his fiends with barely concealed disdain and his superior officer the proud grounded Colonel West much the same as he is a commoner and not deserving of his rank ...despite his exceptional war record.<br />Byaz is the leader of the Magi and is a pompous fulminating presence .He is also an extraordinarily powerful magician and is a witty orator when he has to be .<br />All of these characters are unalterably drawn together as war approaches the Union on twin fronts. The barbarian hordes are being united by Bethod, a former friend of Logen Ninefingers while in the South the Gurkish hordes are amassing ready to take back some of the territory they lost to the Union. Byaz is talking of dark portents and the end of things. <br />As this is the first of a trilogy The Blade Itself has to do a lot of scene setting which can be a dull interlude before the real narrative takes hold. Happily and most entertainingly Abercrombie is the type of writer who can really make dialogue fizz ,He also has a highly modernistic irreverent approach to fantasy with lots of profanity , which no doubt will alienate fans of classic fantasy , and plenty of gory action sequences. <br />As if all this isn't enough there is also a wonderful array of supporting characters including Ferro from the southern state of Diljiin the , a former Gurkish slave girl whose experiences mean she absolutely loathes everybody and has a pathological mistrust of even those trying to help her. There are Ninefingers former compadre,s including Dogface and Threetrees and Quai , Byaz,s geeky apprentice. <br />At the books conclusion it's all set up splendidly for the next instalment and I was salivating at the prospect of finding where that takes us. While The Blade Itself doesn't have the deep political intrigue of works by Robin Hobb or George RR Martin and indeed doesn't conjure up it's world quite as vividly, for which the lack of a map is a surprising oversight, it's still well written and about as compelling as fiction gets...fantasy or otherwise. <br /><br />

Feel a bit conned

Same book as Battle for Skandia (which I already own) but with different title. Very poor Amazon.

"Epics" are for holidays

I've picked this up three times now and put it down each time, having been unable to devote the necessary time I feel it needs to get into. Having been off work for a while I gave it the fourth and final chance...and just made it to the end. Someone else makes the point that as a"midpoint" book in a series there are new threads starting and old ones ending but this volume just doesn't seem to go anywhere and having just read and thoroughly enjoyed Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie (The New Wave anyone?) I feel that the days of the bloated"character" driven epic may be numbered as (relatively) short, action packed series may be the way ahead.<br />I am of the increasing opinion that the propensity of fantasy books to be trilogies at least, and often running into huge long series (Malazan books for instance) lets authors off the hook to a great extent as they can ramble on knowing that there is a loyal following out there who HAVE invested the time and effort to get right into these books. I've made the point elsewhere that War and Peace is somehow seen as an imposing piece of work yet it is about a tenth the size of the Wheel of Time series for example! Go figure.<br />Having said all that I WILL carry on with the rest of this series as even as I write I am curious as to what happens next, so that's an accolade for Mr Martin...but I'll wait for the holidays before taking up that challenge.<br />

FUN!

This book starts where the first book finished with Raine on the Isle of Mid. <br /><br />I really enjoyed it and thought it was just as good as the first. A fast pace full of action story.<br /><br />So looking forward to book three to see which man she chooses, Tam or Mychael.<br /><br />If you like Rachel Caine, Ilona Andrews etc you will like this author.<br /><br />

Good, not that great.

I'm a newcomer to the series as was hooked after he first few chapters of 'a game of thrones' Very enjoyable books up until 'A Feast For Crows' where, after the blood bath that was blood and gold we seem to have hit the breaks hard! <br /><br />Due to the way this series has been written this short review wont really apply to everyone but if your favorite characters are: Jon Snow, Dany, Tyrion and everyone else not in Kings landing your going to go away from this book feeling a little let down.<br /><br />I found it hard to get into, there wasn't much exciting ever really happening the only parts i enjoyed where the Arya parts but they where few and far between, with alot of the story focusing on a game of hide and seek only you know where the person is hiding and the seeker doesn't. Becomes a little annoying after a while. The rest focuses on court politics which I find drags on, and on, and on!<br /><br />This book won't appeal to everyone but the joy of being inside Martin's world is well worth the price (Like your going to stop reading this far into the series though) It leaves you wanting more. but not more of this book, more of what we enjoy and found in the previous books.<br /><br />If you are going to buy this book now i would recommend not reading it until just before 'A Dance with Dragons' comes out if you read it before your going to die waiting to hear some news from the wall. <br /><br />hoped this helped although this is a spur of the momment/review so if it sucks, cut me some slack ;)

Quite entertaining

Another Reynolds book based around his established universe. This time, set earlier than Chasm City, and the Glitter Band is threatened by takeover of the myriad satellites computer systems. Prefects have the responsibility for overseeing a sort of computerised Delphi democracy. Nicely paced, I never got bored and the protagonists were believable. A good read.