The Book Club

Book Review: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordian

Title: The Titan's Curse

Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 3 (of 5)

Author: Rick Riordian

Publisher: Hyperion (2007)

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Young Adult

Sub-Genres: Coming of Age, Greco-Roman, Myths, Prophecy

Plot Summary: Son of Poseidon Percy Jackson is sent on a quest with Thalia, the newly revived daughter of Zeus, and his best friends Grover and Annabeth to find two newly discovered half-bloods. But they encounter a monster that kidnaps Annabeth and is only defeated by the arrival of the goddess Artemis and her Hunters. And while Percy wants nothing more than to save Annabeth, there's little he's allowed to do - unless he takes a quest into his own hands.

What I Liked: There's something fun about this series. It's definitely action-packed, and the hyperactiveness of the main characters (explained in the books as being that half-bloods all have ADHD thanks to being programmed for battle) makes the plot move faster than pretty much any other book out there.

Riordan also does a good job of making his kids be kids and allows them to make very human mistakes in the midsts of all the supernatural and godly chaos going around. The pre-teens act very much like their own ages, and kids will definitely be able to identify with their struggles. Well, minus the whole saving the world thing.

What I Didn't Like: For a kids' book, the adults just don't show up at all. The gods, who are parental figures, are like the worst estranged parents you could ever have. The human parents, minus having one or two good moments, are basically like, "Yes, go out and get yourself killed!" I'm not sure what message this is sending to kids. As an author, I don't mind it, but as a teacher, I do.

I'm also slightly appalled by the way this series handles death. Now, I don't mind death in a children's book, because I firmly believe that death is a part of life and sheltering kids from that does more harm than good. But Riordian treats death so nonchalantly that I feel like he's trying to have his cake and eat it too. Look, here's violence! Consequences! People are dead! But it's ok! We'll just keep going without them! It's very strange.

The other big issue is that I simply want more from the series. Sometimes, I feel like Riordian takes the easy way out, simply because this is a kid's book and he can. The logic doesn't have to hold as strongly together as it would in a book for adults. But kids are smart. It's basically why this series will never appeal to adults (like Harry Potter does).

Similar Works: Other Percy Jackson Books: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1), The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2), The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), and The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 5).

Other Rick Riordian Books: The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 1), The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1), and The Demigod Files.

Other Kid's Fantasy: The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1), and Artemis Fowl.

Buy It Here!: The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)

Last Thought: A fun kid's book with lots of action and demi-gods that just doesn't hold up to an adult's more discerning eye.

Comic Pull List: New Series Fairest #1, Demon Knights #7, & more

Demon Knights #7

By: Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves, & Robson Rocha

Even besides the Questing Queen's miscoloring on the cover, I'm just plain old ambivalent about this issue. On one hand, the ending is quite nice, with a nice smack of morality and doubt that feels right in this title, and the battle itself was engaging with some nice surprises along the way (hello again, Vandal Savage).

But after seven issues, this just feels like another waste of space. The battle is epic, but there aren't enough moments here for our characters to really shine. The Amazon gets a nice speech, but it feels out of place. Horsewoman saves the day, but it's too deus ex machina to have an emotional surge of victory. All in all, a good attempt but not much more. I need more characterization for this title to stay on my Pull List.

Fairest #1 (New Title, Fables Spin-off)

By: Bill Willingham & Phil Jimenez

Let me just say that I buy Fables because I love the writing. I think Willingham is smart and sassy, and his characters are fantasticly human. But it was Jimenez's art that stole the entire show here. Even on cheaper paper than what most titles use these days, Jimenez's work is absolutely gorgeous, with George Perez-level detail and some of the most exquisite faces I've ever seen. Add to that absolutely gorgeous coloring by Andrew Dalhouse (the page with the Snow Queen and Sleeping Beauty asleep is my absolute favorite page of the year so far) and a terrific cover by Adam Hughes, and you have the most beautiful book on the stands.

My only complaint is that this title was supposed to be the women of Fables, and the first issue is actually all Ali Baba. It's a good story, but I want to see the women here be in charge, not the men.

New Mutants (Vol. III) #38

By: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, & Leandro Fernandez

Like Demon Knights, the best part of this issue was the ending, with Warlock delivering the news that he's got to trap his own teammates on an island with an insane bird-man, where one of them died in the past. (Yes, I know it's sentences like that that make non-comic readers' brain explode.)

The art was alright, despite some heavy inking and dark coloring that murked things up, but it was really the strange plotting that got me. The whole impetus of the story was odd (it was all a dream), and while Cypher's power evolution - the ability to decode any language, including dreams and movement now - is nice, it just doesn't fit together, especially when the team nearly kills an old ally. I just walked away feeling like this was a huge let-down after last issue's stunning achievement.

Uncanny X-Men (Vol. II) #7

By: Kieron Gillen & Greg Land

Sometimes you get the feeling that the pacing is all wrong for a story, and here's a perfect example of why. While half of the team barely appears in this issue, Storm, Cyclops, and an annoyingly arrogant ally stand around and talk a lot. And I mean, a freakin' bunch. When you combine that with the photo-traced, stiff artwork of Greg Land, you end up with one very bland issue.

There's one good moment, with Psylocke, where she asks, "Where do you stand on ambushes? Or swords?" as she stabs the villain in the back, and he responds with (after blasting her away), "Quaint but somewhat obsolete." It's funny but also sad that this is the issue's highlight. It would have been better to just jump to the next issue. You won't miss anything important, I promise.

X-Men: Legacy #262

By: Christos Gage & David Baldeon

Once again, we have a fight issue where nothing much happens, except a nice cliffhanger. The X-Men are still fighting Exodus, who is going to kill Cyclops to reunite the mutant race. Wolverine and Rogue have a fight. Icemen reveals new power levels. It's all ho-hum, didn't we already see this last issue?

I mean, even the cliffhanger is a two-page spread that isn't that beautiful. It could have easily been a one-pager. The only cute things here is Rachel Grey's psychic battle with Exodus, with scenes of them in various guises alluding to their respective and quite strange pasts. (We see Rachel's mutant slave with spikes outfit, and Exodus as a Medieval Times Crusader). All in all, not my favorite.

Great Quotes: Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anya on Death

"I don't understand how this all happens, how we go through this. I mean, I knew her and then she's...there's just a body and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and it's stupid. And Xander's crying and not talking and I was having fruit punch and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch ever and she'll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair - not ever. And no one will explain to me why!"

Formerly Immortal Demon, Now Human Anya Jenkins (portrayed by Emma Caulfield) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from "The Body", written by Joss Whedon

Book Review: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Lady of Avalon

Title: Lady of Avalon

Series: Avalon Series (Book 6 in series' chronological order, Book 4 in publication order)

Authors: Marion Zimmer Bradley with Diana L. Paxson

Publisher: Viking (1997)

Genre: Fantasy

Sub-Genres: Arthurian legends, Coming of Age, Magic, Myths

Plot Summary: The history of the mystical isle of Avalon is told in three parts. First, the story of Callien and Gawen, who begin the lineage that protected Avalon from the outside world. Second, the story of high priestess Dierna and her pupil Teleri, who Dierna uses to advance her own goals, which nearly destroys them both. Finally, the story of Ana and her daughter Viviane, whose destiny it is to welcome the great king Arthur into the world.

What I Liked: This book, unlike the more popular The Mists of Avalon, is swift and uncomplicated. The characters are still interesting - it was especially nice to see Viviane's backstory, since she was one of the characters that made Mists so great, and the plot zings along at a breakneck speed.

The three-part book, basically a trilogy of novellas, is smart and different from most books on the shelves these days, so it was a nice change from the usual. And, in general, each of the three parts still felt like the same book and each part was just as solidly written as the others.

What I Didn't Like: You ever get the feeling that a book was written just to get it done? Or that perhaps the magic had somehow disappeared after previous books? The Mists of Avalon is a masterwork of fantasy on the topics of gender, religion, and fate versus free will, but all of the other Avalon books I've read have failed to stand up to that original book. Each of them feels like a paler copy of the original.

And it isn't really like it's that complicated to see why. Lady of Avalon is sorely lacking in the philosophical debates that made Mists so great. We see some standard duty versus need going on, and perhaps some nature versus nurture, but they simply don't go deep enough. There's not enough time spent on them, and the characters and plot don't seem to care enough about the bigger, universal picture. In Mists, it's a driving force. Here, it's a neat sidenote.

Similar Works: Other Avalon Books: The Mists of Avalon, The Forest House, and Sword of Avalon.

More Marion Zimmer Bradley Books: The Planet Savers (part of the Darkover series),  Ghostlight, and The Door Through Space.

Other Arthurian Legends: TH White's The Once and Future King, Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave (The Arthurian Saga, Book 1) , and Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's The Keltiad.

Buy It Here!: Lady of Avalon

Last Thought: A pale imitation of a great work that still manages to be entertaining, if nothing else.

Dictionary of Faraway Places: Narnia

Name: Narnia

From: CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia

Location: Narnia exists in another world, connected to our Earth through various magical instruments, like a wardrobe, rings, and a painting. Naria's timeline runs faster than Earth's own. Narnia refers to both the other world as a whole and the country of Narnia.

Geographical Features: Narnia, as a world, is flat. The majority of the central landmass is taken up by the kingdoms of Narnia, Calormen, Telmar, and Archenland, as well as the lands of the giants to the north. There are also large systems of islands, especially in the Eastern Ocean, which leads to the mythical paradise of Aslan's Country or the True Narnia. Underneath Narnia lies the Underland, an expansive series of caverns.

Populace: Nearly everything within Narnia is alive: the stars, the sun, gemstones, and even a growing streetlamp (pictured at left with Lucy Pevensie). Narnia is populated by talking animals and mystical creatures of all sorts, and frequently receives visits from humans, called by Narnians Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve.

Ruler: Aslan

Known Former Rulers: King Tirian; King Erlian; King Rilian; Prince Caspian and Ramandu's Daughter; King Miraz; Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, and Lucy Pevensie; White Witch; King Frank and Queen Helen

Other Notable Residents: Aravis Tarkheena, Mr. Beaver, Mrs. Beaver, Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah, Father Christmas, Cloudbirth, Cor, Coriakin, Lord Drinian, Emeth Tarkaan, Fledge, Glenstorm, Glimfeather, Lady of the Green Kirtle, Hwin, Jewel the Unicorn, Maugrim, Nikabrik, Puddleglum, Puzzle, Rabadash, Reepicheep, Shift, Tash, Father Time, Trumpkin, Tumnus

Imporant Places: Cair Paravel is a castle in Narnia and the royal seat, where the Pevensies ruled from. Two majors battles take place at the Fords of Beruna, wherein Prince Caspian takes the throne and the White Witch is defeated. The Lantern Waste, named for the lantern that grows there, is where Lucy Pevensie enters Narnia from the wardrobe. It is also where the final battle for Narnia takes place. Aslan's Country, or the True Narnia, lies beyond the Eastern Ocean.

History: Narnia was created by the great lion Aslan, when several humans and a horse from Earth and Jadis, a tyrant queen from a world called Charn, entered into a void from the Wood Between the Worlds. Aslan breathes life into Narnia and sings its creatures into existence. He also gives several animals the power of speech. Aslan then chooses one of the humans, a cabbie named Frank to rule alongside his human wife, Helen, as the first king and queen of Narnia.

Jadis, angry at not being able to control this new world, runs away, until she finds an apple tree that transforms her. Already physically strong and magically gifted, Jadis is now immortal. After nearly a 1000 years, Jadis becomes the White Witch and conquers all of Narnia. Fearful of a prophecy stating that a human child would defeat her, she drives the humans from Narnia. The White Witch then encases all of Narnia in an neverending winter for the next 100 years.

The Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) enter Narnia through a mystical wardrobe, which was created from Narnian wood. With the help of the returned Aslan, who also sacrifices himself for the children and is reborn, they defeat and kill the White Witch, ending winter. They rule Narnia as Kings and Queens.

The Pevensies eventually return to Earth and are de-aged, and eventually, Narnia is conquered by their human neighbors, the Telmarines. Knowledge of Aslan is buried until Prince Caspian X learns of the true Narnian history. With the help of Lucy and Edmund, along with their cousin Eustace, Caspian takes the throne from his uncle and restores Narnia to its beauty.

Caspian then explored the Eastern Ocean, meeting his future wife Ramandu's Daughter, and returns to Narnia to rule. Ramandu's Daughter is murdered by the Lady of the Green Kirtle and the Lady kidnaps their son and heir Rilian. Rilian is eventually freed by Eustace and his friend Jill Pole, and his line continues to rule Narnia until its last days.

At the end of Narnia's existence, a talking ape named Shift convinces many Narnians of Aslan's return, by dressing up the donkey Puzzle as the great lion, allowing the conquering Calormen army to capture much of Narnia. The true Aslan returns once more, and takes with him the faithful to the True Narnia beyond the Eastern Ocean, including the majority of the human travelers to Narnia. Narnia, though, is gone.

Other Versions: Narnia has appeared in several adaptions, most notably a cartoon and movie series. Susan Pevensie's fate was the subject of a Neil Gaiman short story, and other references to Narnia have appeared in many fantasy and comic book tales.

Works Featuring Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Battle, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Book Review: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (Book 1 of the Night Angels Trilogy)

Title: The Way of Shadows

Series: The Night Angels Trilogy (Book 1 of 3)

Author: Brent Weeks

Publisher: Orbit (2008)

Genre: Fantasy

Sub-Genres: Adventure, Coming of Age, Medieval Fantasy, Redemption, Spy Games, Other Worlds

Plot Summary: Azoth, a young boy in the slums of Cenaria City, is a member of a youth gang, led the villainous Rat. To save his friends Jarl and Doll Girl from Rat's perverse and violent desires, Azoth decides to free himself from the gang by becoming a wetboy: an assassin gifted with magic. But to do so, Azoth mustconvince the best wetboy of all, Durzo Blint, to train him, if Blint doesn't him first.

What I Liked: Fantasy novels, despite not being set in this world, still tend to many medieval Europe qualities, like notions of chivalry and a very Christian-heavy morality. This could be due to two things: 1) the writers are of a monotheistic community themselves or 2) That's the way the original fantasy masters (Tolkien and CS Lewis) did it.

Weeks disposes of the Christian morality in its entirety in The Way of Shadows, and it's a breath of fresh air for the fantasy genre. The main character Azoth (eventually taking the name Kyler Stern for most of the novel) wants freedom from poverty but can only find it through killing - a choice he deems acceptable and the reader freely accepts this idea, even though the idea that killing is always wrong has been burned into our society's collective subconscious.

It's a feat in great characterization. And Azoth is not the only character who does this. Each of Weeks' characters have their own morale code and they push the plot along with it. Weeks manages to say a bit about the nature of humanity while keeping up the pace on a great adventure story, with a bit of political intrigue thrown in. There's enough social commentary here to elevate the book into something more than a by-the-numbers fantasy novel.

What I Didn't Like: There's a lot of characters running around, narrating this story, and sometimes the effect is more jarring then it should be. It's no good if the reader can't remember who the narrator is supposed to be. Also, the book had a bit of that rather pervasive myth that being raped as a child creates a gay man or woman, but it feels like Weeks didn't do it on purpose. It still just grates on the nerves, though.

Similar Works: Other Night Angel Books: Shadow's Edge  (Book 2) and Beyond the Shadows (Book 3).

Another Brent Weeks Work: The Black Prism

More Fantastical Assassins: Among Thieves: A Tale of the Kin, Silk and Velvet in The Belgariad, and Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1).

Buy It Here!: The Way of Shadows

Last Thought: You know a book is good when you're definitely against killing, but you can't help but root for an assassin.

Quote Analysis: Umberto Eco's Baudolino

"If you want to to become a man of letters and perhaps write some Histories one day, you must also lie and invent tales, otherwise your History would become monotonous. But you must act with restraint. The world condemns liars who do nothing but lie, even about the most trivial things, and it rewards poets, who lie only about the greatest things."

Book: Baudolino

Author: Umberto Eco

Translated from Italian by: William Weaver

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2002)

Genre: Literature

Sub-Genres: Fantasy, Frame Story, Hero's Quest, History, Metafiction, Middle Ages, Religious Studies, Unreliable Narrator

Character Speaking: Otto (being told by Baudolino)

Analysis: The thing I love about this quote is just how insanely meta it is.

On the one hand, the quote is spoken by Otto in a conversation with the title character Baudolino. Otto is, in fact, a historian himself, and Baudolino was his student. Baudolino relies this quote to Niketas, in the present, while telling Niketas his own history and life story, all the while admitting that he is a great liar. Otto, too, tells Baudolino, that he is a great liar.

In the end, the listener, Niketas, is so wrapped up in Baudolino's history that no one ends up hearing it again. It is just too fantastical, so that no one would ever believe it. The story ends with, "A greater liar than Baudolino will tell it." Since the book is essentially a frame of Niketas' flee from invaders, you can take the quote as Niketas being the greater storyteller or the author Eco himself.

In other words, this is perhaps Eco's own view on writing: the poets, classically considered the greatest writers, are the best liars. Fiction writers, in fact, are doing just that - they're taking something not true and making it real for the reader. Since the book deals with the fantastical, a large portion of this book could be a thesis on the subject of the willing suspension of disbelief, and how the writer uses that against the reader to make them believe in things like unicorns, vampires, and true love.

But the best part is that it also deals with the narratives inherent even in true things. Otto tells Baudolino that he must make the truth exciting to make a great history. Taken in the context of the modern age (the book was published in 2002), Eco is definitely pointing us towards things like the 24 hour news cycle, where the smallest thing can become a huge story, and the lies Hollywood stars tell us about their lives. Eco is trying to make us question just how much of "the truth" that we hear is actually reality, while pointing out that all stories, especially the good ones, are inherently untrue.

Buy It Here!: Baudolino

PFS Book Review: Umberto Eco's Baudolino

Book Review: Jim Butcher's Ghost Story, Book 13 of The Dresden Files

Title: Ghost Story

Series: The Dresden Files (Book 13, series ongoing)

Author: Jim Butcher

Publisher: Roc (2011)

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery

Sub-Genres: Adventure, Chicago, Detective Story, Magic, Noir, Urban Fantasy, Witches & Wizards

Plot Summary: Harry Dresden, wizard for hire, has destroyed the Red Court of vampires. And then someone shot and killed him. Apparently resurrected, Dresden, as a ghost, no less, must work to try to save his friends against new foes, his murderer, and his fairy godmother. Blinded by love and trapped by his inability to do magic in his current form, Dresden must be creative, calling upon all his past help to figure out just how his body ended up in the cold waters of Lake Michigan before his killer comes for his friends.

What I Liked: I was so excited by the previous installment in this series, Changes, because Butcher did such a good job of changing the game. Dresden had grown so powerful over the course of twelve books that there had to be a way for Butcher to make Harry human again. And he did it, by killing him.

This story's central mystery is fun and different, giving us a new view not so much on Harry but on Harry's friends. The majority of Dresden's minor characters show up, and each has been altered by the events in Changes, and for the most part, the changes are engaging, make sense with what came before, and (even better) are actually surprising. Lea, Butters, and Molly in particular have great character moments.

Basically, I couldn't stop reading this book. It has a great premise that makes it different from any other Dresden book, and it still forces character development into its star and supporting cast. The plot moves along at a great clip, and the ending is filled with surprises. It's a well-constructed and fun addition to The Dresden Files.

What I Didn't Like: To be honest, not much. Harry, since he's a ghost, is actually more a platform through which the reader watches the minor characters. We get to learn more about Harry's childhood, but the detour doesn't fit as well as it should. The central mystery gets answered, and the clues are almost too obvious - the surprise in the end isn't "who" but "why", which might be the point but still kind of deluted the whole thing for me. But overall, those are minor quibbles.

Similar Books: PFS Review of Harry Dresden Short Stories: Side Jobs

PFS Review of Jim Butcher's Other Series Codex Alera: First Lord's Fury

My Other Favorite Urban Fantasy: Laurell K. Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

Buy It Here!: Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13)

Last Thought: A study in how to refresh a series and make it new (and still fun!).

Great Quotes: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone

 

 

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled."

Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Written by JK Rowling