Coffee, Cookies and Chili Peppers

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson: Week 5

2012-07-21T16:58:00.000-04:00

Head on over to Lynn's Book Blog to see what we all think of the last part of the book.

Sue's Saturday Suggestions #5

2012-07-21T16:54:00.000-04:00

Interesting Books

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis, review at Iceberg Ink

Blade Song by J.C. Daniels, reviews at A Buckeye Girl Reads, Gizmo’s Reviews, Parajunkeeand Vampire Book Club

The Corpse-Rat King by Lee Battersby, review at Beauty in Ruins

Eden’s Root by Rachel Fisher, review and giveaway at Tea, Daydreams and Fairytales

Fated by Benedict Jacka, review at Lynn’s Book Blog

Land of Hope and Glory by Geoffrey Wilson, review at Bookworms Blues

Leviathan Wakes by James, S.A. Corey, review at Calico Reaction

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines, review at the Little Red Reviewer

Memory’s Wake by Selina Fenech, review at The Oaken Bookcase

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, post written by the author at Once Upon A Time, review at Mindful Musings

The Siren by Tiffany Reisz, review at Babbling About Books, and More

Giveaways

Two Prize Packs for Discover Australian Fantasy Month at The Oaken Bookcase

Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews at The Book Smugglers

Hot Summer Nights Giveaway at Addicted 2 Heroines

Of Blood and Honey at Staffer’s Book Review

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness at Janicu’s Book Blog

Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper at Staffer’s Book Review

The Whitefire Crossing and The Tainted City by Courtney Schafer at Staffer’s Book Review

The ‘Stop the GR Bullies’ Debacle

As I mentioned last week, this website is still going strong in ‘outing’ people that they accuse of being bullies. One such reviewer is Lucy, who posts about her experience at Goodreads.

KB/KT Grant speaks as both a reviewer and an author at Babbling About Books, and More, calling for everyone to practice Awareness, Clam, Respect and Confidence. Janet at Dear Author calls for an end to the harassment seen on the STGB website. AnimeJune at Gossamer Obsessions calls for authors to take a more moderate approach to negative reviews.

The plot thickens, as they say, and yesterday The Huffington Post published an anonymous Op Ed by the STGB website owner. They later posted an apologyafter receiving a lot of outraged feedback from bloggers and A Response written by Foz Meadows. AnimeJune posts her response to the Op Ed article here.

Blogging Discussion

Sparky at Fangs For the Fantasy reports on a book review blog that charges authors for a good review

Parajunkeediscusses what to do with / about ARCs and charging for reviews

Monarchies in Fantasy

In SF Signal’s Mind Meld and Mind Meld Make-Up this week the question is:

Why are kingdoms with monarchs the default political setup in many secondary fantasy world novels? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such political structures? What are some exceptions to this?

Answers are supplied by a variety of authors and reviewers.

Feature & Follow

2012-07-20T13:11:00.001-04:00

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s Viewand Alison of Alison Can Read.

They each have their own Featured Blog and links to show off more new blogs!

Q: Christmas in July! Someone gives you a gift card for two books (whatever that costs). What two books will you buy?

Looking at the reviews in the past few weeks I would buy:

Blade Song by J.C. Daniels and Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

At The End by John Hennessy

2012-07-16T18:58:00.001-04:00

My Rating: 1.0 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.10 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 3.89 / 5.00

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book free from the author via a Librarything Member Giveaway, in return for an honest review.

From Goodreads:

Night 1: 12 billion taken.

Day 1: Confusion.

Night 2: 13 billion taken.

Day 2: Panic.

Night 3: 13 billion taken.

Day 3: The fight for survival begins.

In 2048, the human population borders 39 billion after the termination of the birth control industry, and the realities of overcrowding have sunken into the minds of the world, until billions mysteriously go missing. In the wake of civilization’s collapse, a trio of teenage gamers from Washington struggle to endure. Maggy, a strong-willed intellectual, leads Darrel and Félix, two shy geeks, on an expedition down the west coast, as they try to determine the source of humanity’s downfall.

A YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller.

As you can see from the description above, this looks like an interesting premise, so I was pleased to receive a free copy from the author. I am partial to good Sci-Fi and I like the way that post-apocalyptic novels can explore society and show character development. However, this book left me confused, frustrated and disappointed.

We begin the book in the point of view of Darrel and we are told almost at once that the cause of the ‘mysterious’ disappearances is not all that mysterious: huge space craft arrived over all the major cities on Earth the day before the first people vanished. Although Darrel has no idea how they were taken, it is obvious that they have been beamed aboard the space ships or vaporized by the aliens. It seems that Darrel was spared from his parents’ fate by some foil that he had wrapped around his bed many years earlier. This seemed a pretty groan-worthy plot device, but was confirmed when both of Darrel’s equally nerdy friends were the sole survivors in their households. They team up, wrap themselves in foil, and set off to find out where everyone has gone. They discover that some humans have been left behind so that they can be hunted by the aliens who look like six-legged lions, which the team nickname ‘alions’. After surviving a massive explosion and several car crashes I could no longer suspend my disbelief and stopped reading, so I do not know if the trio managed to defeat the alien menace, although I imagine that they do.

From the description I was expecting a lot more mystery and tension than the book delivered. This could have been resolved by placing the teens in a more rural setting and disabling the television and radio systems so that they had no idea what was going on. We would then have had a much more gradual and tense discovery of the aliens and their intentions. I also struggled with the teens surviving incidents that would have left them all badly injured and incapable of continuing their journey. These seemed unnecessary, placing them in situations of jeopardy through their own stupidity and requiring unbelievable and overly dramatic escapes. Surviving one such incident can be ascribed to amazingly good luck, but a series of them reduces my capacity to believe in the characters if they are supposed to be normal humans in a normal universe.

The main characters were fairly cliché and two dimensional, with the obligatory love triangle to add to the mix. They made some very odd decisions, such as driving towards the giant alien ship hovering over Seattle, rather than driving away from it or at least going around the city. Although I can understand that teenagers might not make the best decisions in this kind of situation, they did seem to behave in a manner that was inconsistent with their supposed intelligence. Their dialogue was very irritating, with an overuse of the terms ‘bromigo / bramiga’. Also, it was also unfortunate that the author chose to use both the characters’ names and nicknames without any explanation of who was who, so I was often confused about who was being spoken to or about.

I also think that it was a serious misstep to change the point of view from one chapter to the next. This would have worked well if the author was not using a first person narrative. At the beginning of the second chapter it took me several pages to work out whose head I was in. This was very confusing and seemed mostly a way of telling us what Maggy was feeling about Felix, which could have been done far more successfully by showing us through her dialogue and actions.

The book was not without imagination. I was intrigued by some of the technology that the author envisioned for this future Earth, which was mostly powered by solar technology. I loved the idea that the solar-powered cars were too quiet to be safe and so they had to emit fake car noises to stop people being run over. However, the solar power did act as a plot device as well because it allowed electrical appliances to work, making survival a whole lot easier than it would be in the same situation today. We were told that Maggy had metallic eyes and I wanted to know more about that and why she had them. Were they necessary because she was blind or had damaged her normal eyes, or were they some sort of upgrade? Were they a fairly typical thing or extremely rare and unusual?

In short, this book was not really what the description promised, and that is always disappointing to discover. If a story promises a mystery I expect to read a far bit of it before I discover what the mystery actually is, otherwise I lose the sense of suspense. If I am sold a story of teens struggling to endure, I expect them to do just that: I do not expect them to simply walk down to the local megamart and stock up on everything they need and suffer no hardships at all because everything is solar powered. Throw in some not very well developed characters that do highly improbable things and I am not likely to care what happens to them.

A Challenge of Ice and Fire: Week 15

2012-07-15T14:43:00.003-04:00

A Storm of Swords: Davos II to the end of Samwell I (p. 253)

My previous post on A Storm of Swords: week 14

10. Davos II

Davos is alive but not at all well. He is thin and pale with a terrible cough that brings up bloody sputum. I hope that he improves soon, because I really want to keep reading about him and he is our only view on Stannis at the moment. I was very touched by how beloved and respected he is in Salladhor’s fleet. His rescuer is very generous, insisting that Davos use his cabin and giving him anything that he needs. However, we see the genuine affection that Salladhor has for him when they reunite, so it is hardly surprising that the other captains share this feeling.

Salladhor is now the Lord of Blackwater Bay and is collecting taxes from the passing traders or seizing their goods if they try to slip through without paying. This is the height of irony, considering that Salladhor is a smuggler, although I guess that makes him an excellent tax collector because he knows all the tricks. Salladhor shares Davos’ grief over the loss of his sons, although he reports that young Devan survived at Stannis’ side. Even with this news and his ill health, Davos is determined to kill Melisandre who is now the only person in contact with Stannis. Salladhor agrees that she is being blamed for the disaster on the Blackwater, but warns Davos that he cannot possibly succeed in killing her. Instead, he urges Davos to join his fleet and run a smuggling ship again, but Davos will not be turned aside from his vengeance and leaves to see Stannis.

Once Davos finally gets entrance to the castle we get our first look at Edric Storm, Robert’s son. It seems that Robert visited the boy fairly regularly and even taught him how to fight, sending him a small war hammer for his last name day. Somehow Melisandre knows of Davos’ intentions and he is taken away to the dungeons. This does not bode well, as I am not sure if he can survive there for long in his present condition.

11. Jaime II

The three travellers reach the Inn of the Kneeling Man, where the last King in the North knelt to King Aegon and swore fealty. The inn is inhabited by only a man and a boy, although the man claims that he has a wife somewhere nearby. The man tells them how the various armies and groups of soldiers have murdered members of their families and the innkeeper. This gives us a glimpse of how impossible the war is for the low folk, who are treated badly by all sides. As he cooks them dinner, the man advises them not to continue down the river because it is blocked lower down and patrolled by outlaws. He begrudgingly sells them the three horses in his stable and gives them directions to travel south safely. However, the stable shows evidence of many more horses being there recently and so Brienne refuses his offer of beds for the night and they ride off. She does not take the man’s advice over which road to follow and Jaime is pleased that she is intelligent enough to have deduced that the man was sending them into a trap.

When they stop to sleep Jaime and Brienne argue over his name ‘Kingslayer’ and he remembers the events that led to that fateful day. It seems that he took the place in the Kinsguard against his father’s wishes, which makes sense, as he was Tywin’s heir. Cersei persuaded him to take the position so that they could both be in King’s Landing. However, Tywin is so angered that he removes Cersei from court, so they do not stay together as intended. Just as in later life, Cersei’s lack of foresight actually worked against her best interests, but it appears that she never learnt from this mistake. It seems that the real reason for Jaime killing Aerys was that the mad king was calling for Tywin’s head and Jaime would not allow his father to be killed, which does make him seem much more honorable than we had previously thought. It is interesting that he considers claiming the throne for the young Viserys, or even Rhaegar’s son, Aegon, but eventually is too overwhelmed to really care who takes the throne.

12. Tyrion II

I find it hard to believe that Tyrion, or anyone else, can get into Varys’ rooms unnoticed, but the Spider does a good job of acting surprised. I do like these little chats between two consummate politicians: they are both wary of the other but there seems to be a genuine understanding and appreciation of the other’s skill at the game. They also provide a huge amount of information without it feeling like an information dump. I am not quite sure how Mr Martin manages it, but the characters drive these conversations forward and they are so full of hints and notes on motives and gossip of all types that they remain fascinating. So, we are not simply told that Pycelle is being reinstated, but we learn that the Conclave of Maesters is jealous of its authority to make and unmake a Grand Maester, we see them using political maneuvering of Lord Tywin to get Pycelle reinstated and we also discover some interesting ways that the Targaryens removed their unwanted maesters.

Tyrion wants Varys to bring Shea to see him so that he can say goodbye before sending her to safety. Apparently, Cersei is using all three of the Kettleblack brothers to watch him, whilst Littlefinger’s spies are watching the whorehouses. Varys readily admits to spying for Tywin, but is still willing to help Tyrion and Shea have their meeting. After they have had sex, Shea asks him to take her to Joffrey’s wedding, which she has heard will be a fine affair. She seems to sulk when he refuses for her own safety, but is happy enough when they part. However, Tyrion is worried about the singer that she has befriended and sends Bronn off to find the man. I find Shea confusing, sometimes it seems like she genuinely likes Tyrion, but then she can also behave sullenly when he does not fulfill her dream of becoming a glamorous lady.

Note, on the way to seeing Shea, Tyrion speaks to Ser Loras Tyrell who suggests that he was happy to join the Kingsguard because he did not want to marry. There is a lot of speculation that he and Renly were lovers, which has been settled by the HBO series, which made it very clear that they were.

13. Arya II

As usual, Arya’s first impulse is to not trust people, and that has been quite wise so far in her journey, so when they hear some men coming towards them she decides that they should hide. For once, Hot Pie does exactly what she says without question. I am not sure if this is out of terror or because he has now come to trust her judgment. However, hiding does not work and they find themselves taken by a group of three men. Unlike Arya, we know that these must be the men that the innkeeper sent Jaime, Brienne and Cleos towards, so we know that they are outlaws of some type.

Our uneasiness grows as they head to The Inn of the Kneeling Man and the men are very obviously capable of hurting Arya and the boys. However, they are fed and then one of them gives Arya a piece of paper in payment for their horses. She refuses to accept it, but then more men arrive and the situation seems to grow much worse until she recognizes Harwin, one of her father’s guards. He does not recognize her at first, but then names her to the whole group. I sincerely hope that he is a man to be trusted; otherwise things have just gone from bad to worse for her.

14. Catelyn II

Unfortunately, it seems like Robb is too much like his mother and has married for love rather than upholding the oath he took to Lord Walder Frey. I predict that this will not end well for House Stark. Although I understand his desire to be honorable to Jeyne after she ‘consoled’ him, the war is going badly for Robb and losing a major ally will complicate things a great deal. Even more worrying is Grey Wind’s dislike of the girl’s mother and uncle: as Catelyn says, he has great instincts when it comes to protecting Robb and his suspicions should not be overlooked.

Just when it seems like things cannot get any worse, we learn that Edmure’s defense of the fords worked contrary to Robb’s plan to lure Tywin west and into an ambush. It also allowed Tywin to reach King’s Landing to defeat Stannis’ army. Edmure does seem to be a bit of an idiot, although he means well, but now Robb needs to retake the North whilst Tywin and the Tyrell forces are at his back. It does not look promising at all.

15. Jon II

Giants! Giants riding mammoths! Giants riding mammoths and telling jokes! I cannot wait to see them in the HBO series, assuming that they are anything like as awesome as the glimpse we got of the Others’ army in that last episode.

Aw, Jon is afraid of the very forward Ygritte and keeps rebuffing her attentions. Although I understand his concern about producing a bastard child, he does seem to be underestimating her a little. As Tormund says, if she doesn’t want to have a child she will get rid of it, so what is the problem? I know that is not the way of life that Jon is used to, but that seems like a perfectly sensible attitude for a spearwife to have. I really liked the scene in Episode Six of Season two where Ygritte was rubbing herself up against the bewildered Jon. All the way through the discussions about her always sleeping next to him, I kept imagining that scene in my head! :)

We are given a more detailed look at the Wildling army and the various groups that make it up. The character that caught my interest the most was Varamyr Sixskins, who rides a snow bear and has three wolves and a shadowcat. This guy sounds like a truly awesome warg and I hope that he will be sharing some knowledge with Jon very soon. He does not seem as homicidal as Orell, the eagle that tries to rip Jon’s face off, although I guess I might be a little cross if Jon had trapped me in a bird’s body.

When they arrive at the Fist and find the remains of a battle, Mance is livid that Jon lied to him about his reason for being out in the wilds with Qhorin. This certainly makes Mance looks weak and biased towards Brothers, so I can understand why he will tolerate no more lies from Jon, especially as Rattleshirt is so determined to kill him. Mance suggests that the Others have attacked the Fist and the army now has to move faster to get to the Wall so that they can leave the Night’s Watch to deal with the Others.

Oopsie, Ygritte saves Jon’s bacon by saying that they are sleeping together, so now he has to make sure that she is not a liar: she is sneaky, that girl! :D

16. Sansa II

Just when I thought that Sansa had become a reasonably adult person she goes and gets all silly again, happy to be getting new dresses even though they are from Cersei. Call me cynical, but Sansa’s only value now is as a hostage to Robb’s good behavior, so why would Cersei be buying her a nice new dress? I find it hard to believe that she will be given a prominent place during Joffrey’s wedding, but I might be wrong.

It seems as if Margaery and the Tyrells are being very nice to her, which I would be quite happy about but I have trouble trusting anyone who tries to be nice in this world. I am particularly suspicious that Margaery is so unconcerned about Joffrey’s cruelty: she is either very naïve or there is a plan to protect her somehow or other.

17. Arya III

We say goodbye to Hot Pie, who decides to stay at the inn and bake bread.

Arya is not at all happy to be going the wrong way, especially when she learns that they are going to see Lord Beric Dondarrion rather than heading to Riverrun. She learns all about Tywin’s plans to use Gregor Clegane’s raids to draw Eddard out of King’s Landing. The remains of Lord Beric’s force are now called the Brotherhood Without Banners and they fight against the Lannisters and help to protect the common people. They are supported by the common folk and their numbers have swollen. They claim to ride in the name of King Robert and offer justice to all the nobility that they take, although the trial is usually followed by death by hanging.

Arya decides that she does not want to be judged by Beric and tries to escape. Unfortunately, Harwin is a better horseman than she is and recaptures her. She is hurt by this because it shows that he is now loyal to a new master.

It seems that Beric has been ‘killed’ several times already, which seems to suggest he is a myth, just as the ‘Renly’ at the Battle of Blackwater was.

18. Samwell I

This first chapter from Sam’s point of view is one of my favorites of the series so far. It captures Sam’s intense tiredness whilst relating the fighting at the Fist between the Others and the Brothers. Of course, I am immensely fond of Sam, so I am delighted that he has now become a POV character.

After Chapter 15: Jon II, we know that the brothers defended the Fist and were driven off or slaughtered. We also know that there are no human corpses remaining, which is even more disturbing, although we know that some of the Brothers survived to head back to the Wall.

I was very happy to find Sam amongst those struggling to get back to safety, although it seems that he may not make it much further. He is desperately tired, almost incapable of placing one foot in front of the other, being driven along only by his fear of what follows them. He berates himself for being fat, weak and a craven and prays to all the gods to help him, but when he falls over a root, he cannot get back up and lies down to rest, even though he knows that he will almost certainly die.

We are given his view of the attack on the Fist, the confusion and growing desperation as the Others are not affected by normal weapons. Even though he tries to think about happy things, Sam’s thoughts keep drawing him back to the fighting. Grenn and Small Paul find him and Paul begins to carry him, but Sam is still remembering the terrible sights of the battle. I was so pleased that Grenn seemed to be making an effort to watch over Sam, even placing himself in danger to do so. We later learn that Dolorous Edd collected the weeping Sam after another Brother had stolen his horse, so it is not only Grenn who sees Sam as a true Brother to be protected.

As Sam, Paul and Grenn lag behind the others they are approached by an Other, which is not a wight, but a tall, thin man with very pale skin and deep blue eyes. He kills Paul easily and makes towards Sam who blindly stabs it with the dragonglass dagger that Jon had given him. The Other dissolves into a puddle of icy water, armor, weapon and all. Who would have thought that Sam would be the first person to kill an Other in the books? Of course, he throws up straight away afterwards, but it still a major accomplishment and they now know of a way to kill the Others: go, Sam!

Sue's Saturday Suggestions #4

2012-07-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

Interesting Books

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, review at Calico Reaction

Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair, review at Fangs For the Fantasy

Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge, review at The Book Smugglers

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, review at SF Signal

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price, review at Vampire Book Club

House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier, review at The Book Smugglers

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, review at Reviews and Ramblings

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, review at Stella Matutina

Sharps by K.J. Parker, review at Fantasy Book Critic

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, preview at Fantasy Café

What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang, review at Cuddlebuggery

The ARC Controversy

For those who have not heard, there has been much blogger bashing and general unhappiness seemingly triggered by some bloggers taking “too many” ARCs away from the ALA Conference.

Thea at the The Book Smugglers includes a piece about the debacle in her weekly news update.

Stop the GR Bullies

Some authors do not like negative reviews of their books and sometimes they respond in a very unprofessional manner. This has been an issue on Goodreads for quite a time now. I find this particularly worrying because I post negative reviews myself, working on the principal that I want to review every book I read and that I believe that ignoring bad books undermines my integrity as a reviewer. I always try to be as calm as possible in these reviews, which can be difficult sometimes, and emphasize my disappointment rather than spewing hate at the author.

Sparky at Fangs For the Fantasy has a post about a new website blacklisting reviewers who are accused of being bullies.

SB Sarah at Smart Bitches Trashy Books has some words about the difference between bullying and reviewing.

Giveaways

Alliance Forged by Kylie Griffin at My Bookish Ways

House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier at The Book Smugglers

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson Blog Tour: Week 4

2012-07-14T11:28:00.001-04:00

Head on over to Reviews and Ramblings' post to see what we all think of Part 4.

Wired by Douglas E. Richards

2012-07-12T14:22:00.003-04:00

My Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.00 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 3.59 / 5.00

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book free from the author via a Librarything Member Giveaway, in return for an honest review.

David Desh used to be in Special Forces, but left after his team died in Iran and he was burned out mentally and emotionally. He is now a security expert, so he is surprised when his old commanding officer calls him to offer him a job. David needs to find Kira Miller, a brilliant genetic engineer who is believed to be behind a terrifying biological agent that could destroy most of western civilization. She has bioengineered a form of the Ebola virus that can be fed to the populous and then triggered at a latter date, when the infected person eats pig products. This weapon is being developed for Al Qaida and she must be found and stopped before she can pass it to her employers. She has also developed a method for increasing the efficiency of brain usage that turns into a savant for short periods of time. Unfortunately, the increased intelligence brings with it a ruthlessness that borders on megalomania and can be incredibly dangerous.

I have a scientific background and I like a good Thriller, so I was pleased to receive my free copy of this book. I thought the premise of an intelligence-enhancing serum sounded fascinating and gave a lot of scope for exploring this next step in man’s evolution and we certainly do see that addressed in the book when the enhanced characters become unfeeling and dismissive of other humans. However, this exploration consisted of either long discussions or internal monologues that were very drawn out and therefore counterproductive as it became difficult to maintain interest in them whilst trying to find out what happened next. The author spent far too much time telling us about the effects of the serum rather than showing it to us, which would have been much more interesting.

The plot itself was confused with lots of unnecessary action and ‘twists’ that were so obvious as to be laughable. Rather than keeping us guessing about Kira and her allegiance, we are very quickly shown that she is actually an innocent who is being set up by an unknown evil. This was disappointing because it meant that all the further hints at her being a bad guy were pointless and just made me feel like the author did not really know how to handle his plot. There were also far too many improbable escapes and happy coincidences for my liking and a bad guy who seemed to be omniscient.

Speaking of whom, the villain of the piece is so two dimensional that I half expected him to pull out a white Persian cat and sneer, “No Mr Desh, I expect you to die!” followed by insane cackling. Indeed all the characters are pretty dull, although the aged Special Forces CO was interesting enough, but the most rounded character was the hairy computer geek. He had some great lines and showed genuine change through the book, and his scene as a genius was hilarious. However, our hero was far too standard and much too perfect, whilst our genius heroine was simply unbelievable. I did not really care about their continued survival, and that is never a good thing to say about the main characters.

The writing was generally dull and cluttered with far too much exposition rather than showing us who the characters are and what they are thinking and doing. The dialogue was used mostly for information dumping rather than character development, which made it uninteresting and hard to read. I am never happy when people sit down in the middle of a stressful situation to detail their history and explain why they think as they do: it just does not seem real to me and so it pulls me out of the story.

The scientific basis of the premise seemed very unlikely to my mind: I am not overly familiar with genetic engineering but I am a biology graduate and some of the ideas used seemed unworkable to me. I see that Mr Richards has training in microbiology and molecular biology, so I understand where he gets his ideas from, I just wish he had kept in mind that whole humans do not behave in the same way as a few cells in a test tube. However, my biggest complaint about the science is that there was just so much unnecessary explanation that it got really, really boring. A good editor would have jettisoned the majority of it and retained just a simple outline that would have given more time for the rest of the story. This is supposed to be a thriller after all, not a scientific thesis.

This was an OK thriller, but the premise promised so much more. The plot has more twists than seems sensible and, unfortunately, most of them are so obvious that they are very predictable. The characterization was weak, with the most interesting character being one of the supporting cast. The dialogue was uninteresting and there was far too much exposition. The science was not very well thought through and explained to the point of utter boredom. The ending was preposterous and I have no intention of moving on to the second book in the series.

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

2012-07-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

My Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 3.90 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 4.16 / 5.00

This book is the second volume in the Gentleman Bastards series: you can find my review of the first book, The Lies and Locke Lamora, here. There are spoilers for that book below. I read it as part of a Read Along.

At the end of the first book, we saw Locke Lamora and his faithful sidekick, Jean Tannen, floating off into the sunset after they barely survived their defeat of the Grey King. Deciding that they should leave Camorr for safer shores, we follow them to Tal Verrar where Locke develops an amazing plan to steal from the amazingly wealthy Requin, owner of the biggest gambling house on the islands that make up the city.

Requin’s vault is notoriously impossible to crack, plus getting to it is a suicide mission, because it is inside the Sunspire, a nine-story casino where the wealthiest people in the city come to flaunt their wealth. In order to rise up the floors one must develop a good line of credit and impress Requin and cheating is punishable by death: which places Locke and Jean at a bit of a disadvantage! However, this just makes the challenge even greater and they spend two years getting all their pieces in place so that they can execute their most audacious plan to date.

Unfortunately, just as they are about to become richer than their wildest dreams, an old adversary from Camorr surfaces and draws them to the attention of the Archon, leader of the Tal Verrar’s military. He decides to use such expert con men to begin a war with the local pirates in order to secure his own power over the city. In order to do this he doses Locke and Jean with a time-delayed poison and then sets them the task of learning how to captain a ship with the understanding that he will provide the antidote as long as they follow his orders. Finally, he sends them off with a crew drawn from a prison to find some pirates. As you can imagine, this does not go quite to plan and we see mutiny and much deck scrubbing before Locke can use his persuasive powers to fulfill his orders. Plus, he forgets to pack the obligatory cats, so they are all cursed with bad luck.

I absolutely loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, so it made perfect sense to join the Read Along of the second book in the series. In many ways this could be read as a stand alone book, because there is not a great deal of knowledge needed from the first one. On the whole, the references back to The Lies of Locke Lamora were not necessary to the story, but would make anyone familiar with it smile in recognition.

This time the ‘gang’ is much reduced, with only Locke and Jean surviving the war with the Grey King. The Prologue begins with the exquisite torture of a scene that has Jean betraying Locke when they are held at gunpoint. Mr Lynch places that doubt in your mind from the beginning and we spend a great deal of the book remembering that scene and second-guessing Jean’s motives. This adds to the tension that has developed between the two characters that are now somewhat uneasy in their relationship.

At first, Locke has basically given up on everything, drinking his life away and developing an incredibly ripe odor. In the meantime, Jean goes about the necessities of life, finding them somewhere safe and providing money for food and, more importantly to Locke, drink. However, he can only stand Locke’s self-pity for so long until he makes a stand and forces Locke to sober up and take responsibility for himself. In this sequence we see Jean come out from Locke’s shadow and become an equal partner in their team rather than just the brawn to Locke’s brain. He proves to be just as devious and persuasive as Locke, although he is much less reckless, and much, much more determined. He is the strong one of the pair, both physically and mentally, and yet he is tender and understanding of his friend’s grief. Jean is a great friend with intense loyalty, which makes that Prologue so difficult to forget.

What begins as another heist plot soon changes tack and becomes political espionage as our intrepid heroes are forced to work for the Archon, who knows their true identities thanks to the Bondsmagi. Being somewhat unforgiving in their outlook, the Bondsmagi want the pair dead because of their treatment of the Falconer in Camorr. They make their presence felt in a truly hair-raising scene, but then leave the Archon to do all of their dirty work. He doses our boys with a poison that will only become active if they do not take the antidote in time: sneaky! So, we are off a journey to find some pirates, who turn out to be surprisingly nice.

One of the great aspects of this book is the arrival of not one, but two, lady pirates. Captain Zamira is a woman with two small children on board and Ezri is her First Mate, who seems to like the look of Jean. As Grace points out at Books Without Any Pictures, we even have a lesbian captain and all the women are treated exactly the same as the men. We spend a lot of time with the pirates and their culture is well developed and very interesting, what with their paranoia about having cats on board and their unusual sense of honor and fair play. We have sea battles and a wonderfully evocative pirate town hidden in the depths of an island. It is all rather “Pirates of the Caribbean” and I kept expecting Johnny Depp to jump out at any moment, so if you like that genre you will enjoy these sections of the books.

But, of course, there is plenty of treachery, double-crossing and deception to keep us off-balance and wondering what is going on. Just when we think we understand who is behind what plot, everything changes and we are back to being clueless again. In this way we are kept dangling, like a fish on a line, until the very end of the book, which has yet another wonderful twist to make us anxious to read book three. However, it did seem like Mr Lynch over-egged the pudding somewhat: with only a few chapters to go it seemed impossible that he could resolve all the plot lines and it did seem a little rushed at that point. There was one section in particular that I really wanted more detail on because I really wanted to enjoy what happened to the people of Salon Corbeau near the end. Also, we are left with at least three unresolved plot points: one of which is absolutely crucial. I guess that Mr Lynch felt a little safer leaving these aspects until book three now that the first two books have been successful.

As Redhead raves at the Little Red Reviewer, there are a lot of good things in this book. The characterization is as excellent as ever, with wonderful dialogue and laugh-out-loud scenes. There is wonderful humor and a wonderful romance, that will have you crying into your rum.

Other Reviews I Recommend:

Read Along of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: My Last Post

2012-07-09T14:13:00.002-04:00

I am afraid that I will not be taking part in the rest of the read along because I really cannot force myself to read any more of the book. I have found it heavy going so far and this week the reading has become so unpalatable that I do not want to continue. My reasons for this will be clearer when I publish my review.

A Challenge of Ice and Fire: Week 14

2012-07-08T19:14:00.000-04:00

A Storm of Swords: Prologue to the end of Bran I (p. 132)

Mr Martin notes that the first few chapters run concurrently with some of those at the end of A Clash of Kings, although that becomes blindingly obvious quite quickly.

0. Prologue

We have met Chett before very briefly: he used to be Maester Aemon’s steward before being replaced by Sam. He is now in charge of the dogs. I would say that he takes care of them, but as he spends most of his time kicking and cursing them, that does not seem like the correct phrase to use. Any person who beats on dogs is likely to be unpleasant and we find Chett to be really rather repellent. He has a serious case of self-pity and is fermenting treason by enciting a group of the Brothers to kill the Old Bear and several other officers, plus the trackers so that they can make their escape back to warmer, less hazardous climes. Neither he nor his fellow conspirators find it odd that it is getting colder and that there are no animals in the area.

Chett has some cause to be angry about his reassignment from a cushy job in Castle Black to kicking dogs about in the wilds, and I can even understand his doubts about the three hundred Brothers taking on the thousands in the Wildling army. However, his plan for escape is vicious and callous: he plans to murder the best trackers and set the dogs on the horses to create confusion. He also keeps calling Sam ‘Ser Piggy’, so he loses my sympathy almost immediately. Then we find out why he ended up in the Night’s Watch and my sympathy dies altogether. He murdered a girl for refusing his offer of flowers and laughing in his face. While I agree that she did not display much tact or grace when refusing his attentions, the fact that he expected her to put out for a bunch of flowers only adds to my disgust at his attitude towards women. Then he thinks of his plan to kill Craster and take all his women and I begin to hope that the dogs eat his horrid boil-ridden face off.

Things start to go wrong for Chett as the Old Bear announces that they will attack the Wildlings in the morning. Although the numbers sound suicidal, the Old Bear and his other officers are not stupid enough to be reckless and he explains that the Wildlings are disorganized and travelling with women, children and livestock. As the cold intensifies and the wind screams like a wailing child, snow begins to fall and Chett realizes that their tracks will be easy to follow and he loses the plot, deciding to just kill Sam out of sheer frustration.

Then a horn blows, three times, which means that the Others are coming. I was so pleased that it was Chett, and not Sam, that peed his pants.

1. Jaime I

Jaime is a new point of view character for the series, and someone that we hardly saw for the entirety of A Clash of Kings. Of course, he was locked in a cell and therefore not able to do or see a great deal, which would have led to some very boring chapters. Now we learn that Catelyn used Brienne’s sword to free him and has sent them on their way to King’s Landing in the hope that Cersei will return her daughters once Jaime is safe. Yeah, right: that is totally going to happen! If Tyrion were still the Hand it could have been a possibility, but we know that he is injured and that Tywin has taken his place, so Sansa will be staying in Lannister hands for a long time.

We get a real sense that Jaime has suffered in his cell, losing weight and strength and gaining some unwelcome ‘guests’ in his knotted hair. His joy at feeling fresh air is infectious and I love his constant attempts to provoke Brienne. These two could be the most badass pair of warriors in the world if they decided to work together, but I am not sure that she can cope with his humor without strangling him. Poor Ser Cleos is convinced that Jaime will push her too far and get them all killed, but I am fairly certain that the Kingslayer would prefer to take his chances with death.

Note to self: remember that Jaime has sworn that he will never again take up arms against the Starks or Tullys. Also, Jaime did not send the assassin to kill Bran, which leaves me wondering who on Earth it could have been.

I am hoping that Jaime’s decision to change his appearance may symbolize a change in his character as well, although I was a little disturbed by his thought that Cersei would not like it that he no longer looks like her. This takes the whole idea of twins committing incest and makes it even worse.

Just as Jaime is doubting Brienne’s ability to fight as well as any man, she proves herself to be totally awesome by climbing a cliff and shoving a huge boulder onto the pursuing Tully galley. This shows that she is a lot more than just a warrior. She can think quickly and formulate and execute a plan successfully, whilst remaining amazingly cool. I was very relieved when Jaime did not smash in her head with the oar, but instead helped to pull her into the boat. Could this be the start of a beautiful friendship?

2. Catelyn I

Although I understand Catelyn’s grief, I do think she has wandered into the realm of Stupid by freeing Jaime. Not only has she given away their most valuable hostage, but also she has undermined her brother’s authority. Although she is punished, her treatment is so mild as to be no punishment at all.

She is closeted with her father, who is becoming less and less coherent. He begins calling for “Tansy” and talking about blood and someone having other babies. As Catelyn quickly realizes, he must be talking about Lysa, which suggests that she was pregnant out of wedlock, by Littlefinger perhaps, and forced to have the baby purged under her father’s orders. I note that tansy is a herb that used to be used to provoke abortions, so he might be calling for the herb rather than a person by that name. Although we see Lysa as a crazy person in the books, her backstory makes that somewhat understandable. She is forced to have an abortion as a young woman and then married off to a man older than her own father to secure his support for Robert’s Rebellion. She then fails to carry a baby to term many times and eventually produces the sickly Robin. No wonder she is several sandwiches short of a picnic.

Then, just when things cannot look any bleaker, Edmure tells her that Tyrion is no longer the Hand and is most probably dead and she realizes that her hope of getting the girls released is gone. We can only hope that someone recaptures him, but I have a horrible feeling that he will get to King’s Landing somehow.

3. Arya I

Arya has certainly come a long way since we first met her in Winterfell. As they ride away from Harrenhal she is the leader, not Gendry, even though she is several years younger than him. We are shown how hard she has become when they come across some apple trees full of corpses. While Hot Pie is shocked and terrified, Arya reaches out to pluck an apple and then eats it. She is one seriously cool customer these days! However, she still feels responsible for her friends and is determined to drag them to safety. She feels especially close to Gendry, who has started to become almost a big brother to her.

Although this is a fairly tense chapter, there is some nice humor. We see Arya fall asleep in the saddle and then use the old “I was just resting my eyes” defense. We also have the image of Hot Pie being knocked off his horse by a branch when he too nods off. Fortunately, Gendry is stubborn enough to keep watch as the two youngsters get some much-needed rest.

Wolves are mentioned three times in this chapter. The riders encounter a wolf, which they manage to withdraw from without incident, and Arya howls at a pack that she spots in the distance and the leader howls back. Of course, I immediately think of Nymeria and the rumors of a huge she-wolf in the area. Then Arya wargs into Nymeria as she sleeps and takes out a group of four of the Bloody Mummers that are presumably on their trail. Arya, as Nymeria, is leading a pack of normal wolves and they slay the Mummers fairly easily. I really wish that Arya and Nymeria could reunite, but that does not seem to be happening anytime soon.

4. Tyrion I

It is good to see that Bronn is still around and as snarky as ever: “Cut yourself shaving, did you?” This is such a great line in the circumstances and reestablishes their relationship quite succinctly. However, the fact that Bronn has been Knighted whist Tyrion has been ignored is further proof of Lord Tywin’s inability to actually see Tyrion as an asset. This really stinks, and I fully understand Tyrion’s anger at being ignored and unrecognized: after all, he is responsible for keeping the city safe until Tywin and the Tyrells could break Stannis’ army. Tywin has also got rid of the mountain men, showing scant regard for their service, and Alayaya has been whipped bloody. I can hear Tyrion’s teeth grinding from here!

Even so, Tyrion is in fine form. I particularly liked his comment about attending Joffrey’s wedding: “Ravening weasels could not keep me away.” Even the galling news that Tywin is having the whole of King’s Landing turned upside down in the search for one of Tyrion’s cousin does not upset him too much. However, his confrontation with Tywin shows how much the father despises the son. Tyrion has little hope of getting what he wants: “A little bloody gratitude would make a nice start.” However, what he really wants is to be officially named as the heir to Casterly Rock, which makes sense as Jaime cannot inherit because he is a Kingsguard and Cersei is a woman. Tywin’s response is blunt and offers no hope: “Never.” He then launches into a tirade about Tyrion that makes it clear that he will never forgive his son for killing his wife. This is amazingly sad, and could be quite poignant if I did not like Tyrion so much and feel so aggrieved for him. It seems that Tywin is far more concerned with how Tyrion’s behavior reflects on him and is especially angered by Tyrion’s continued use of whores. It is revealed that it was Tywin who had Alayaya flogged. Tywin is storing up a lot of debts that Tyrion will want to repay at some point.

5. Davos I

I was so pleased to see Davos chapters in this book because I like this simple, honest man and I wanted to read more about him. The last time we saw him he was heading towards the burning wreckage caught against the chain across the Blackwater, which did not bode well for him. However, we learn that he managed to swim underneath the chain before losing consciousness. He has been trapped on a tiny rocky island for several days and is on the point of death from lack of food and water. As he sees a sail coming towards him he reflects upon the loss of his sons and debates whether or not to call for help.

I like Davos as a character because he is so honest, with himself and with everyone else. He has no illusions about himself, his past or his abilities. We can see this in the little bag he uses to carry around his finger bones: they remind him of his past decisions and their consequences. Unfortunately, the Battle of Blackwater has taken a great deal from this simple man. He has lost four of his sons, three ships and has even lost his ‘luck’, which is what he called the bag of bones. He is crazed in his grief and seriously considers giving himself to the sea because to live on is too painful. However, he has a religious revelation: the Mother speaks to him, revealing that Stannis’ loss is due to the burning of the Seven on Dragonstone. Convinced that Melisandre is responsible for all the deaths, Davos decides to live so that he can make her pay.

I am not sure how Davos will deal with his need for vengeance, because he is a very practical man and is unlikely to make rash decisions. However, I do expect him to begin actively working against Melisandre whenever he can, especially when it comes to advising Stannis. I am not sure how successful he will be, but I hope to keep reading him for a long time.

6. Sansa I

Sansa receives an invitation to dine with Margaery Tyrell and I can understand why she is reluctant to accept. She has no way of knowing how she will be treated by the Tyrells, but decides to be brave and polite by attending. She is overjoyed when Loras arrives to escort her, but this soon turns to disappointment when it becomes clear that he does not remember giving her the red rose at the Hand’s Tourney. She also upsets him by talking about Renly, although she does not understand why he is so upset. I was a little disappointed to see a return to the foolish girl of A Game of Thrones, but I can hardly blame Sansa for being overwhelmed by having Loras all to herself and momentarily hoping that this could be the fairy-tale ending that she has always wanted.

We do not get much impression of Margaery in this chapter, although she is polite and kind towards Sansa. This seems to be in direct contrast to the sneering, gloating Margaery we see in the HBO series, so I will not jump to any conclusions about her just yet. She is somewhat sidelined by her wonderful grandmother, Lady Olenna, who is a wonderfully blunt old battle-axe that I hope we see again. She quite rightly deserves her nickname of the Queen of Thorns, deriding her son at every turn. She eventually persuades Sansa to admit that Joffrey has been cruel to her and that ha has had the Kingsguard abuse her as well. Olenna and Margaery do not seem terribly surprised by this admission, suggesting that they had already heard rumors about his sadistic behavior. Olenna sees this as a ‘”pity”, but insists that the wedding will go ahead. However, she offers Sansa a way to leave King’s Landing, by marrying Willas, Margaery’s eldest brother and the heir to Highgarden. Although he was crippled during an accident several years previously, Margaery says that he is kind and she obviously is very fond of him. This seems like a positive result for Sansa, so I can only assume that it will all go horribly wrong.

7. Jon I

We get a good look at the Wildling army, which suggests that the Old Bear was right in thinking that the Brothers could have a chance to make a successful strike against it. The army is not organized, with women, children and livestock travelling with the fighting adults. There are no defenses and so the three hundred brothers could strike at several points, using their horses to best advantage and causing mayhem whilst minimizing their own causalities. Although it is nice to see that Chett was wrong to question his Lord Commander’s judgment, we know that the Others are keeping the Brothers busy at the moment.

We are slowly being introduced to Mance’s officers, who all seem to be somewhat psychotic, but I guess that is to be expected as they have gained their commands out of talent and sheer strength of character, though none of them are as extreme as Timett, Son of Timett, leader of the Burned Men. Of course, Mance Rayder himself is much less impressive and Jon overlooks him at first as he assumes that the bug man with no ears, Styr, is the King Beyond The Wall. Everyone finds this mistake hilarious, and Jon is impressed by the freedom of the Wildlings and how they serve their officers by choice rather than out of fear or obligation.

Mance is certainly a cunning character, and he recognizes Jon from his visits to Winterfell. Once he visited as a Brother when Jon was small and then he attended the welcome feast for Robert by pretending to be a travelling bard. Although this surprises Jon, he uses it to his advantage by asking Mance to remember where the bastard was seated, suggesting that this is reason for deserting. This is a clever idea, because he does not actually give Mance a reason or a direct answer to his question, so he has technically not lied, but his comment is enough for Mance to create his own reason. We hear Mance’s own reason for leaving the Night’s Watch: he was badly injured and nursed back to health by a Wildling woman who repaired his cloak using some very rare red silk, but when he returned to the Brothers the cloak was taken from him to be burned. He seems to see this as massively insulting to the woman who saved his life, probably because he does not see the Wildlings as ‘the enemy’. As with many characters in this series, Mance is not the man that we have been led to expect by the things we have heard about him.

8. Daenerys I

During the journey to Pentos, Arstan tells Daenerys about dragons, her father and Rhaegar. He even manages a quick jab about Ser Jorah’s spendthrift second wife when Jorah is hostile towards him. The more I read of Arstan, the more I am convinced that he is Barristan Selmy. He knows a great deal about the court and royal family for a lowly squire. Unfortunately, this leads Jorah to distrust him, as he knows that Arstan cannot be what he presents himself to be. However, I do agree with Jorah that sailing straight to Pentos would be a bad idea, as I do not trust Illyrio at all.

Jorah related the story of the Three Thousand of Qohor, a tale about a group of three thousand Unsullied who were hired to protect the city and withstood eighteen charges from twenty-five thousand Dothraki warriors. These sound like precisely the people that Daenerys needs in her army. I also liked Jorah’s suggestion that they use Illyrio’s ships and goods to pay for the Unsullied: it is a very sneaky plan and Illyrio can hardly do anything about it when she turns up with her own army. Daenerys agrees that this is a great idea and is about to go and talk to the captain when Jorah grabs and kisses her.

Apart from the obvious ‘ick’ factor that he is about thirty years older than her, this is going to ruin their relationship. He professes his love for her, but she obviously does not feel the same way about him. It would seem that poor Jorah has no luck with women!

9. Bran I

Bran is warging as Summer and runs off a pack of wolves so that he can eat their kill. During this sequence we can really feel Bran’s yearning to be free to run through the forest, which is heart-breaking because we know that it will never happen whilst he is inside his own body. As he comes back to himself, we feel the depression settling back around his shoulders, and it does not help that Jojen is so critical of Bran’s inability to remember instructions when he wargs. I can understand how useful it would be for Summer to mark his kills or where he has been so that they can be sure that Bran is indeed warging, but I cannot really blame the young lad for losing himself in the experience. I loved the idea of Hodor chanting his name many different ways and getting so over-excited that they had to send him out to hit things with a giant sword.

I keep reminding myself that the children in the books are far younger than they are in the HBO series, so it makes sense that a nine year old boy would have quite a lot of difficulty concentrating. However, he is a levelheaded lad and tries to think a great deal before he makes the decision about their next move. Staying in hiding seems like a good idea for a little time, but they cannot stay hidden forever. Bran realizes that he needs training to learn how to be a better warg, so he decides to take Jojen’s advice and head north in search of the three-eyed crow. It is interesting that the Reeds truly treat Bran as their leader, even though he is so much younger than they are. I am not sure whether this is because of their sworn allegiance to him as their lord, or because they perceive something special about him. I guess that time will tell.

Sue's Saturday Suggestions #3

2012-07-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

Interesting Books

Some reviews that have caught my eye this week:

The Girl Who Circumvented Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente, review at Once Upon A Time

Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood, review at My Bookish Ways

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, review at the Little Red Reviewer

Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, review at Fantasy Café

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, review at The Book Smugglers

Sharps by K.J. Parker, review and mini-interview at Bookworm Blues and review and mini-interview at Fantasy Cafe

Song In The Silence by Elizabeth Kerner, review at Once Upon A Time

2012 So Far

Some more recommendations from books they have read so far this year:

Ana and Thea at The Book Smugglers

Kristen at Fantasy Café

Casting Call

Sarah at Bookworm Blues is looking for someone to review Graphic Novels / Comics.

Women in the Anita Blake Series

An interesting post by Sparky at Fangs For the Fantasy, looking at the other female characters in Laurell K. Hamilton’s series.

Lightsaber Etiquette

SF Signalposted this instructional video on how NOT to kill your opponent with a lightsaber.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson Blog Tour: Week 3

2012-07-07T00:16:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the discussion of Part 3 of The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

If you want to catch up on the previous discussion, you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

The piece of artwork is a suitably colorful Sazed by Firnheledien

Obviously, there is a lot to discuss, so I will pick out a few of the points that struck me as most important.

At the end of Part 2, Elend had been voted down as King and I think most of us were disappointed with the Assembly, but not overly surprised because the members had no experience of living in a democracy. As we have seen in Part 3, the three factions are working for either themselves or their own people, and they see their defeat as inevitable. Although I can understand their desperation, I was very unimpressed by the treachery that brought Lord Cett into the city because it was mostly driven by personal greed.

Were you surprised by the merchants’ plan to elect Cett? How do you feel about the Nobles’ and merchants’ willingness to make the Skaa slaves again?

We have had more information about the Hero of Ages and the signs of the Anticipation, although the hints about the Deepness have been very vague. It does seem that Vin is able to detect the Deepness in a similar way to Alendi, but Kwaan’s writings show that he became increasingly convinced that Alendi was not the Hero of Ages. Vin can ‘hear’ the drumming in the distance and see the mist creature, just like Alendi, but if he was not the Hero perhaps she is not either. I do like the way Vin has started to do research: shock, horror! I also liked the stunned reaction that her writing elicited from Elend and Sazed: they seemed so surprised that she could actually write legibly!

Do you think that Vin is the Hero of Ages? Do you think that she is right about the Deepness / mist causing death more by starvation than by actually killing people?

We have all been very intrigued by the growing friendship between Vin and Oreseur. We are slowly getting more information about kandra culture, and now learn that they have a religion and prophecies of the end of the human race. It seems like Vin is starting to trust OreSeur because he is sharing personal details with her. However, we still do not know who the kandra spy is: Vin has now ruled out Dockson, Clubs and Captain Demoux. This seems to leave nobody in the immediate circle to be the spy, and yet we know that there is one. This suggests that OreSeur’s information about the kandra being unable to use alomancy might be a lie, but none of the gang’s allomancers are behaving differently, so I trust Vin’s judgement that none of them are the kandra. This means that the only person that could be the spy is OreSeur, unless it is a member of staff that we have not met yet, which would seem like an overly painless plot device. I have no idea how OreSeur could be the spy, but as Sherlock Holmes said:

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Do you think OreSeur could be the spy or am I just delusional?

I was so surprised by that beautiful little scene with Sazed and Tindwyl. It seems like we have a sweet, and very realistic, love story unfolding. This left me grinning like a lunatic, because it was so unexpected but so touching. He is worried that she will not want a eunuch, even though she has spent her life being forced to breed with a succession of different men. It is always nice to see a learned man show that he is actually an idiot about some things!

Did you like this scene? Do you see their relationship deepening, even though he is not ‘fully equipped’?

At the end of this Part we have come full circle, and Elend is officially removed from office by the Assembly even though I had hoped that he would persuade them to keep him as king. I was surprised that Cett was roundly defeated, although I am not sure that he will abide by the Assembly’s decision. I was somewhat confused by the attack in the Assembly room, especially as Zane did not take part as far as I could tell.

How do you think Lord Penrod will manage as king? Will Cett simply kill him and seize the throne?

Further Questions (I always have so many!):

OreSeur says that the kandra and koloss have a link: are they both creations of the Lord Ruler, just like the Inquisitors?
Why did Vin recognize one of the assassins in the Assembly room: was it another one of Elend’s half-brothers?
How many of you want to see film of Vin being all badass in a fancy white gown?
Will Elend still be able to love Vin now that he has seen her in action?

Ok, I think I need to stop with the questions now: let the discussions begin!

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

2012-07-05T16:43:00.000-04:00

My Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.00 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 3.94 / 5.00

Welcome to Bon Temps, Louisiana!

Sookie Stackhouse seems like a fairly normal twenty-five year old, although she does keep herself to herself. She is a waitress at Sam Merlotte’s bar; she has a brother, Jason, and she lives with her Gran. She is pretty enough but she does not date much and everyone knows that she is a bit ‘different’. The truth is that Sookie is a telepath, constantly inundated with the thoughts of everyone around her. Occasionally this is helpful, but mostly it gives her headaches and makes it very difficult for her to be comfortable around people. She has given up on the idea of ever finding love, but then Bill Compton walks into the bar.

Bill is a vampire. He is a tall, dark southern gentleman who ‘died’ during the Civil War and his thoughts are a blissful blank. When Sookie is with him she ‘hears’ nothing, and can relax totally for the first time in her life. She is drawn to him and saves his life from people determined to drain him of his blood, which is a powerful aphrodisiac and narcotic drug to humans. As the two are drawn to one another, they must fight anti-vampire prejudice that is further fuelled by a series of murders of women who were known ‘fang-bangers’. Sookie fears that she might be next, although Jason is one of the main suspects.

I first read this book a few years ago after seeing True Blood on HBO and loved it. Since then I have read more Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance and so I was a little disappointed when I reread it for my book group.

Sookie inhabits a world where Vampires have come out of the coffin because of the development of True Blood, a synthetic blood that means that they can survive without feeding on humans. As part of their attempts to be accepted they have created the myth that they are simply humans suffering from a virus, but the human population is still very wary of them. Some humans, called fang-bangers, enjoy being fed on, whilst many others want to see all the vampires given the ‘true death’ by stake, sunlight or shotgun. Unusually, Ms Harris’ vampires are allergic to silver whilst garlic is just an unpleasant seasoning for their food. There are other mythological creatures lurking in plain sight as well, although they have decided to stay quiet about their existence. Also, we never find out what exactly Sookie is and why she can read minds.

One aspect of the novel that I do like is the setting. Although we are in Louisiana, we are a long way from New Orleans. This is poor Louisiana, where Sookie makes ends meet only because she owns some land that she inherited from her dead parents. She still lives with her Gran and her friends inhabit trailer parks and low-rent apartments: this is not the French Quarter. Along with the poverty we find plenty of prejudice. Merlotte’s is basically a ‘white’ bar, so LaFayette, a black homosexual, stands out like a sore thumb. When three vampires visit the bar there is one of those moments when everything goes quite and the music stops: not because they are vampires, but because one of them is a black woman. As you might expect, this community is not very open to anyone different, so Sookie is seen as the town freak and vampires are rejected on principal. This means that the murder victims get a lot less sympathy than you might expect because they are white trash who ‘asked for’ their deaths by being promiscuous and hanging out with vampires. Surprisingly, the most open section of the community is the Descendants of the Glorious Dead who are swept away by Bill’s accounts of the Civil War and his remembrances of their ancestors. As Sparky says at Fangs For the Fantasy, we are given a very deep sense of the community that has shaped Sookie’s attitudes, and we see her own prejudices in her comments about other people.

The plot moves along at a decent pace, and we are kept in the dark for much of the book, just as Sookie is, because this is related in the first person from her point of view. There are twists and turns, with a few red herrings thrown in, so that the final revelation is a real surprise that is not hinted at earlier in the book. Of course, quite a lot of the book is given over to Sookie’s developing relationship with Bill and her introduction to his world. We see a wide range of vampires. There are Eric and his offspring Pam at the club Fangtasia, who are cashing in on the human craving for all things new and dangerous, providing a place for people to see vampires and even offer themselves up as willing meals. Then there are Diane, Malcolm and Liam, who make no pretense at playing nice, and treat humans as food items and playthings. However, probably my favorite Vampire is Bubba, who was once a very famous singer, but who didn’t transition very well and is now a little ‘off’, with a taste for cats.

I guess my biggest problem with my reread is that Sookie reads much younger than her twenty-five years. She is supposed to be a pretty blonde with a decent figure and she tends to wear figure-hugging or revealing clothes. However, she is constantly amazed that she provokes lust in men. I found this a little too naïve to believe, because not only has she dealt with this for the last ten years or so, but also she is telepathic, so you would think that she could hear precisely what they are thinking about as they leer at her. I know that she does not have much dating experience, but she works in a bar and has been in contact with lots of horny, drunk men for years, so I found that this did not ring true for me. If I had been told that she was a few years younger, I could have accepted this more easily.

Of the other characters, my favorite is Gran. She is a wonderful old lady with lots of southern charm but a sensible attitude to life that I found very refreshing. She is a truly wise lady. I also really like Sam, and the sequence where Sookie discovers his secret is priceless, especially when you reread it knowing what the secret is. In many ways I would prefer to see Sookie hook up with Sam, but he is too safe for her, and the sexual attraction she feels for Bill is well played out. Fans of the HBO series tend to split themselves into Team Bill and Team Eric, and I have to admit that I find Eric a much more attractive character, and seeing him portrayed by Alexander Skarsgard certainly helps his cause! However, looking at this book alone, it is totally understandable that Sookie falls for Bill. He is everything a young woman looks for in a man: he is solicitous and protective but also exciting without the fear that he will rip her throat out.

One major problem I can see would be people being disappointed after seeing the HBO series. Hannah at Once Upon a Time mentions that the series is much more layered than the book, which is understandable because it has to fill a whole lot more time than the book.

I can also recommend the review by Ana and Thea at The Book Smugglers

The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore

2012-07-04T19:02:00.001-04:00

My Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.20 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 3.62 / 5.00

Miranda Claybourne moves to Hartington House in Dorset to get away from the rat race in London and because her son, Gus, is a problem child. He is aggressive with other children and it is hoped that the countryside will help him and his younger sister, Storm, to make friends. Miranda is a writer, so she can work anywhere, but her husband, David, stays in London during the week because he works in the City.

When we first meet Miranda she is struggling to cope with the children and misses the glamor of her London lifestyle, while David has largely checked out of their marriage and spends the weekends relaxing in front of the television. However, when she decides to hire a cook and gardener she meets some of the local community and gradually begins to integrate. Then Jean-Paul arrives and everything changes. He is very French and very handsome and he offers to recreate the once famous gardens if she will allow him to stay in the small cottage at the bottom of the garden. As Miranda is clearing out the cottage she finds a scrapbook full of notes and pictures. When she begins to read it she learns that the previous owner, Ava, created the famous garden in conjunction with a wonderful young French man.

We follow as Miranda and her children are reconnected with nature as they rebuild the garden under the tuition of Jean-Paul. Meanwhile, we follow Ava as she builds the original garden and falls hopelessly in love with the French gardener. We see how their affair develops and how it affects her and her family.

I have to admit that I was somewhat uneasy about reading this book because I knew that infidelity played a large role in the story. In fact we are presented with two separate affairs: one in each timeline. Ava’s affair is presented as an irresistible urge that she fights against for a long time, even sending her lover away to remove the temptation. However, her husband’s actions place the two together again and she gives in to the sensuality of the illicit romance. In doing this she places her needs above those of her husband and children, so I had very little sympathy for the grief she feels when the affair finally collapses. She spends the rest of her life punishing herself and dedicated to caring for her aging husband.

David’s affair is more sordid, largely conducted out of boredom with his marriage and a feeling of entitlement. He does not have romantic feelings for his mistress who is engaged in the affair as a way to get back at Miranda and her ‘perfect’ life. I was highly dissatisfied with the conclusion to this affair and the consequences. He suddenly has an epiphany that he really loves his wife and children and, with very little fuss or effort, he returns to the bosom of his family. Unless we are supposed to guess that there was extensive counseling and work on the marriage, this seemed to be far too easy on him and struck me as unbelievable.

Putting the infidelity to one side was not easy for me, but the portrayal of the magic of nature, and the garden in particular, was strong enough to keep me reading. The author obviously has a deep connection with the earth and countryside that shone through in her writing and resonated with my own love of the natural world. I liked how she understood the healing qualities of nature, especially with regards to Miranda’s children who blossom when they are allowed the freedom to explore the world around them.

In fact, the vivid descriptions of nature were about the only thing that I enjoyed in the book. Many of the characters are highly annoying and unsympathetic. Miranda is a mother who ignores and resents her children, although she does at least pay some attention to them, unlike David. She is shallow, spoilt, judgmental and snobbish. I was getting very tired of reading about her (insert famous designer name here) shoes / jacket / dress and how she misses going out to (insert famous name here) restaurant / shop. David was simply a selfish, thoughtless adulterer, with no redeeming qualities as far as I could see. Everything Ava does is all about her: she is incredibly selfish. Even before the affair she spends all her time in the garden, ignoring her children and doting husband, though she is consistently portrayed as a perfect wife and mother. Then there is Gus who enjoys beating a donkey with a stick and pulling the legs off spiders: delightful!

The other thing that really made me struggle was the wealth of the main two families. I grew up in a working class family in England and so I find it very difficult to feel much sympathy for a woman who owns a huge manor house with huge grounds, employs a cook / housekeeper and a gardener and drives a Range Rover. Both families come from money and have no understanding of the lives lived by their neighbors and employees. I know that money cannot buy happiness, but it certainly can help to remove nasty things like hunger and homelessness. Knowing a little about the author I know that she also comes from this background, so she is writing from her own experience, but I still wanted to give Miranda, in particular, a shake for being so self-pitying. I kept wondering why she had bothered to have the children because she obviously did not want to deal with them and was counting the days until she could send them off to boarding school.

The writing was a little melodramatic at times and some of the names were very odd: Storm and Peach being the two worst. I disliked the way we jumped about from one point of view to another all the time: we ended up in the head of a donkey at one point, which was just strange. I was also unimpressed by the attempt at a third romance story between the shop owner and the farmer, which seemed forced and totally pointless. Indeed, the secondary characters were mostly set decoration and very clichéd: gay hairdresser, fat lady vicar, etc.

In short, I am not sure what the author was trying to say about infidelity but she certainly loves gardens.

Read Along of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: Part 3

2012-07-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

This week we read Chapters 14 to 21. The Questions were provided by Tangled Up Blue

If you visit Into the Hall of Books, you will find the questions for next week and a list of links to this week’s answers.

1) We FINALLY get to the scene we've all been waiting for. You know what I'm talking about--yay sexytimes! What were your impressions? Was it what you were expecting? Or did you want more?

I was slightly surprised that there was so little description for any of the encounters we have seen so far, which was almost anticlimactic. I appreciated the slow build up as it seemed very natural, but then we went very quickly from chatting to the discreet break while they did IT. I definitely expected more description of the foreplay, if not the sex itself.

I am very impressed by Jamie’s stamina and I am not certain how Claire is managing to sit on her horse, but the constant sex seems a bit odd, considering their circumstances. It made sense whilst they were still at the inn, but after a long day travelling I was surprised that she did not just tell him to take a cool dip! I was also disappointed that Jamie turned out to be an amazing lover at first attempt: it would have been much more realistic if he had been more hesitant and less skillful. It would also have allowed a little more character development if she had needed to give him more direction about to please her. I guess his previous experience might have been almost full sex, but not all women react in the same way, so I would have liked him to be humbled a little.

As a point of interest the Scots word ‘oxter’ means ‘armpit’, just in case you were wondering what exactly Jamie was rubbing all over his horses’ faces!

2) I know that some readers thus far have been bothered by the fact of Claire being married to Frank but still being involved with Jamie, despite the different time periods. Does their time as newlyweds change anyone's opinion of that? If not, now what are you thinking of the situation?

Nope: I still think Claire is being unfaithful, and I was disappointed to read her account of ‘infatuations’ during the war. It is one thing to be attracted to someone and quite another to act upon that feeling. Knowing that she allowed her feelings to move her part way towards adultery during the war made it much easier for me to believe how easily she accepted Jamie into her bed. They could have easily faked consummation if she had resisted the idea, but she was quite willing.

If she had accepted her place in the past as a permanent then it would be easier to accept her actions, but she is still actively trying to return to Frank. This makes her adultery unacceptable in my eyes.

3) What did you think about the "waterhorse" that Claire saw? Why do you think Peter was so spooked? And what do you think this means for Claire?

The myth of the Loch Ness Monster is very ancient, so I was not really surprised to see it mentioned, although I thought that making it a real creature went a little far. The suggestion seems to be that Claire identifies it as a plesiosaur, which has been one of the more popular ‘identifications’ offered for Nessie.

I can understand why Peter would be shocked to see this beast in the water, as it is not supposed to exist except as a story to keep children away from the dangers of the loch. He seemed to think that Claire was speaking to it or had summoned it, which seems like a totally absurd idea to me, but suggests that he mistrusts her and believes her capable of anything. This places her in a dangerous situation.

4) If you were Claire and you were knowingly in the vicinity of the stones, would you have done the same thing she did?

Certainly, though I do not think that I would have tried to travel down the river in my skirts. It was only a matter of time before she fell in and I was surprised that she didn’t break her ankle or knock herself out and then drown.

5) What do you think about Captain Randall? How do you think the family resemblance between him and Frank affects Claire and particularly her relationship with Jamie?

I find him somewhat two-dimensional. He is a cardboard cutout villain with no particular reason to behave as he does. I am hoping that we see a little character development for him, or some explanation for why he behaves as he does.

His great similarity to Frank is a problem for Claire as it reminds her that she is being unfaithful, which seems to make her uneasy. As it should!

A Challenge of Ice and Fire: Week 13

2012-07-02T12:32:00.000-04:00

A Clash of Kings: Tyrion XIII to the end of the book. 

My previous posts on A Clash of Kings: week 7 week 8 week 9 week 10 week 11 week 12

I will be starting A Storm of Swords tomorrow. If you would like to join me, have a look at my schedule.

59. Tyrion XIII

So, having left poor Davos in the fiery water of Blackwater Bay, we move to follow the battle from Tyrion’s perspective and, even though I want nothing more than to see Joffrey’s head on a spike, I am absurdly happy that the battle is going against Stannis. Of course, the fact that Stannis is an insufferable stuffed shirt has nothing to do with it: I just love the fact that Tyrion has proven his family wrong and has made plans that might just save the city.

But then Joffrey has to ruin the moment by complaining about his pretty ships burning. I have no idea how Tyrion restrains himself from ‘accidentally’ shoving Joffrey off the wall, but instead he sends Joffrey off to play with the trebuchets. Darling Joffrey skips off to happily starting chucking the Antler Men over the wall to join Stannis, so he is happy and out of Tyrion’s way. Unfortunately, the wildfire trap has not been as successful as he had hoped and so there are enough of Stannis’ forces landing to attack the King’s Gate, which The Hound has been defending. I feel for The Hound and his terror at the fires spreading around him: he is a very brave man, but getting your face half burnt off as a child will make the most courageous man a little irrational about flames.

Just as we see the men losing morale and starting to slink away, the Mighty Tyrion stirs them up by basically embarrassing them: he will lead the sortie and they have to be braver than a dwarf, surely! Yet again, Tyrion proves to be a great leader of men, using his disability to his advantage. He also confirms what we suspected after his brief spell in Tywin’s army: he is far braver than he thinks he is. I think I might be a little in love with him! :)

60. Sansa VI

After reading Tyrion’s stirring speech and following his bravery, it is very strange to be back inside the Queen’s Ballroom eating dinner with Sansa, Cersei and the other women. Although I am desperate to know what happens to Tyrion, and hopeful that Joffrey will inadvertently get shot over the wall by one of his own trebuchets, I do appreciate the slower pace that this chapter provides. By taking us away from the action for a while it allows us to feel that time is passing, and also gives a wonderfully different perspective. Much like Catelyn in Chapter 63: Catelyn X of A Game of Thrones, we follow the battle from afar, where all the characters can do is to sit and wait. I feel like this is one aspect of battle that is commonly ignored in the depictions of war, so it is good to see it here. It also allows quite a bit of character development for Cersei in particular.

Cersei continues to drink and be very frank with Sansa. I am not sure if this frankness is due to the alcohol or to Cersei’s belief that they are going to die, but she does seem to be torturing Sansa in order to give herself a feeling of control over something, which is understandable given the circumstances. We see how cynical Cersei is about being female and how she really hates being a woman rather than a man. She hints that she would attempt to seduce Stannis, but is quite right that she would have more chance with his horse: I doubt that Stannis would touch her with a ten foot pole.

We get periodic reports of the battle raging outside, while Cersie rambles on about how she should have been a man. I find this very ironic, especially as we have met Brienne and Lady Mormont, so we know that it is possible for a woman to become a warrior if she chooses to. As the situation worsens Cersei insists that Darling Joffrey be brought back to the keep so that he can be safe, though she is unconcerned about Tyrion’s safety as he leads his sortie: she really does hate him for some reason. We are left with the drunken queen explaining precisely why Ser Ilyn Payne is there: poor Sansa!

61. Tyrion XIV

Podrick Payne is supposed to be a fairly young lad, only about twelve years old, and yet he refuses to leave Tyrion’s side and joins him in battle: bless him, it is nice to see someone loyal to Tyrion.

The fighting gets confused and very bloody as they hack and slash their way to the battering ram. The men are now shouting “Halfman!” which made me feel all proud for Tyrion, but he is also getting the snot beaten out of him, shot by arrows and basically dodging death at every moment. It is interesting to follow his assessment of his own behavior as he realizes that he has battle fever and will regret all this in the morning, if he lives that long.

I really like the way that Mr Martin shows us the horror and confusion of battle. We see this most vividly in the one-armed knight who tries to yield with his dismembered gloved hand and the ‘landing’ of one of the Antler Men nearby. However, that confusion means that Ser Mandon Moore gets the opportunity to try to kill Tyrion, presumably on Cersei’s orders, and then Pod is there to save the day. Thank goodness for that, but Tyrion is badly injured and stuck in a very precarious position, on a sinking boat in the middle of a battle.

62. Sansa VII

Wow: Lancel grew a pair and stood up to Cersei! I was really amazed by his courage here, especially as we know how well she takes people criticizing her, but what he was asking made a lot of sense. Not that sense will get through to Cersei’s alcohol-soaked brain, so she punches him in his wounded shoulder and storms off. However, this does leave Sansa as the ‘person in charge’ and she steps into the role beautifully: I was so proud of her. She calms the people and offers them hope, behaving with dignity and courage. She even helps Lancel, even though she questions why she is helping one of ‘them’: perhaps because you are a decent human being who does not subscribe to Cersei’s method of ruling through fear. She may have made a useful ally there.

Ser Dontos is quite right to send her off to her room: if the city falls then she will be better off with Stannis. She finds The Hound in her room, drunk as a skunk. There is obviously something about her that draws him to her when he needs comfort: it seems very significant that he chose her room to hide in when he could have simply left the city altogether. I understand why he is disillusioned about his position with Joffrey, as he seems to be the only one of the Kingsguard who hates to see Sansa hurt. However, if he does have feelings for her he has a strange way of showing it, threatening her with a knife is hardly the right way to say, “I love you!” Of course, he is very drunk and probably does not have much experience with any women other than prostitutes, so it makes sense that he behaves badly. Part of me wanted her to run off with him, because he could certainly protect her, but he is so volatile and distinctive that this could have been a mistake.

Then, just when I could almost see Joffrey’s head on that spike, we learn that Renly’s army had arrived in the last moment and crushed Stannis’ army. Obviously it is not Renly in his armor, although it does fulfill Melisandre’s prophecy from Chapter 42: Davos II. As a side note, every time I read about Lord Randyll Tarly I want him to die horribly for being so horrible to Sam.

63. Daenerys V

What a surprise: when Daenerys proves to be too difficult to manipulate she is no longer welcome in Qarth. I really liked her answer to Xaro Xhoan Daxos when he asked for a dragon in return for ships: she is starting to realize how powerful she actually is and how valuable the dragons are. We get even more support for the idea that the dragons increase the strength of magic, although I would imagine that they are being blamed for every three-headed goat in a thousand mile radius.

So, trying to actually get a ship is proving very difficult and then two mysterious men start to follow her. Now, in most situations this would mean that the two stalkers are the dangerous ones, but no they are actually on her side and save her from a Sorrowful Man trying to kill her by giving her a manticore. I really enjoyed this sequence because of how Mr Martin incorporated the guy selling the silver platter. The dialogue was deliciously funny as Daenerys and Jorah use their battering to keep moving the platter about and view the stalkers, who are revealed to be agents sent by Magister Illyrio to find her and bring her back to Pentos. Now, I do not trust Illyrio at all, but I am fairly sure that Arstan Whitebeard is Ser Barristan Selmy in disguise, and he is totally trustworthy. They have three ships to transport her, the dragons and the dothraki, so this seems like a good outcome for Daenerys, although she will need to deal with Illyrio once she gets to Pentos.

64. Arya X

It seems like Gendry’s idea about just staying in Harrenhal no matter who rules it might be a little misplaced, after we learn that Roose Bolton has had many of the staff killed for ‘collaborating’. I am not sure why Arya decides not to trust Roose, but his ruthless treatment of the smallfolk seems like a good reason to be wary. Plus he is hairless and has a serious addiction to being bled, so he sounds a bit loopy to me. Plus, I am fairly certain that Reek is his bastard son and may be acting on his wishes up in the north, especially as Roose is remarkably unmoved by the news that Winterfell has fallen and the young princes murdered. Plus he uses the Bloody Mummers, even though one of them uses black magic and another, Biter, eats people: nice!

I felt so proud of Arya as she contained her shock and grief at the news: I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to hear that and not show any emotion. As she continues to listen in, we get some strange hints about Roose. He is totally unconcerned when one of the Freys suggests that Robb should surrender. He does mention that Robb keeps defeating the Lannisters, but it makes me uneasy that he does not stop that kind of defeatist talk. He is also uninterested in his new wife, although she seems very interested in providing him with an heir. Instead, he is interested in terrorizing some of the local castles and then declares his intention to hunt wolves. I guess he could get a banner made that says “I am going to betray the Starks”, but It seems a little unnecessary to me. The fact that he wants to wear their fur is all the evidence I need.

Later that night she hears her father’s voice, or it could be Bran: we have seen him speaking through a weirwood to Jon and she is in the Godswood at the time. Anyway, she decides to leave and head towards Riverrun using the map from Roose’s rooms. She asks Gendry to get her a sword, giving him instructions to meet her later. He arrives with Hot Pie and some supplies and then Arya makes the biggest step of her life so far: she kills a guard so that they can escape. Hot pie is suitably impressed and amazed, as was I. A wolf howls in the distance and I really want that to be Nymeria and for there to be a happy reunion, but I doubt that is on the cards just yet.

65. Sansa VIII

I do love the idea that Tywin’s horse has a huge dump in front of Joffrey, I know it is childish of me, but I had to laugh! So much for all the pomp and circumstance: we now know that it smells of horse dung in there. There is the whole sorry mockery of Joffrey’s protests about not being able to break his betrothal to Sansa. The mummers’ farce continues until he is ‘persuaded’ that it would be the best thing for him to do. At least they had the decency to warn Sansa beforehand so that she could contain her cries of joy. I fear for Margaery Tyrell though.

The rest of the ceremony is pretty tedious and I felt sorry for Sansa standing in the balcony through the whole thing. I am very suspicious of the fact that Tyrion is not mentioned at all, even though they wheel in some very sick people for honors and Lancel is rewarded in his absence. Creepy Littlefinger gets a substantial reward for negotiating the Tyrells’ support, although I hope that the curse of Harrenhal continues in full force when he takes charge. He is also given the riverlands, previously beholden to house Tully.

Sansa is delighted because she thinks she is now free of Joffrey, but Ser Dontos comes along to burst that bubble soon enough. But, fear not, he has a plan! She will be taken out of the city on the night that Joffrey’s wedding takes place: I can hardly wait! What I do not understand is how a hair net can avenge Ned’s death . . .

66. Theon VI

I have tried very hard to be sympathetic towards Theon, but he does make it amazingly difficult. I hoped that Maester Luwin would be able to persuade him to do the sensible thing and allow Ser Rodrik to retake Winterfell, but, no, he threatens to hang Beth Cassel to control her father. He really deserves whatever nasty end comes to him. He almost has the reprieve of taking the Black, but then Reek returns with his force and cuts Ser Rodrik’s forces to pieces by trickery. Being dumber than a bag of hammers, Theon does not even think twice before he opens his gates to Reek and his men. For goodness sake, Theon: how stupid are you?

What a surprise: Reek is actually the Bastard of Bolton and he takes Winterfell for himself. I think I did mention that he was untrustworthy! He knocks Theon out and gives orders to burn everything else apart from the Freys. I dread to think what will happen to them next, but I am guessing that it might sting a bit.

And Maester Luwin gets speared: great!

67. Tyrion XV

Tyrion dreams in a feverish haze, seeing images of death and battlefields. I am not sure if we can read any significance into his dreams, although the idea that he will lose his mouth seems a possibility, in that he might become voiceless and unheard. He has already been moved out of the Tower of the Hand, so I guess that he is about to be sidelined, even though he is largely responsible for the city holding out until Tywin’s army could arrive. No wonder Tyrion is angry that his father is being hailed as the savior of the city.

I am assuming that Cersei ordered Ser Mandon to kill Tyrion, it seems strange that he is still alive and being nursed back to full health. I can only suppose that she is unwilling to try anything whilst her father is close at hand, although it would be very easy for Tyrion to relapse or succumb to his wounds. It seems like Pod is the only person that Tyrion can really trust, which is not a great position to be in although the lad did kill Ser Mandon and deserves a bit of gratitude for that.

On the whole, I am just glad that Tyrion is alive and able to continue being Mighty.

68. Jon VIII

I am still confused by why Qhorin chose Jon to join his scouting party; especially as the other men all had special skills. However, they have been lost, one by one, in his efforts to get back to the Fist and warn Mormont. His final attempt to lose their pursuers is rather clever, but the Wildlings always seem to be one step ahead of him, possibly due to the eagle that has haunted their steps. Looking back now, it seems that Qhorin has decided to place Jon as an infiltrator and so prepares the lad to betray him. He has Jon recite the Brothers’ oath to remind him of where his loyalties lie. Finally he tells Jon to yield if they are taken, at which point we know that Qhorin is going to sacrifice himself to help Jon be accepted. Very heroic and courageous, but we can still hope that they escape to safety.

I really liked the trip through the waterfall and the mountain passage beyond and for a moment I did think that they might succeed and lose the Wildlings, but then we see the eagle waiting for them at the other end. Cue a mass of Wildlings and their dogs, led by Rattleshirt, or the Lord of Bones, with his rather natty armor made of assorted bones. I am not sure that they will have a great effect as actual armor, but I can imagine that they scare the snot out of your enemies.

When the wildlings get threatening, Jon follows orders and yields: triggering Qhorin’s angry tirade about him being a traitor. Poor Jon is confused, but Qhorin knows that this is the only way that he will be accepted rather than just killed and attacks the lad. Throughout the fight we can see that Qhorin should win, but the intervention of Ghost allows Jon to make a killing blow without it looking like Qhorin threw the fight. I am sad to see the passing of Qhorin Half-hand, because he was an interesting character, but I understand why he chose to make the most out of a bad situation.

Fortunately, Ygritte is with the Wildlings and so she speaks up for Jon’s usefulness, insisting that Mance Rayder will want to see him. She also says that the eagle hates Jon because he killed the man inside the eagle. This suggests that people can shift in to other animals, not just wolves: interesting. It also answers the question about what happens if you die whilst inhabiting your animal.

69. Bran VII

We begin with Bran looking at the wreck of Winterfell through Summer’s eyes. In a direct reference to the last chapter, Meera tells Bran that he should not stay in Summer for such long periods of time, as he will die from starvation.

The idea of hiding in the total darkness of the crypts gives me the shivers, especially as I get a little claustrophobic and I was starting to panic a little when they could not get the doors open. Finally they get out to find the entire castle destroyed, with only the walls standing. Poor Hodor is totally distraught, but they search the remains and finally find Maester Luwin dying in the Godswood. He is pleased to see the boys and laughs when they explain where they had hidden, although he said that he knew that the bodies were fake because the legs were wrong. I assume this means that Bran’s legs are withered now. He shows great courage and love for the boys, suggesting that they split up in order to increase the chance of one surviving. He then asks Osha for a ‘boon’, which I assume is a quick death. I freely admit that I cried at his passing because he was a wise and gentle man who did not deserve to die like this.

So, they split into two groups. Osha and Rickon are possibly heading to White Harbor, following Luwin’s advice, while Hodor, Bran and the Reeds are heading north. Jojen knows that Bran’s destiny is in the north, so they head that way, possibly heading towards the Umbers for help.

A Challenge of Ice and Fire: An Invitation

2012-07-01T15:10:00.002-04:00

A Storm of Swords

If you would like to join me in reading Book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire, I will be starting tomorrow, with my first thoughts being posted next Sunday.

Here is my schedule:

Week 14: Prologue to the end of Bran I (p. 132)

Week 15: Davos II to the end of Samwell I (p. 253)

Week 16: Tyrion III to the end of Daenerys III (p. 381)

Week 17: Sansa III to the end of Davos IV (p.502)

Week 18: Jaime V to the end of Jamie VI (p. 619)

Week 19: Catelyn V to the end of Davos V (p. 737)

Week 20: Jon VII to the end of Davos VI (p. 867)

Week 21: Jon VIII to the end of Daenerys VI (p. 995)

Week 22: Jamie IX to the end of the book

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson Blog Tour: Week 2

2012-06-30T19:53:00.000-04:00

Head on over to Books Without Any Pictures' post to see what we all think of Part 2.

Sue's Saturday Suggestions #2

2012-06-30T19:48:00.001-04:00

My apologies for not posting last week: a combination of a dead computer and celebrating my birthday made it very difficult to produce anything. So here is a bumper, two-week edition to compensate: enjoy!

BEA 2012

Kristen at Fantasy Café gives an account of her experiences at the Adult Author Breakfast, the Science Fiction and Mainstream panel, the Random House Power Reader Breakfast and the New York Book Week: Science Fiction / Fantasy Event.

Interesting Books

Here are the books that have stood out for me this week:

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, review at the Little Red Reviewer

Cannibal Reign by Thomas Koloniar, review at My Bookish Ways & an interview with the author + Giveaway

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, review at Travels Through Iest

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, review at Books Without Any Pictures

Redshirts by John Scalzi, review at Calico Reaction

George R.R. Martin Related

Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire edited by James Lowder, reviews at Paperless Reading and Fantasy Book Critic

KMONT at Lurv A La Mode discusses strong female characters

Once Upon A Time Challenge VI Ends

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings gives a fond farewell to the challenge.

The links to what people read for the challenge.

2012 so far

Liviu Suciu at Fantasy Book Critic shares her recommendations from the new books published so far this year.

When Copper Suns Fall by KaSonndra Leigh

2012-06-27T13:26:00.000-04:00

My Rating: 1.0 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.00 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 3.68 / 5.00

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book free from the author via a Goodreads giveaway, in return for a honest review.

Chela Prizeon is fifteen years old, living in one of the cities that are remnants of the US in 2067. She is part Angel, which makes her forbidden, because the Angels of Light and Dark and their agents triggered the war that destroyed most of civilization. Chela has a twin brother who fell from a fairground attraction a year ago. She is convinced that he was pushed but the official conclusion is that he tried to commit suicide. Now he is in a coma and infected with an incurable disease. Chela herself begins to see unusual children around her and suddenly manifests the power of the memories that she has inherited from her almost-angel, dead mother. This may or may not be connected to the curious blackouts that she has suffered since she was a child.

I am afraid that I cannot tell you any more about the plot or setting, because I did not finish the book.

The reason I requested a copy of this novel was quite simple: the premise looked interesting and original. Unfortunately, the book itself is confused, confusing and not particularly well written.

As well as the part-Angels we also have genetically modified humans with supernatural talents. These are supposedly caused by radiation from the war. The story would have greatly benefited from choosing one of these ideas and discarding the other: personally, I would have ditched the genetic mutants because it is not original. Even without the ‘About the Author’ note that states that she calls her two sons “the X-men”, I would have spotted that blatant steal from Marvel Comics. However, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring a world destroyed by a war between two opposing factions of Angels and their offspring. I genuinely wanted to read that story, but I felt that the author was not confident enough in her writing to follow the old adage: Keep It Simple. She introduced too many concepts too quickly and with too little detail. For example, we are told that Alchemy is banned, but have no description of what it is, although there does seem to be a suggestion that it is the powers that can be used by the part-Angels.

The plotting is poor and therefore stretches the suspension of disbelief to breaking point. For example, the first six chapters all take part during one day. In that time our heroine has time to visit her sick brother, argue with his doctor, work a shift for her friend, then go to meet that friend, have scary experiences at the fairground where her brother was injured, get stuck in a porta-potty, escape from a porta-potty whilst awakening her powers, use her powers again to make a door slam, get caught by the police, go to a club, witness a weird assault involving some other part-Angels, get her memory wiped, escape as the club is destroyed and then black out. This strikes me as a little too busy for one day and I am not even going to question her desperate rush to discover who pushed her brother one whole year after it happened.

The dialogue is clunky and the descriptions suffer from an overloading of adverbs, similes and metaphors. The writing feels as if the author is trying far too hard to make it dramatic, with the effect that it is cluttered and heavy-handed. Some of the lines had me laughing out loud, and not in a good way.

As for our heroine, Chela is your standard cardboard cutout “Spunky Young Gifted Savior”. She is different. She gets very angry, but controls herself because she must hide how amazingly powerful she is. Her mother is dead, but she has a not very nice stepmother. She is the only one who is right about her brother. Her father is someone important so she feels entitled to special treatment. No one understands her. She has had a life-long interest in fencing, so no doubt she is an Epic Warrior. She does Too Stupid To Live stuff all the time and yet survives. She has a hot male friend to be platonic with. People in positions of authority are never justified in speaking to her as if she is a fifteen-year-old child. I am absolutely sure that she will prove to be The Only One who can save the world.

In short, there are some good ideas here, but the book needs some serious editing to simplify the plotting and the prose quite dramatically, while Chela needs a lot of work to make her more believable and sympathetic.

Read Along of War Breaker by Brandon Sanderson: Part 5

2012-06-26T17:06:00.000-04:00

You can see Naithin’s Part 5 post, and the links to the other blogs taking part, here.

This week we have read up to the end of the book.

I would like to thank Naithin and Amanda for hosting the read along and everyone else who took part: yet again it has been terrific fun!

1. There were a whole bunch of character revelations in this last section of the book. We now know who Warbreaker is, and what Blushweaver's motivations are, and who was behind the war, and the intentions of several characters we suspected. How do you feel, now that everything's out in the open?

Exhausted! There was so much going on that I feel a little frazzled.

I am not sure that all the plot ends were tied up neatly. We do not know that the Awakened statues were successful in averting the war, although they ended the last one so we can assume that they did. If the Royal family is descended from a Returned I assume that Siri will be able to have a child by the God King, but it would be nice to know if she can. Also, which Returned are they descended from? We saw Denth’s hair shift color, so is he their ancestor? I would also like to know what has happened to the previous God Kings: are they out there doing good deeds or simply relaxing in retirement? However, my biggest question is about the way that the religion functions: is everything going to return to how it was before the attempted war or will Susebron change things?

2. At the beginning of our group read, I asked if you thought the Returned actually were divine. We saw Lightsong change his mind on his own divinity, and learned a bit more about the Returned. Has your answer about divinity changed, then, since the beginning of the book?

I still do not think that they are divine themselves, as Lightsong remembers some power offering him the possibility of Returning. However, they are Returned deliberately, with a purpose that will be revealed to them by their ability to see the future. If Lightsong is typical, then they were people who showed courage or goodness or some other quality that the divine power perceived. It is the divine power that chooses them and gives them the hugely powerful Breath that makes them Returned, so they are simply its messengers.

3. Now that we've seen Nightblood in action, firsthand, and know more about its history, what do you think about it as an object? What are your thoughts about Vasher's relationship with the sword?

It is the perfect example of how an object created to do good can end up doing bad things. Although it was created with the best of intentions it is incapable of making the moral distinction between good and evil and so cannot fulfill its Command as it was meant to. It seems to be heavily dependent upon those people it likes to give it guidance as to who it should kill, otherwise it will just kill everyone.

Vasher knows how dangerous the sword is, but also knows how to control it and his temptation to use it. Obviously it cannot be hidden because it will entice people to rescue it, much like the One Ring. I presume it cannot be destroyed, otherwise he would surely have done that after Shashara died, which I assume was on account of Nightblood’s actions.

4. Lastly, what are your final thoughts on Warbreaker? How did it compare to other books you've read, and to other Sanderson, if you've read more by him?

I thoroughly enjoyed Warbreaker, and I would love to read a sequel, although I guess we will have to wait until all the Wheel of Time books are done and dusted before we see it. I can see why he was chosen to compete those books although Mr Sanderson seems better able than Mr Jordan to restrain his fantasy to a more manageable size. I have only read one other Sanderson novel, Mistborn; the Final Empire, but I am impressed by his ability to create lavishly detailed worlds and his magic systems are excellent and original. I intend to read all his other works as I find time. I like how he can produce intricate plots with interesting characters without everything feeling derivative. He also writes nice strong female characters, which I appreciate.

Read Along of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: Part 2

2012-06-25T19:02:00.000-04:00

This week we read Chapters 8 to 14. The Questions were provided by Stalking The Bookshelves.

If you visit Tangled Up In Blue, you will find the questions for next week and a list of links to this week’s answers.

1. Claire has been given the task of healer at the castle. She must adapt her nursing skills for the time and learn what herbs and etc will cure each particular ailment that is presented to her. Do you have any home remedies that were passed down to you (cure for a cold, bee sting or what have you)?

My parents were not quite hippies, but almost, so natural remedies were very popular.

For a sore throat: put a tablespoon of honey and a good shot of lemon juice into a mug, add boiling water and drink when cool enough. For adults, a shot of medicinal alcohol can be added to aid sleep!

To remove a splinter: place a blob of honey over the point where the splinter enters the wound and cover with a waterproof dressing. This should draw the splinter out of the wound after a few hours.

To remove a tick: cover all of the tick’s body in Vaseline or any other greasy / sticky air proof substance after a few seconds it will withdraw its head and attempt to move to get air – pick up in a tissue and dispose of it.

2. What do you think would be the biggest challenge of living in the past? (Clothing, hygiene, food, etiquette or etc.)

Hygiene would be a real issue because I am a trained biologist, so I would share Claire’s despair over wound dressings and food storage. Also, I would be very unhappy using a chamber pot, especially the whole idea of storing it or carrying it about when it has been used. Then there are the parasites: fleas, lice and bed bugs would be a common problem, as would be all manner of worms and flukes because it would be so easy to ingest small particles of feces from both humans and livestock, especially in the water.

3. Do you have a favorite character, scene or quote so far? If so, share it with us.

I was very taken with Ned Gowan, he seems like a fun chap and I imagine that he could be very entertaining to chat with. I always like stories about people who have gone against convention to do precisely what they want to do. I also liked how Murtagh took on the role of wedding planner and dress designer: it was so unexpected and funny.

I particularly liked the scenes where Claire got falling down drunk after agreeing to the marriage and then suffered the consequences. This seemed like a very reasonable reaction to the situation, and the writing was really good. I guess Ms Gabaldon has suffered a few hangovers in her time because she certainly knows how to describe them very well and with a lot of detail!

4. What did you think about the addition of the blood bond in the wedding ceremony? Is this something you would do with the one you love?

I was a little surprised by the blood bond ceremony, but it fits well with the culture that we have encountered so far. Religion seems to be outweighed by practicality, as we saw with Geilie Duncan and her knowledge of a plant that could cause an early term abortion. It reminds me a little of the ability for blacksmiths to marry consenting adults: a tradition that is still going strong in Gretna Green in Scotland.

This is not something I would consider doing with my husband. I see marriage as a practical contract that allows couples to make a declaration that they plan to spend their lives together. I know this makes me sound wildly unromantic, and I do love my husband with all my heart, but we did not see our wedding ceremony as a spiritual event, just a ritual that formally acknowledged our relationship.

5. Are you reading along closely with the scheduled chapters or are you ahead or behind?

I always stay on schedule when I do a read along. I like how this slows my reading and gives me time to reflect on what I have read and what others have thought about it. It also means that I am able to remember exactly what was included in each section of reading.

A Challenge of Ice and Fire: Week 12

2012-06-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

A Clash of Kings: Daenerys IV to the end of Davos III (p. 836) 

My previous posts on A Clash of Kings: week 7 week 8 week 9 week 10 week 11

48. Daenerys IV

This chapter, where Daenerys visits the House of the Undying, was chock full of visions and prophesies, or perhaps memories and possible futures. I am not sure if we should take anything that she sees there as significant, although many of the snippets seemed to refer to things that we have seen or been told. I have a sneaking suspicion that I could write a dissertation trying to analyze them all and that their significance will not become apparent until much later in the series, so to investigate them now would lead to many Spoilers. At first I thought that taking Drogon with her was a massive mistake, but I was proved wrong as he saved the day quite wonderfully. I was very interested in the tiny man at the door: what is he? I have read a suggestion that he is one of the Children of the Forest, which ties in with the use of weirwood for one of the final doors, but nothing is what it seems here, so I am keeping an open mind.

49. Tyrion XI

Although the clansmen are going to have a fine time annoying Stannis, I cannot help thinking that it was a very bad idea to send them all away. I know that Bronn has recruited a lot of sellswords, but I doubt that they will remain loyal and protect Tyrion when he needs them. However, he is still making good tactical decisions about the preparations for the siege, so I have hope that he will come through it in one piece, more or less. I fear that the self-proclaimed ‘Antler Men’ will have an unpleasant meeting with Bronn or his sellswords soon enough to reduce the impact of any treachery in the city.

I was surprised a little that Tyrion was regretful about Winterfell falling to Theon Greyjoy. He seemed to have real feeling that the Starks deserved to hold it that was not only based on his dislike for Theon. Of course, this could be one member of a Great House sympathizing with another and nothing more profound than that.

We have a second suggestion that magic has suddenly started to work more successfully and the Pyromancer specifically mentions that dragons might have that effect. Of course, this makes me wonder why the dragons died out in the first place and why they have returned now. It seems like someone thinks that a little more magic might be needed in the world just now, which is a pretty scary thought.

50. Theon IV

Oopsie! Theon has been outwitted by a cripple, an infant, a pair of ‘frogeaters’, a mentally-challenged stable boy, a woman and a pair of dire wolves: oh, I did laugh! I sincerely hope that something very unpleasant happens to Theon in the near future, because he really deserves it. I am trying to decide if he is actually stupid or just very naive, because he seems to have no clue how to deal with his men or those captured in Winterfell. Of course, he trusts Reek, so I tend to think that he is actually pretty dumb, because there is something so obviously WRONG about Reek that I wouldn’t be surprised to find the word written on his forehead. Plus, he brings along a set of the kids’ clothes just in case they need to ‘find’ a couple of bodies to bring back: this struck me as very strange. Who thinks like that and plans ahead for the situation? A psycho: that’s who.

I did feel a tiny bit sorry for Theon on the search, because he got increasingly desperate and petulant. I seriously thought that he was going to start crying like a little child denied a lollipop. I also liked Maester Luwin’s subtle digs and possible sarcasm. I know the good Maester is supposed to serve Winterfell, not the Starks, but I feel like he is a little biased against Theon. Also, yet again, Theon’s attitude towards women makes me want to slap his.

51. Jon VI

So, Osha is not the only lady wildling with a big axe and a yearning to use it. Ygritte is very brave and practical, much as Osha is and she shows great courage in the face of death. She is obviously going to be a significant character because Jon spared her life. I really hope that he does not regret his decision later. As a female, I am very ambivalent about his discomfort about murdering a woman: part of me wants him to treat all enemy soldiers as the same, but then I am quite happy that he is not an indiscriminate killing machine.

A large chunk of this chapter is given over to Ygritte telling the tale of Bael the Bard. It is unusual for us to get this kind of story in such detail, which makes me think that there must be some significance or foreshadowing going on. One obvious hint seems to be the mention of hiding in the crypts under Winterfell: I wonder if that is where Bran and the others are hiding out?

52. Sansa IV

I am not sure if Ser Dontos actually intends to fulfill his promise to Sansa or if it is just a drunken dream of his. He does seem to have some common sense in judging how well she is guarded and how safe she would be outside the city, but I am not sure if he will ever judge the time to be ‘right’ for her to leave. She has another encounter with the Hound, who always seems to be near to her. He is roaring drunk, obviously scared by the fires burning along the docks. I feel that there is a decent man inside the Hound trying to get out, but that years of abuse by his elder brother have destroyed his ability to show that man to anyone. It is nothing but ironic that Sansa is aided by the two ‘worst’ knights in the city.

Poor girl, she is not having a good day: an awful nightmare and then waking to a bed covered in blood. Her fear that this will mean that she must marry Joffrey is horrible to read as are her desperate attempts to hide the evidence. Although I am not sure how she could explain the state of her bedroom, I can understand her need to do something even if it is futile. Cersei’s comments about the joys of becoming a woman leave a lot to be desired, but she is a bitter woman who has never come to terms with her own thwarted ambitions, so I suppose that they are hardly surprising. However, I do feel like she is being particularly coarse in order to make Sansa even more uncomfortable.

53. Jon VII

I am not quite sure what Qhorin expected Jon to do, but he seems very neutral about Ygritte’s fate. I cannot believe that he does not see her as a threat to their safety, because she will obviously betray their position to her people.

The dream that Jon experiences is confirmation that he is linked to Ghost, just as Bran and Rickon are. It is also significant that he is contacted by Bran via a weirwood. Bran appears to have opened his third eye and touches Jon to open his. I was very concerned about Ghost after the eagle attack and very relieved when they found him and tended to his wounds. Interesting that everyone but Jon seems to have heard of skinwalkers, and accepts that he is one of them without too much trouble. Perhaps this explains why Qhorin wanted to take him along with them. It seems like the eagle is being used another skinchanger, so maybe they come across this ability quite frequently.

I was rather touched by Squire Dalbridge’s decision to sacrifice himself to allow the others to escape. We see the ‘no-one gets left behind’ ethos so much in films and on TV that it was a surprise, although it does make perfect sense.

54. Tyrion XII

I refuse to believe that Bran and Rickon are dead. I am sure that Jon would have known, via Ghost, and we have just seen Bran alive.

I was pleasantly surprised that Cersei’s reaction was not more triumphalist, but as we find out that she is feeling very happy with herself, I guess it makes sense. She is amazingly blunt about Jaime throwing a child out of a window, showing no sympathy for Bran or his family: she really is cold-hearted, especially as she is so over-protective of her own children. I am not sure if I believe her comment about Varys trying to make them all depend upon him, but it could very well be true. However, her prideful assumption that she has outwitted Tyrion makes me distrust her political acumen. On the eve of battle, is it really a good idea to annoy the person running your city? She is so shortsighted that I am amazed that she can cross a room without falling over. However, Tyrion’s reaction was a coldblooded promise of retribution and I believe that he will carry out the threat: hopefully quite soon.

55. Catelyn VII

I really like the relationship developing between Catelyn and Brienne. Brienne is a genuinely nice person, despite all the bad treatment that she has suffered, and is very empathetic and moved by Catelyn’s grief. I like this about Brienne: she is a warrior and outwardly mannish, but she does not despise those women who have followed a more traditional path and she does not try to squash all her ‘womanly’ attributes.

It is an eternity since we last ‘saw’ Jaime himself although we have heard about him a lot. He seems to be quite sanguine and coping with his imprisonment quite well, although I am not sure how much of that is show and bravado. He is remarkably frank with Catelyn, answering her questions in return for answers of his own. Just like Cersei, he denies having anything to do with the assassin sent to knife Bran, which leaves us with a real mystery. He confirms Tyrion’s account of the betting at the tourney, although it sounds like he does know who won the knife. Inadvertently, he tells Catelyn of Littlefinger’s claim to have deflowered her.

He relates how Aerys killed Lord Rickard and Brandon Stark, which is amazingly cruel and makes it easier to understand why Jaime chose to kill the King. He is very bitter about this, because he sees it as his greatest act of honor and knighthood and yet he is reviled for it. What he says is very provoking, so I do hope that Catelyn does not want Brienne’s sword for something that cannot be undone.

56. Theon V

Theon is having horrible nightmares about murdering everyone at the mill to provide a couple of boys’ corpses to present as Bran and Rickon. I do not have a great deal of sympathy with him. He has placed all his trust in Reek, getting him to ‘deal with’ the men who knew about the fabrication: this is a stunningly stupid decision and will end in no good. Asha is quite right to call him a fool, as he gave no forethought to his marvelous plan to be King in the North. Just to show how truly hopeless he is, he has given Reek some money to go out get some men, who Reek will obviously hand straight over to Theon . . . of, course he will! I would trust Reek to do that, because Reek is a straight up, honest man!

57. Sansa V

This chapter reminded me quite a lot of Catelyn IV, when Catelyn prays in the little chapel on the night before Renly’s attack on Stannis. We learn quite a lot about the religion of the Seven, seeing how it is practiced by various people.

Yet again, Tyrion is polite, even gentle, with Sansa and is concerned for her safety, whilst Joffrey treats her more like a pet. I loved her jibes about Robb always fighting in the thickest part of the battle and Joffrey’s totally incomprehensible over confidence. I cannot wait for Joffrey to see the battle: he will need to change his small cloths after that!

Cersei is back to her bitter, overly coarse self with Sansa, taking particular delight in suggesting that they will all be raped if the city falls. She is described as being a little flushed, so I do wonder if she has had a few drinks to give her some courage. I do have to ask though: why is Ilyn Payne using Ned’s sword, Ice?

58. Davos III

Perhaps I have seen too many war films, but as soon as some highborn know-nothing disregards words of advice from an experienced man I know that his plan will fail miserably and they will all die. Ser Imry Florent is not only a highborn know-nothing, but Stannis’ brother-in-law, which makes me doubt his abilities even more. So, when he is rude to Davos, who is a jolly decent chap and knows quite a bit about boats, I know that it is all going to be a horrible mess. Unfortunately, my prediction comes true and they are thoroughly outmaneuvered by Tyrion’s preparations. I felt very sorry for the men wasted in this ill-conceived plan, especially as many of them die from wildfire burns.

I really hope that Davos survives because he is a nice guy and I want to read more about him.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson Blog Tour: Week 1

2012-06-23T17:04:00.001-04:00

Head on over to Carl's post to see what we all think of Part 1.