Okay yes. I haven't updated in forever. I suck.
Partly this is due to the fact that my reading has been embarrassingly of the escapist variety these last few months. I feel like I have a reputation to maintain :)--friends are constantly asking me, "what are you reading right now?" and I wish I could tell them it was something deep and meaningful. But the truth is, between working as much as I do, and all the projects I've taken on lately, I’ve been keeping it light in my book nook.
I’ve hit a reading slump—does anyone else ever feel that way? I’ve always been a big fan of simultaneous reading but there comes a point when you start and stop a few that just hang there, unfinished, until finally I kick myself and just read. Case in point, I’m currently stuck halfway though three amazing books:
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer
“American Gods” by Neill Gaiman
“Venus in Transit” by Shirley Hazzard
All amazing. I swear. It’s this slump I tell you. Suddenly they are all sitting there, bookmarked and accusatory on my bedside table. And the “To Read” list just gets longer and more daunting. At best I have only 60 or so more years to get cracking J.
With that being said, I am reading, I’m just keeping it breezy. At the moment my pleasure reading mainly consists of fantasy novels, some with a supernatural theme running through them. I'm the first to admit that the paranormal fantasy genre has become a bit difficult to navigate ever since the advent of "Twilightmania" (ugh)--every woman out there seems to have decided to pick up a pen and write the next great vampire novel, which has resulted in a large amount of vapid dreck (snobby aren't I?).
On the other hand, after a lot of review scanning, I have managed to latch on to several fantasy authors, some new and some established, who have managed to do something new and interesting in their little corner of the fantasy genre.
The best is when you discover a great LONG series (of any genre). It gives you something to look forward to each year! I'm happy to say I have a good-sized list of authors whose books I pre-order. Some are so good that the wait until the next one is like agony (seriously… ask my friends, I moan about it a lot). Don't even get me started on a huge series like "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon--almost three years between each book! Sometimes when I finish one I think I might die waiting.
Without further adieu, I give you my list of fantasy books to be published this spring that make me go "SQUEEEEE!!!!"
by Cassandra Claire
Publish Date: April 5, 2011
This is a fantastic series that a friend of mine turned me on to last year (thanks Jenny!). The series revolves around a girl named Clary who stumbles upon a magical group of warriors known as Shadowhunters, dedicated to eradicating demons. They come from a sort of parallel universe that exists at the edges of our own. I love this sort of urban fantasy style (a la Charles de Lint)--you know, the "if you squint a little and look sideways out of one eye you might catch a glimpse of the troll who lives under the Brooklyn bridge" sort.
-- City of Ashes (Book 2)
The Mortal Instruments was originally meant to be a trilogy but last year the author announced that there would be an additional three books continuing the story, as well as a prequel trilogy of which the first book has already been published (and enjoyed thoroughly by moi). The story is complex and never dull with plenty of action. Recently it was announced that they are casting an upcoming movie version, which I have mixed feelings about since this is technically a teen series. Other than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, they always seem to botch good fantasy when it comes to the movie version. Still, a good recommendation for readers of all ages—as in this is PG rated paranormal fantasy.
-City of Bones (Book 1)
~~~
"Bite Club" (Morganville Vampires Book 10)
by Rachel Caine
Okay, this is one of those series that I avoided for a long time because it looked lame, even though it came very highly recommended by a bunch of my book groups. I finally came across one of Caine's Morganville short stories in an anthology of horror and it made me decided to give this series a chance. Man am I glad I did. This is a teen series that I recommend to a person of any age mainly because the premise is so darn creative. I also find her character dialogue spot on--it reminds me a lot of how people I know actually talked in their teens and early twenties, as in a lot of very sarcastic banter.
"No, not you two. Stay here." "Does he just not get how unfair and sexist that is?" Eve asked. "Men." "You really want to go first?" "Of course no. But I'd like the chance to refuse to go first."
- Lord of Misrule (Book 5)
Anyway, the gist of the series is that the main character, Claire, moves to a tiny town called Morganville in the middle of nowhere to attend a small college. I adore this protagonist mainly because she's an all-brain, nerdy MacGyver type--my favourite kind of chick! Claire has been accepted into college at age 16, which makes her a genius, but not very popular with her classmates. As a result of some bullying from fellow students, Claire is forced to look for off-campus housing and moves in with an eclectic bunch of misfits: Michael, Shane & Eve, who form the main cast for all of the books. The others soon enlighten Claire as to the true nature of the town--Morganville is run by a large group of vampires who control everything that happens in the town and everyone who resides there.
There is no such thing as unlimited trust. At some point, all beings with free will can, and will, betray you when you're no longer pursuing the same goals.
The crazy thing about the premise is that the vampires are fairly organized—still vicious killers—but choosing to live in relative harmony with the human, so long as they are obeyed. Every human donates blood to the cause and must be sponsored by a vampire "protector" to move freely about. The series probes some fairly dark themes when it comes to free will as Claire becomes more and more valuable to the vampires for her intelligence.
"You know, I thought you were a mousy little thing when I first saw you, Claire, but you're not, are you? Not underneath."
Oh, I am mousy," she said. "All this scares the hell out of me. But I don't know what else to do, sir, except try. Even a mouse bites."The Dead Girls’ Dance (Book 2)
When the last book (“Ghost Town”) came out, one of the reviews I read said that every time they read one of Rachel Caine's books they thought there was nowhere else to take the story and yet in every subsequent book her plots take a turn that just shocks you—very apt. I'm highly anticipating this next book and I expect great things from her in the future.
~~~
"Dead Reckoning" (Sookie Stackhouse Book 11)
by Charlaine Harris
Publish Date: May 3, 2011
Yes, this is the infamous True Blood Series. What can I say? I love it. I picked up the first one before I had ever heard of the TV show—I thought it was interesting that they were set in Louisiana. I flew through the first one and took books 2 and 3 on the plane when I flew to London and then to Paris. By the time I landed I had finished them and was desperate for the whole series. Unfortunately for me, they hadn’t been published outside of North America yet and I had to wait until we were back in the U.S. to dash out and quickly purchasing them at our local Borders. I think I scared a couple of nice booksellers in England: “You don’t understand—I have to have this book!”
Nowadays I do watch the HBO version and I love the show, but the two can’t really be compared in any useful way. Aside from a very loose character basis, and a few plot points, the show and the original novels don’t have all that much in common.
I love the tone of the books, which has a certain wry humor to it and is told entirely from the perspective of Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress in the tiny town of Bon Temps (very fictional place that is meant to be close to Shreveport, Louisiana). At the start of the series, the existence of vampire has been public knowledge for a couple of years.
"You've reached Fantasia, where the undead live again every night," "For bar hours, press one. To make a party reservation, press two. To talk to an alive person or a dead vampire, press three. Or, if you were intending to leave a humorous prank message on our answering machine, know this: we will find you."
The premise is that vampires going public has been made possible by the creation of a synthetic blood substitute called “True Blood”. Sookie gets sucked into the supernatural world as her telepathy makes her a fairly valuable commodity in various power struggles between various supernatural groups (the series involves a veritable cornucopia of werewolves, fairies and demons). Poor Sookie always ends up in the middle of everything, and let me tell you, Charlaine Harris is not gentle with her protagonists.
-- Dead and Gone (Book 8)
I don’t think a single book ends without Sookie having to seek medical treatment of some kind—beaten, bitten, tortured, the list goes on. The series started out more funny and suspenseful but there has been an increasingly dark progression as the story has progressed. I wasn’t sure the character was going to bounce back after this last book but I hoping she might get a bit of a break in the upcoming installment. Charlaine Harris has only signed on to do three more books and I’m pulling for a happy ending—no heroine has earned it more. As a warning, while the series is nowhere as raunchy as the show, there are some R-ish rated parts. Violence alone… *whistles*.
I'm supposed to be a Christian, but most days I don't feel like I can even presume to say that about myself any longer. I have a lot of mad left over. When I can't sleep, I think about the other people who didn't care how much pain and trouble they caused me. And I think about how good I'd feel if they died. -- Dead in the Family (Book 10) ~~~ “Heartless” (The Parasol Protectorate Book 4) By Gail Carriger Publish Date: June 28, 2011
This series was a real find and it continues to tickle me pink. Three words: Victorian. Paranormal. Steam punk. Who the heck comes up with something like that? Gail Carriger, that’s who. It takes place in an alternate history Victorian England where supernatural beings are accepted as part of polite society—picture Jane Austen meets Bram Stoke. The main character, Alexia Tarrabotti, has three problems: (1) she’s unmarried at the ripe old age of 25, (2) she’s half-Italian (apparently a real stain on one’s character in Victorian England), and (3) she has no soul.
Miss Tarabotti was not one of life's milk-water misses--in fact, quite the opposite. Many a gentleman had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice--that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation. -- Soulless (Book 1)
In this alternate universe, there are rare people, like Alexia and her father, who lack a soul. This renders her somewhat unsettling to most people and also renders any supernatural creature powerless and human when they come into contact with her. I love this character—she disturbingly forthright, frisky, and delightfully well read.
“I have died and gone to the land of bad novels.”
-- Blameless (Book 3)
These are books to make you laugh out loud. The pages are laced with what, after reading her blog, is probably Carriger’s witty personality coming through. Tons of steampunk trappings in these books: Alexia is even known for a special parasol she has designed for her that is bursting with crazy doodads, weapons and tools that can be used at a moment’s notice. Definitely a fun romp of a read.
Highland werewolves had a reputation for doing atrocious and highly unwarranted *things*, like wearing smoking jackets to the dinner table.
-- Soulless (Book 1)
~~~
“Naamah’s Blessing” (The Morin Trilogy Book 3)
By Jacqueline Carey
Publish Date: June 29, 2011
Another epic fantasy/adventure universe that I have loved for many years. I first read Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart Series, which is actually made up of two trilogies that tell one continuous story but split between two protagonists. The series is set in an alternate-history early Europe from the point of view of a young courtesan-come-spy named Phedre. Yes, the plot gets quite raunchy at times, but the plot is complex and incredibly large in scale—vast travel, espionage, violence and plenty of stunning plot twists. Phedre narrates the first three books, with her foster son, Imriel, picking up the story in the second trilogy.
When Love cast me out, it was Cruelty who took pity upon me.
-- Kushiel’s Dart (Phedre Trilogy, Book 1)
I began this third trilogy believing that the story would pick up again from where it left off and was fairly upset upon realizing that the new story was beginning from a point of time centuries past the end of “The Imriel Trilogy”. However, Carey continuous to be a fantastic storyteller and I was hooked on the new protagonist very quickly. This set focuses on a very different kind of protagonist and I was surprised that the author chose to focus this time of a woman coming from a culture and group of people that was quite vilified in the first series. I admire that she is interested in exploring all aspects of the world she has created.
We pay for sins we do not remember, and seek to do a will we can scarce fathom. That is what it is to be a god's chosen.
-- Kushiel’s Avatar (Phedre Trilogy, Book 3)
The protagonist, Morin, is of the Maghuin Dhonn, a feared and mysterious earth-dwelling tribe who worship a God that appears to them as a bear. Misfortune follows Morin throughout her life and she ends up journeying across the sea and farther in search of destiny. The Phedre and Imriel series had their protagonists traveling throughout Europe, Russia, Northern Africa and the Middle East but in the Marin trilogy the story takes place mainly on China and India, especially in the second book.
We speak of stories ending, when in truth it is we who end. The stories go on and on.
-Kushiel's Avatar (Phedre Trilogy, Book 3)
I still don’t know if I can say I like it quite as much as the very first trilogy, which I must have read a dozen times by now, but its nearly as enjoyable and I simply love a well-spun tale of adventure with a few raunchy highlights. I assume its redundant at this point that I tell you this is not a book for younger readers. Also not a book I would recommend to the easily offended.
