The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
I’ve been waiting for this to come out for a long time and maharetr made the last few hours more tantalising by SMSing me a picture of her holding it when she picked it up for me.
I loved it!
Young adult dark fantasy featuring magicians, demons and a fearless sword wielding hero. Nick is all young and broody which he can be forgiven for, what with being on the run, having a crazy mom and being made to go to school by his fabulous older brother Alan. Said brother Alan does everything he can to care for for Nick, protecting his small family from malnutrition and demonically possessed ravens (but not plumbing). This is a first novel and young writing but has creative world building, passionate, interesting relationships and some delightful irreverent snark. I’m not sure which brother I adore the most :)
He peered into the cupboard again. The pipes made an ominous gurgling sound, and the bottom of the cupboard became the site of the world’s tiniest waterfall.
“I can be a sensitive intellectual type as well,” he said at length. “If the other option is drowning under our sink.”
“Save us all from a watery grave or cook your own dinner. It’s entirely up to you.”
It was a compelling point. Nick could cook his own dinner, but Alan actually worked at being a good cook. He made everything from scratch, and the sizzling sound of food hitting the pan and the sudden rich smell of frying vegetables made his argument for him. Nick glared, which was effective when dealing with everyone but his brother. Then he took the knife out of his wrist sheath, laying it carefully alongside his sword, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
I loved it!
Young adult dark fantasy featuring magicians, demons and a fearless sword wielding hero. Nick is all young and broody which he can be forgiven for, what with being on the run, having a crazy mom and being made to go to school by his fabulous older brother Alan. Said brother Alan does everything he can to care for for Nick, protecting his small family from malnutrition and demonically possessed ravens (but not plumbing). This is a first novel and young writing but has creative world building, passionate, interesting relationships and some delightful irreverent snark. I’m not sure which brother I adore the most :)
He peered into the cupboard again. The pipes made an ominous gurgling sound, and the bottom of the cupboard became the site of the world’s tiniest waterfall.
“I can be a sensitive intellectual type as well,” he said at length. “If the other option is drowning under our sink.”
“Save us all from a watery grave or cook your own dinner. It’s entirely up to you.”
It was a compelling point. Nick could cook his own dinner, but Alan actually worked at being a good cook. He made everything from scratch, and the sizzling sound of food hitting the pan and the sudden rich smell of frying vegetables made his argument for him. Nick glared, which was effective when dealing with everyone but his brother. Then he took the knife out of his wrist sheath, laying it carefully alongside his sword, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.