YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

Review of Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer by ER Barr

July 3, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I love me a good Celtic story and given that this one takes place in my home state of Wisconsin, how could I resist?

The Story

This book follows 17-year-old Conor Archer, a musician in a Celtic band downtown Chicago whose mother is in the final stages of cancer. On the evening of his mother’s death, a strange biker named Rory — with rather sharp teeth as it turns out — yanks him outside the pub, bites him on the hand and tells him that he’s going to go through some major changes. On his way home, he encounters a beautiful woman by a fountain who bandages his wounded hand but then right before his eyes, transforms into an old hag, who tells him that he only has a short time to live unless he acts quickly.

When he returns home that night, his mother, right before she dies, tells him that he has to return to Tinker’s Grove, Wisconsin, an old Irish immigrant town along the banks of the Wisconsin River where he is to stay with his Aunt Emily. It was a hometown that he had never heard about nor had his mother ever mentioned it.

He takes a bus to Tinker’s Grove, and by the time he arrives, he’s almost delirious because of the infection and the heartbreak of his mother’s passing. He tells the people standing around him that his name is Conor Archer and someone decides to take him by a Native America burial mound in order to be healed. The evening holds in store some very bizarre events and Conor’s new friends watch in awe as he is mysteriously healed.

It’s at this point the Conor realizes that Tinker’s Grove is a very mysterious place, with the odd web-fingered and web-toed children of the town called “Dark Ones” who seem to have animal-like powers, talk of a dangerous and ancient river demon named Piasa (the Devourer of Souls), and a strange being who, as myth holds it, came from the ancient Celtic lands centuries ago and who supposedly inhabits the Indian burial mound.

The days get even stranger from there as Conor begins to physically change — to transform — into something that’s not altogether human, and people seem to see Conor as a sort of savior who can save them from the imminent battle between good and evil, as an ancient evil is about to rise and destroy everything in its path.

As we learn as the story moves forward, it’s up to Conor Archer to bring the balance back, but he can only do so by embracing his true nature.

WHAT I LIKED

I love the folklore and mythology aspect of the story, in which the author incorporated figures from myth such as The Morrigan along with entirely new mythology creating a unique and fresh story. I love how this story weaved in aspects of Irish culture, Native American myths and even some of the old Celtic gods and goddesses.

The author also did a fantastic job of painting a vivid and lifelike picture of the mythical town of Tinker’s Grove, along with all of its strange inhabitants and the mystery surrounding it. This is a town where everyone has secrets, and Conor has to work hard to discover them. Yes, there is evil about to be unleashed, and I loved the way that the author slowly built it up in the realistic characters and the vivid description of place.

I also enjoyed how the story slowly unraveled to reveal more about the colorful characters and their motivations – those characters both human and not — and how every secondary character was essential to the story’s denouement. But not only were they essential, they were incredibly interesting as well.

It was fun how Conor discovers that his ancestry and life are not at all what he had always thought and in fact, he is part of a much larger destiny in which the future of Tinker’s Grove — the future of the world, in fact — depends on his decisions.

Speaking of Conor, he was completely relatable in all of his confusion, doubts, fumbling, struggles and insecurities so in this way, it was easy to empathize with all that he was going as he began changing into the being he was always meant to be and as a reader, I felt that I was living vicariously through him. I loved seeing Conor’s immense character growth as the novel progressed, as he moved to a frightened teen to the story’s hero who had to face an ultimate evil head-on.

It was especially fun that the author didn’t tell us right off the bat what it was that Conor was turning into, which really added to the story’s intrigue and kept me turning the pages. In fact, it wasn’t until the last part of the book that we learn what Conor was transforming into and why.

The villains — and yes, there are several — were delightfully wicked and one particular evil creature was something right out of our childhood nightmares. So often, the villains in novel ended up being clichéd and caricatures — not in this book. The villains were complicated, complex and had reasons for everything they did. Likewise, the heroes were equally complicated and multi-layered.

I found the many different types of meticulously thought-out creatures in this story to be mesmerizing. I loved their descriptions and especially liked learning about their abilities, their pasts, and their motivations.

I thought that the world building in this book was phenomenal and I felt the author did a fantastic job of blending — and then reshaping — elements of mythology, ancient culture, modern culture, science and realistic magic to create something genuinely original and believable.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There really wasn’t too much that I didn’t like about the novel.

This novel is incredibly long, just shy of six hundred pages, which probably could have used some additional editing. Though I did appreciate the attention to detail, there were parts of the novel that could have been cut and that dragged in places. But that being said, because of the length of the novel, the author was really able to flesh out all the characters and engage in some remarkably complex world-building.

There were also a lot of characters and a time or two when the narrative was jumping back and forth, I did get a tad confused. I also did find the dialog to be overly formal and stilted in several places.

FINAL VERDICT

This was a captivating, classic story of good and evil that I absolutely loved. This epic story had it all: heroes, demons, gods, goddesses, druids, fantasy, mystery and plenty of action which kept my interest right until the final page turn. It was a beautiful, emotional and haunting story — at times dark but ultimately hopeful — that is at once powerful and inspirational.

It is also a creative, beautifully written story with rich, detailed prose and evocative descriptions bordering on the poetic that sucked me right into the story. This was an exciting, breathtaking story with numerous plot twists, turns and revelations and a perfect blend of Celtic legend, Native American lore, and modern-day Wisconsin.

This is a journey that I’m so glad I took, and I ended up giving this book five stars.

You can check out Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

Review of Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

June 11, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Once I read the quirky synopsis of this story, I was instantly hooked and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. I was not disappointed and loved this story from beginning to end.

The Story

When Mila’s best friend Riley shows up dead in a nearby creek and police label her death a suicide, Mila is beside herself. Though devastated and stricken with grief, she knows deep in her heart that Riley would never kill herself and repeatedly insists to her parents as well as school administrators that Riley was murdered. Moreover, Riley’s is the third death at her school in the past week, which smells like too much of a coincidence for Mila.

Mila and Riley were both Wiccan and up to this point, had done some minor spells together. But when a curious ancient grimoire that contains a resurrection spell appears on Mila’s doorstep, she can’t resist the temptation. Given that none of the authority figures in her life believe her theory about Riley’s death, she decides to take matters into her own hands and cast the spell. It’s the only way to find out what really happened to her friend.

The spell, however, not only brings back Riley but also snobby mean-girls June and Dayton, her two classmates who had supposedly hung themselves a week earlier in some sort of suicide pact. Unfortunately, none of the girls can recall the specifics of their death, but they are all certain that they would never commit suicide.

Now with only seven days until the spell wears off meaning that the three girls will return to their graves, Mila along with her three undead friends race against the clock to find out how murdered them before he can find his next victim.

WHAT I LIKED

I enjoyed having a Wiccan main character in the book which I found fascinating and refreshing. I thought the author did an excellent job in portraying Wicca and delineating the difference between Wicca and Witchcraft. One of the tenants of Wicca is the Law of Three in which everything a witch does — especially spell work — comes back to them threefold, for good or ill. So I found it especially clever that Mila, instead of bringing only her friend back to life, ended up restoring life to all three of her recently deceased classmates, a humorous nod to the Law of Three (though we do learn at the end of the book why June and Dayton came back to life in addition to Riley).

I loved our main character Mila — a plus-sized snarky Mexican witch who could care less what other people thought about her and who did whatever was necessary to find justice for her friend Riley and her two undead compatriots. Her confidence and determination were impressive as was her devotion to Riley and her two new undead friends. That being said, Undead Girl Gang was an exploration of not only grief and loss but also friendship.

And the fact the Mila is fat has nothing to do with the plot, and the story doesn’t dwell on this fact at all. So in this way, I found the representation in this book refreshing. There’s also a scene in the book where the characters are called out for implying that “normal” is white. Though this was a small scene, it was one that especially stood out for me. The exact quote is below:

“And, for fuck’s sake, stop using ‘normal’ as code for ‘white’,” I snap. “Your life isn’t the ruler that the rest of the world gets measured against.”

I thought this book was wildly creative. There was one stipulation of the spell which I found clever and which made the three undead girls especially frightening should anyone encounter them. I loved the author’s original and entertaining take on the zombies in this story. Instead of giving us terrifying brain-eating zombies, we get three cranky and snarky undead teenagers who, much to Mila’s chagrin, are impossible to control and think nothing of walking down the street during broad daylight in the town where they were killed or even showing up to terrorize people at their own memorial.

That being said, it was also fun watching the girls interact with each other. It’s worth mentioning that Riley and Mila were not on friendly terms with June and Dayton while they were alive, so there were some major personality clashes going on in the story, which resulted in some great humor. The snarkiness, feistiness, sarcasm, back-handed insults and cattiness had me laughing out loud on several occasions. The interaction of these four girls was so much fun and warmed my heart, especially when unlikely friendships develop between them. It’s at this point the reader discovers that the book is not just about zombies and a serial killer, but it’s also about the complex relationships between teenage girls.

In addition to the outstanding humor, I found the magic system especially intriguing. I enjoyed reading about the different spells as well the materials and rituals necessary for the spells to work. It was in the magic system where the difference between Wicca and Witchcraft came into play. We learn that though Mila adhered to the Wiccan faith, the magic she was now using from the old grimoire was not Wiccan magic at all but rather a darker, more ancient magic, and as is the case with most magic systems, magic always comes with a price.

The mystery aspect of the story was well done, and the story took several exciting twists and turns until the killer is finally revealed. As the clocked ticked down, I found myself entirely invested in finding out who killed the girls and though I did suspect the murderer’s identity, I wasn’t quite sure, and I was still surprised when it all unfolded. The big reveal at the end was perfect, I felt, with the story being nicely tied up at the end.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There honestly wasn’t a whole lot that I disliked about this book. There were a couple of pacing issues with the book, I felt. The middle of the story dragged a bit for me, and the ending felt rushed.

I also wished the book would have gone into more detail about the Wiccan faith. It would have been interesting to learn more about how Riley and Mila got into Wicca and their past experiences with it. A little more in-depth explanation of the differences between Wicca and Witchcraft might also have been helpful.

The undead girls were also extremely stereotypical — the mean girls who rule the school trope. There were a couple of times when I felt their depiction was a tad over the top and initially, the girls felt more like caricatures than real people.

There was also one little thing that bugged me. Mila’s sister gives her a rubber hair band that she’s supposed to snap against her wrist whenever grief overcomes her, and she does so on several occasions. The idea of harming yourself or causing yourself pain to overcome grief did not sit well with me at all, and I found it rather disconcerting.

I’m also not sure if I’m entirely on board with the murderer’s reasoning for killing the girls. It seemed far-fetched and perhaps more than a bit unbelievable.

FINAL VERDICT

Zombies, witches, serial killers and a mystery to solve — what’s not to love? This was a fun, light-hearted yet serious look at friendship, redemption, grief and moving on. It was a fast read with a whole lot going on that kept me turning the pages. Though there were a murder and mystery elements to the story, it was about so much more than that. We have here a candid social commentary on high school hierarchies, on keeping up appearances, on belonging, and on friendship, with a particular focus on relationships. This is one of those books that keeps you thinking long after the last page is turned. This was a story with depth to it.

Though Undead Girl Gang deals with some serious topics, it does so in a humous over-the-top way. This may have been one of the funniest books I’ve read so far this year. The four girls ended up being wholly lovable and relatable, and I loved how they all came together at the end. It was also satisfying to see the depth each character had by the end of the book and the growth that took place for each of them.

This was a clever, charming and entertaining read with a beautiful ending and an engaging plot. The author really brought her characters to life in this story. So overall, I ended up loving this book, and I give it 5 stars.

You can check out Undead Girl Gang here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

May 21, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

All I knew about this was that it was a retelling of Cinderella and featured a Cyborg, which kind of gave me a Dr. Who vibe. Given that I’m a huge fan of Dr. Who, I figured that this was something that I’d like.

The Story

The is a dystopian story which takes place in the distant future — I think it was 100 years after World War 4 — in the city of New Beijing and follows a girl named Linh Cinder, a teenage cyborg who is a gifted mechanic. She was injured in a tragic accident in the past — though she has no memory of it — and because of scientific advances, doctors were able to save Cinder though to do so she had to become a cyborg – part human, part machine.

Still, underneath all of her metal, her computerized parts, and her prosthetic limbs, Cinder is human. But regardless, Cyborgs are considered second-class citizens — less than human — shunned by society and owned by their guardians. Cinder is more or less owned by her wicked stepmother Adri and detested by one of her step-sisters.

Each day, Cinder slaves away as a mechanic at the local market, repairing androids and other electronics. Unfortunately, she’s forced to hand over all her money to her stepmother or owner.

Now there are also people — or beings — called Lunars living on the moon who have the ability to manipulate the minds of Earthlings to make them see what they want them to see and do what they want them to do. So naturally, people of the Earth don’t allow these beings to reside on earth because of the danger for humans (though a few of them manage to sneak in).

And then there’s the evil queen Levana with a massive army who controls the minds of all the other Lunars and appears hell-bent on starting a war between the Lunars and the Earthlings with the goal of taking over the earth.

What she wants to do is to force Prince Kai, the crowned prince of the Eastern Commonwealth to marry her and then use her position as Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth to take over of the rest of the Earth.

And there’s also an incurable deadly plague called Letumosis that’s sweeping through the kingdom and killing off the citizens including people close to Cinder.

Then one day, Cinder’s life changes when the handsome Prince Kai when he stops by her booth to have her repair his android. She can’t deny the attraction she feels for the prince, but she knows that she can never act on it, confident that Prince Kai would be repulsed by her, should he learn that she’s actually a Cyborg.

Without giving anything away, let’s just that Cinder discovers a couple of secrets that put her smack in the center of the struggle between the Earth and the Moon, and the future of her planet may rest on the decisions she makes.

WHAT I LIKED

I really liked the premise of the story – taking the Cinderella fairy tale and placing it in a dystopian world where the Cinderella characters is a cyborg. I thought this was exceptionally original and enjoyed the author’s take on it.

I especially liked the fact that Cinder isn’t a passive damsel in distress like in the original story in which the heroine needs a man in order to be happy, but instead, she is a strong and independent woman who takes initiative on her own.

She was also one kick-ass heroine and in spite of the fact that she was a cyborg, found her quite realistic and believable.

The world building in this story was also amazing, and I enjoyed the futuristic city of New Beijing that the author came up with, including the strange new race of magical people on the moon called Lunars and a society in which Cyborgs aren’t that unusual.

The world had kind of a Blade Runner feel to it, I felt. But that could just be because I watched Blade Runner only recently and it was fresh in my mind.

I almost immediately found myself immersed in this strange and intriguing world. I also found it interesting how the author combined several different genres in the story and managed to make it all work: science fiction, dystopian, space opera, action/adventure, fairy tales, and even romance.

I’ve also read many fairytale retellings over the years, most of which haven’t been very good. Cinder, however, succeed in pulling it off while still providing all the essential elements of the Cinderella story – the evil stepmother, working ridiculously hard at menial tasks, a handsome prince, and even a ball. The ball scene, by the way, was awesome!

I thought the plot of the story was gripping with a lot of interesting subplots going on: there’s the deadly plague, Cinder’s plans of escaping New Beijing, political intrigue between Prince Kai and Queen Levana, Cinder’s own family dynamics and the big reveal of Cinder’s childhood and her background. The storyline was quite fast-paced and the premise original enough that I never found myself bored or impatient during the book.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

If you’re expecting major plot twists, there really aren’t any. I think there was supposed to be a huge secret — which was revealed at the end but I had it all figured out when I was less than 20% into the book.

I thought maybe I was wrong or that there would be additional plot twists but there were none. I always figured out well ahead of time what was going to happen. Thus, the story was highly predictable but still enjoyable.

And the romance between Kai and Cinder? I just didn’t feel it. This could be because Kai’s character felt a bit flat to me and I didn’t see as much depth with him as I would have liked.

There was also that insta-love thing going on, which really didn’t make sense in this story, especially considering Kai’s character and societal position. But I suppose this kept in line with the original Cinderella story in which Cinderella and the Prince were stuck by love after one glance.

The characters of the stepmother and Queen Levana were evil through and through with no redeeming qualities. I’ve mentioned this in the past, what I call the Snidely Whiplash syndrome when the villain doesn’t have any redeeming qualities whatsoever or any motivation for the evil they do. This was the case with these two, which made them a tad one dimensional. Adri, Cinder’s stepmother, for example, has no conscience at all and no remorse for how she treats Cinder.

The thing that I most disliked — or should I say detested — about this book was the ending. Or should I say the lack of ending. All of the trust and good faith that the author had built up during the story was utterly destroyed by the cliffhanger ending.

Actually, it didn’t even feel like a cliffhanger — more like the author stopped writing the story in the middle of the book.

There was no plot resolution, no character growth….it just… ended. I should have read the reviews before buying this. If I’d known that it would end abruptly where a chapter break should have been, then I would not have purchased it.

If you follow me, you already know my opinion on cliffhangers so I won’t belabor that point. I just was extremely disappointed that I purchased a book but instead of getting an entire book, ended up getting only part of one.

Final Verdict

I enjoyed this book up until the end. It was a fast-paced, intriguing retelling of the Cinderella story from a refreshing and unique perspective. Though it was predictable, it was nonetheless wildly entertaining and a fun ride.

Unfortunately, the lack of ending ruined it for me and I will not be continuing with the series.

If however, you don’t mind a cliffhanger ending then, by all means, check out the Lunar Chronicles. Cinder is a great start to the series in my opinion, and the entire series is finished from what I understand so you won’t have to wait a year to see what happens. I’ve heard great things about it, and it has many positive reviews. It just wasn’t for me.

You can check out Cinder here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of the Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

May 20, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I admit that I’m a sucker for a witchy story so I couldn’t wait for this book to come out.

THE STORY

The story opens by introducing us to Rona Blackburn, a powerful witch who comes to Anathema island shortly after the island’s founders established themselves. Frightened by the island’s witch, the eight founding father attempt to kill Rona but are unsuccessful. Enraged by the islander’s deception, Rona places a curse upon all their descendants as well as her own.

So then we fast forward to the present day and follow 16 year old Nor Blackburn, Rona’s most recent descendant. Nor tries to keep her ever-growing magical abilities under wraps and life as normal a life as possible.

But the thing with Nor, is that she’s not like any of the other Blackburn witches before her. Up until now, each Blackburn witch had only one supernatural power with they refer to as “Burdens”. For example, her grandmother Judd has the ability to heal.

Nor’s powers, however, seem to be expanding and she’s discovering new abilities all the time. She’s afraid that others may react the way the founding fathers did toward her ancestor Rona — suspect Nor of dipping in Black Magic. Nor keeps her secret to herself, not even confiding in her Grandmother, who’s raised her.

In addition, Nor is dealing with severe emotional trauma suffered at the hands of her powerful and sociopath mother Fern. Though her mother abandoned her when Nor was only a child, the trauma remains and Nor copes by engaging in self-cutting, which I will admit, was difficult to read about.

So then a book surfaces at the Wiccan shop where Nor works entitled “The Price Guide to the Occult” which promises to cast any spell at all for the right price written and authored by none only than Vern Blackburn, Nor’s evil mother.

Moreover, the book divulges actual authentic spells from the Blackburn family. It becomes increasingly obvious to Nor’s family that the book’s success is due to dark, evil magic for which there is always a terrible price.

So the book’s publication sets in motion events tied to black magic and Nor senses that evil connected to that magic is headed straight for the island and has little doubt that this evil will be in the form of her mother.

But the question, is whether Nor’s magical abilities are enough to stop her wicked, murderous mother.

WHAT I LIKED

First off, what a beautiful book! The embossed writing on the hardcover book itself — there is no dust jacket — and the red-edge pages are gorgeous.

As for the story, the author did an excellent job at bringing to life the setting of the small town on Anathema island where we have places such the Sweet & Savory bakery and the Witching Hour Wiccan shop. And we must not forget the creepy cemetery tours as well as the plethora of the animals and plant life that the author describes.

There was really a rich sense of place in the story and it was quite atmospheric, which made the island all the more magical for me. I felt like I was right there along with all the characters.

I found the story itself to be gripping and compelling, though it ended up being a little darker than I had anticipated. I especially enjoyed the backstory of the Blackburn women, which I found fascinating. I would have actually love to know more detail about each of Rona’s descendants.

Nor’s character, while tough to read about at times, was especially multi-layered as she struggled not only with her ever-growing magical powers and the curse placed upon the Blackburn women by her ancestor, but she also had to contend with inner turmoil from being abused and then abandoned by a heartless mother.

There was also her constant struggle not to cut herself as she did in the past. It was heartbreaking to read at times as her urge for self-harm almost overwhelmed her but in a testament to the strength and courage of her character, she was able to overcome those urges, knowing that cutting herself is not the way to deal with her problems. So in this way, she was a character who had to fight not only inner demons and external monsters as well.

I loved all the fresh, complex and original secondary characters in the novel: grandmother Judd and her wife Apothia, Madge, Nor’s best friend Savvy, the enigmatic Gage, her crush, Reed and all the unique island folks.

The author did an excellent job of bringing them all to life, and they jumped off the page for me while I was reading the story. I enjoyed reading about their histories and their life on the island and appreciated how each character introduced was important to the unfolding of the story.

Vern’s character, however, was terrifying and chilling. She was the ultimate villain: vicious, heartless, clever and clearly insane with no remorse. Once Vern appears, the story definitely takes a darker turn as she causes some pretty horrifying, gruesome deaths.

The story also had an intriguing magic system, and I liked the idea that each Blackburn woman possessed only one witchy ability which they called Burdens, and any of them who manifests magic outside of her Burden is engaging in Black Magic, which of course, is a huge no-no. The magic as described in the book is vivid and distinctive — the unique descriptions of Judd healing others and the hand pain she experienced in doing so seemed so life-like that I could almost feel her pain as I read along.

In fact, I found all the magical descriptions equally fascinating. One Blackburn witch had the ability to manipulate minds while another to ease the transition to death. Nor’s first Burden was at the ability to hear the thoughts of plants and animals which I found an especially interesting ability.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

While I did enjoy aspects of Vern’s character, I felt that she was a little over the top. She’s kind of what I refer to as a “Snidely Whiplash villain” in which there are no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

She said herself once during the book that she didn’t need money as she could conjure whatever she wanted. So I was a bit unclear as to the purpose of her publishing the book — to allow readers to obtain whatever they desired.

I didn’t really get the motivation for Vern to become a famous author and make scads of money if money wasn’t what she was after. I always like my villains to have a strong reason for what they do — not just be evil for the sake of being evil. So in this way, Vern was a bit one dimensional as there was no real motivation behind her actions.

Though I felt that the author did an excellent job with most of the characters, I also felt the Reed, Nor’s love interest, was a little bland and could also have used a bit more development.

Additionally, I was confused as to why Nor didn’t confide in her grandmother about her extra abilities. The reasoning why she hid her powers from her family was unclear to me, especially when she could have been assisting Judd all along with healing the people in the community. Likewise, Judd may have been able to help Nor understand and control her new abilities.

The ending felt a little bit unsatisfying for me. Well, it wasn’t the ending actually; it was the epilogue. Though the plot does completely wrap up at the end — that is to say, it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger — the resulting situation for our main characters as put forth in the epilogue was not all that desirable.

There wasn’t really a “happily ever after” here, as our characters are under heavy suspicion, scrutiny and perhaps even danger by society as the book’s end. The epilogue could pave the way for a sequel I suppose, but overall, I wasn’t a fan.

FINAL VERDICT

Overall, this was an enjoyable story with an engaging storyline and rich, interesting characters. It was a tad slow-paced at first but really picked up steam toward the last quarter of the book.

That being said, I still found it an enchanting story, and the writing was evocative and lyrical with rich, lush prose that was at times haunting.

Be warned, however, that the book does explore some dark themes such as parental abandonment, self-harm, and abuse which may be triggers for some people.

Though it was darker then I had initially expected, I felt that Walton has crafted a wonderfully spooky story with a great deal of atmosphere and a thrilling sequence of events leading to an explosive climax. This is a well-told tale riveting tale with an intriguing magic system, and I’m glad I read it. I give it 4 stars.

You can check out The Price Guide for the Occult here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of Thunderhead by Neal Schusterman

April 23, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Thunderhead book cover Thunderhead is book two in the Arc of a Scythe series so if you haven’t yet read Scythe, this review may contain some spoilers for the first book. But I’ll try not to give away too much.

The Story

Thunderhead picks up a year after where the first novel in the series “Scythe” left off. So if you’re not familiar what a scythe does, or what scythes are or don’t know what the Thunderhead is, then you’ll probably want to read the first book before watching this review.

It’s worth first mentioning that there are no longer any governments in this society – all jurisdiction falls under what is called The Thunderhead (evolved from the Internet’s “Cloud”), which is the title of this Novel.

The Thunderhead is the ultimate jurisdiction and knows everything about everyone, and intervenes when necessary. As a society, nobody fears the Thunderhead; on the contrary, it is revered, almost like a god. The Thunderhead protects and provides for everyone. It has also developed its own consciousness as it evolved from cloud to thunderhead.

The one exception to the Thunderhead intervening in the lives of others is when it comes to Scythe business. It was agreed upon long ago that the Thunderhead would have absolutely no jurisdiction when it came to Scythes —- and it completely and always stays out of Scythe business.

But even though the Thunderhead cannot get involved in Scythe business without breaking its own rules, it watches — and it becomes increasingly apparent to the reader that it does not like what it sees.

One of the main characters in the book is Scythe Anastasia, who has recently caused quite a ruckus in the Scythdom because of her gleaning methods. You see, instead of just sticking someone with a knife without any warning (which is the custom of her mentor, The Grande Damme of Death), Scythe Anastasia gives her subjects one month to get their affairs in order. Not only that, she allows them to choose their own method of gleaning. Such actions are unheard of in the Scythedom, and the old guard was pretty up in arms about it. But as with all scythes, she has a right to glean as she sees fit. I felt that Scythe Anastasia really came into her own in this novel.

There’s another scythe who’s also attracting a lot of attention these days, and that’s Scythe Lucifer. Scythe Lucifer is a rogue scythe who is hunting down corrupt scythes as a vigilante and bringing permanent death — by burning — to those scythes who do not adhere to the original principals of compassion and high moral standards. The scythdom is outraged by his actions, and any attempts to put a stop to his killing of scythes has failed. It’s also worth mentioning that Scythe Lucifer is someone whom Scythe Anastasia knows and cares about very much.

I find it interesting that both of these scythes are trying to fix the same problems only they have extremely different methods of doing so, one from the inside, one from the outside.

Given that the Thunderhead has no jurisdiction over the Scythedom, it has done absolutely nothing to stop Scythe Lucifer from killing Scythes. Even though the Scythdom has asked the Thunderhead for intervention, the Thunderhead has refused, which the Scythdomn found strange and unsettling. But what’s the kicker is that Scythe Lucifer is not a scythe nor has he ever been ordained as one. So naturally, it doesn’t make sense to the scythdom why the Thunderhead hasn’t stepped in and put a stop to these murders.

Scythe Lucifer himself is confused and surprised by the Thunderhead’s apparent lack of intervention — he thought for sure the Thunderhead would put a stop to his antics right away. But when it didn’t, Scythe Lucifer figures “what the hell” and keeps right on doing what he’s doing. That is until he falls into the hands of an old enemy.

Scythe Lucifer isn’t the only one who is taken aback by this enemy’s appearance. In fact, this person’s resurfacing throws the Scythedom into utter chaos as a result of his scheming, conniving, deceit and malice, we can’t help but wonder whether the Thunderhead will eventually break its own rules and intervene. Let me just say that some really horrible things happen at the hands of this enemy.

There is also a new and multi-layered character named Greyson Tolliver who plays an important role between the scythdom and the Thunderhead, and I can’t wait to see how that role will evolve in the next book.

What I Liked

One aspect of this novel that I especially enjoyed was that we delve deeper into the Thunderhead’s brain and learn more about how the Thunderhead operates and thinks, through various “diary entries”, much like we saw with the Scythe Journals in the first book. I felt that the Thunderhead viewpoints were not only fun but also added an incredible element to the story.

Like the first book in the series, the world building is amazing, especially once the island comes into the scene. I definitely felt like I was there in person. For some reason, I felt that the world building was much expanded from the first book making it even more believable.

I also really liked the new character of Grayson Tolliver and his connection between both the Thunderhead and the Scythdom. It really worked for me when the Thunderhead sends Grayson to do things the Thunderhead can’t because of its own laws. I’m really curious to see what the Thunderhead has in store for him. And that’s all I’m going to say on that matter because as always, we never want to head into spoiler territory.

Like the first book, I adore the writing style, and the story-telling is first-rate. I love how the book deals with the questions of life and death in a utopian society. I also liked that it was practically impossible to predict how this book would end and it caught me totally off guard — in the best possible ways.

I also liked how the Thunderhead is an AI – basically a machine — but it displays an astonishing degree of human emotions, which, as the story progresses, we can’t help but wonder what would happen if the Thunderhead were to exhibit, shall we say, anger or outrage?

I have to admit that I was a bit leery going into this book as my experience has often been that the middle book in a series falls kind of flat. Not so here. This book was amazing.

Oh, one thing that gave me a chuckle was that one of the scythe’s name was Scythe Beyonce.

What I Disliked

I can’t say that I really disliked any of the plot devices, character development or story elements. Of course, I detested the villains so so much — but then again, we’re supposed to And yes I’m using the plural here as there is more than one villain in this tale,

Though I wasn’t too thrilled that it ended on a such a cliffhanger, I did feel that the momentous ending was very well done.

But other than that, I can’t pinpoint anything that I particularly disliked about this novel.

Verdict

Fantastic multi-layered characters who experience immense growth from one novel to the next, perfect pacing and a serpentine plot that takes numerous unexpected turns, made this book a delight to read. It was a thought-provoking, fast-paced, gripping, and haunting tale with plenty of dramatic action and political intrigue — and I absolutely loved it. This book blew my mind.

Now all I will say is that there his a HUGE climax and twist of the nail-biting variety at the end of this book which left its hook deep within me and now I can’t wait for the next book. Even though I am not a fan of cliffhangers, I have no choice but to give this book 5 stars, and I loved it that much. Often, I feel robbed when slapped with a cliffhanger ending but not so with Thunderhead. This ending satisfied but yet wanting more.

I just hate that I have to wait until 2019 to see this story resolved in the final installment called “The Toll.”

You can check out Thunderhead here at Amazon or at the Book Depository

This review was transcribed from a video review on my YouTube channel “Roger’s Reads”

Review of The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

April 16, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is the first book in a new trilogy by Philip Pullman. It’s actually the prequel to the His Dark Materials series, which included The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. I read them many years ago and to be truthful, I remember almost nothing about them. I do remember that I enjoyed them, however. From what I gather, the main character in the His Dark Materials series is Lyra. Again, I don’t remember. Well, in The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, Lyra is just a babe.

Story

The story follows 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead who helps out at The Trout, the inn that is owned by his parents. Malcolm and his daemon Astra tend to hear all of the local gossip, including scandals and intrigue, including news about the oppressive religious authority which has, as of late, become more powerful and perhaps more deadly. A creepy Hitler-Youth-like organization called the League of St. Alexander that enlists children to spy on their parents and teachers begins to take hold in the school, and as it becomes stronger, teachers begin to disappear along with some students’ parents.

So one day, Malcolm comes across a strange message in an acorn and eventually discovers the person for whom the message was intended. This person, who we can think of as kind of a spy, asks Malcolm to keep his eyes and ears open and report anything of interest to her – in other words, she enlists him as a spy.

Malcolm also spends a good amount of his time running errands for the nuns directly across the river. It’s at the Priory that Malcolm encounters the baby Lyra, who had been given to the nuns for safekeeping. There is an entire scandal that goes along with Lyra’s birth. Anyway, Malcolm is immediately taken by Lyra and become increasingly attached to the infant as the days progress.

But as he soon learns, there are dark forces afoot and they seem to be centered on the baby Lyra. One of these include the CCD – a branch of the Magisterium which is an oppressive religious sect vying to be the dominant religion which doesn’t seem to have any problems with making people disappear; and the other including villainous scientists who have their own agenda in regards to Lyra, which we are not yet privy to. I found it interesting that we had both villains and heroes on both the religious side and the secular side so, in this way, neither of them was singled out.

What follows then is a harrowing and gripping adventure as Malcolm and Alice (a scullery maid) along with their daemons try to stay one step ahead of their enemies to keep the infant safe (especially from the malevolent scientist Gerard Bonneville and his hyena daemon). Without giving too much away, let me just say that a good part of the novel took place in Malcolm’s trusty canoe, which he had named “La Belle Sauvage”, hence the title of this volume. So in this way, the book is part spy novel, part adventure novel, part coming-of-age story which revolves around two children and one infant, all of which are in true peril.

What I Liked

Now Daemons are one of the coolest part of Philip Pullman’s novels. If you’re unfamiliar with Pullman’s daemons, they are a kind of a supernatural creature — like part of your soul — that appear as talking animals and accompany you where you go. In fact, if you wander away too far from your daemon, it results in severe physical pain. I’m not sure if it would kill you if you move away too much, but I think so. In this world, everyone has a daemon but children’s daemons can shape-shift into other animals.

For instance, Malcolm’s daemon Astra switches into a cat, a bird, a month, an owl, just to name a few. I kind of thought of the daemons as an extension of a person’s soul. It’s also interesting to note that if a person is asleep or unconscious, so is their daemon. Once people become an adult, however, the daemon settle down into a permanent shape, which is a reflection of the individual’s personality, much like our personality settles down once we reach adulthood. The primary characters of Alice, Malcolm and Lyra are young enough that their daemons often change form, which made the story extra interesting.

I thought Bonneville was the ultimate terrifying villain. He was absolutely chilling — the kind of evil mastermind that gives little kids nightmares, especially as he, along with his equally frightening daemon, relentlessly pursued Malcolm, Alice and Lyra over the course of several days. I thought he was perfect for this story.

I also felt that Malcolm was a marvelous protagonist: brave, protective, loyal, resourceful, and wise beyond his years. Though only a child himself, I was especially impressed with his overpowering need to put Lyra above everything else and do whatever was necessary to ensure his safety.

It’s funny, after one especially harrowing part of the book, I recall Malcolm saying something to the effect of, “I’m way too young to be going through all this.” I had to agree. But he was definitely up to the task, and he was always ready to fiercely protect the baby. This eleven-year-old boy ended up being a larger than life characters in this book.

I also really liked the theme of conflict between the oppressive religious authoritarianism and the basic right of human freedom, a recurrent theme, if I’m not mistaken, in other Pullman novels. I thought this conflict was well presented in the book and liked the fact that Pullman presented both the good and the evil sides of it.

What I Didn’t Like

The first part of the novel consisted of heavy world building and backstory, so it did seem kind of slow at the get-go. But once the setting was laid out, then things really take off as we move from one nail-biting experience to another.

Another thing I didn’t care for was the abrupt ending. I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, and this book did kind of end on one. Not terribly so, but enough that I found it annoying. For instance, we really don’t find out the reason that everyone is after Lyra. All we know is that it has something to do with this illusive Dust. The ending scene felt more like a momentary reprieve rather than the conclusion of a book, which didn’t feel all that satisfying to me.

Final Verdict

This is a remarkable addition to the His Dark Materials series, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this series is going to go. La Belle Sauvage was one of those books that had my heart racing on more than one occasion and that I just couldn’t put down. Pullman’s storytelling ability is unsurpassed, in my opinion, and I found this a thrilling ride.

I loved the strong world-building and character development, and felt that this story really came to life for me with the vibrant characters, the exciting adventures and the beautiful narrative. Well written with strong characters and a marvelous sense of place, La Belle Sauvage is a captivating story of good and evil that will linger long after the last word is read.

This book had it all: spies, devastating floods of biblical proportions, life-and-death boat races, gentle nuns, intolerant and inquisition-like religious organizations, brave heroes and heroines fighting for freedom and liberty, brave heroes and heroines fighting for their lives, creepy mausoleums, nefarious villains, mad scientists and even supernatural creatures such as witches and faeries.

I ended up loving this book, in spite of the rather abrupt ending and will definitely be reading the next installment in the series. I just hope we don’t have to wait too long. I ended up giving this book 4 stars.

You can check out the book here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.