Flash Reviews: Sagara, Carson
Another busy week, which means my reading gets slower and slower. The only reason you get two reviews this week is because I snuck in a novella! So today, I bring you 1) Mount TBR selection AND your dare to me for April, and 2) a recent purchase written by one of my favorite YA voices. Onward!
Cast in Shadow (2005)
Written by: Michelle Sagara
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 512 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book One (Chronicles of Elantra)
My Review: 6 - Worth Reading, with Reservations
I've been wanting to read this book for quite a long time now. I was familiar with the author through LJ, and when this came out, it seemed like it'd be right up my alley. But I never got it. I waited forever, kept it on my wishlist, but never got around to picking it up. But a couple of years ago, the Christmas fairy delivered it to my doorstep, and it's been waiting on my attentions ever since. Thanks to all of YOU, dear readers, I've finally gotten the motivation to give it a go.
The world-building is fascinating, and the crafting of characters is very well done. Each of the characters stand as individuals, with their own demons driving them. Even if I don't know entirely where they're coming from, I don't get the characters confused with one another, not even the minor ones. That's impressive, because the book is told predominantly from a single POV, so there's a lot of secondary, tertiary, and very minor characters to keep track of. And as I said before, the world-building is fascinating. I was quite impressed with the way the world and its magic and races were crafted, and I can see why this book has garnered quite a lot of praise.
However, and you knew this was coming due to the rating, I can't say I ever really connected to the material emotionally. Or intellectually. It took me a while to warm up to the book. I recognized that this is well written, and Sagara doesn't bother spoon-feeding her readers: she makes you wait for your revelations, and furthermore, she forces you to figure things out for yourself. Whereas some writers would come out and just explain what's happening and why, Sagara uses character-building moments that build the tension, so that when the information is given that reveals what's happening, you really feel like you've earned it. My trouble is I felt like I was kept as such a distance the entire book that I really wanted, at some point, was for someone or something to give me a quick pat on the head and confirm what I thought was revealed. I don't need it info-dumped or spelled out in neon lights: just some kind of little confirmation in certain cases would've been great. This may be a me-thing, but it's weird when I finally think I figure out what's going on but feel unsatisfied because the author's been so deft, and so coy with the revelations that it's not like a light bulb turning on with all its dazzling brightness; instead, it's like one of those florescent bulbs that slowly brightens, but flickers while doing so and you're not sure if it's going to die or not.
But there are moments of great beauty in this book: the description of the Dragons (and they're not what you think they are) was utterly fantastic. Then there's the hard-earned relationships that Kaylin has with her co-workers: I really feel those relationships, and the end rang on a fantastic note. So while I'm not rushing out to buy the next installment, I am sufficiently engaged to consider glomming onto this series when that mythical day of my conquering my TBR passes. For those looking for a unique take in the epic fantasy sense, you should consider this.
The Shattered Mountain (2013)
Written by: Rae Carson
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Novella
Pages: 78 pages (Kindle)
My Review: 7 - Good Read
While reading my latest Star Wars pick, I realized I wouldn't finish it in time for my Wednesday flash review post. So in order to ensure I would have at least TWO reviews for you all today, I decided to put the SW novel aside and pull up Carson's latest novella on my Kindle. The Shattered Mountain takes place in the Girl of Fire and Thorns world, and in many ways, could be considered a prequel to the events in The Girl of Fire and Thorns. However, I don't feel this story stands on its own two feet: you really need to have read at least the first book in the trilogy, better still, the second, The Crown of Embers, to really appreciate the events of the story, which focus on Mara's history. The novella is utterly fast-paced: I finished it in a single sitting, and I constantly admire how Caron puts her heroines in horribly difficult situations and makes them do HARD THINGS. She makes her heroines make HARD DECISIONS, and poor Mara, she's no different. And even though this story was fast-paced, I'll be damned if Carson didn't make me all teary-eyed near the end, something I don't think would've happened if I hadn't read the first two books in the trilogy to date. So in short, if you're caught up on the trilogy and need something to tide you over until the third book, The Bitter Kingdom, comes out this fall, this is great. If you're new to the series, hold off until you're caught up, because the payoff is much more satisfying if you do.
Cast in Shadow (2005)
Written by: Michelle Sagara
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 512 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book One (Chronicles of Elantra)
My Review: 6 - Worth Reading, with Reservations
I've been wanting to read this book for quite a long time now. I was familiar with the author through LJ, and when this came out, it seemed like it'd be right up my alley. But I never got it. I waited forever, kept it on my wishlist, but never got around to picking it up. But a couple of years ago, the Christmas fairy delivered it to my doorstep, and it's been waiting on my attentions ever since. Thanks to all of YOU, dear readers, I've finally gotten the motivation to give it a go.
The world-building is fascinating, and the crafting of characters is very well done. Each of the characters stand as individuals, with their own demons driving them. Even if I don't know entirely where they're coming from, I don't get the characters confused with one another, not even the minor ones. That's impressive, because the book is told predominantly from a single POV, so there's a lot of secondary, tertiary, and very minor characters to keep track of. And as I said before, the world-building is fascinating. I was quite impressed with the way the world and its magic and races were crafted, and I can see why this book has garnered quite a lot of praise.
However, and you knew this was coming due to the rating, I can't say I ever really connected to the material emotionally. Or intellectually. It took me a while to warm up to the book. I recognized that this is well written, and Sagara doesn't bother spoon-feeding her readers: she makes you wait for your revelations, and furthermore, she forces you to figure things out for yourself. Whereas some writers would come out and just explain what's happening and why, Sagara uses character-building moments that build the tension, so that when the information is given that reveals what's happening, you really feel like you've earned it. My trouble is I felt like I was kept as such a distance the entire book that I really wanted, at some point, was for someone or something to give me a quick pat on the head and confirm what I thought was revealed. I don't need it info-dumped or spelled out in neon lights: just some kind of little confirmation in certain cases would've been great. This may be a me-thing, but it's weird when I finally think I figure out what's going on but feel unsatisfied because the author's been so deft, and so coy with the revelations that it's not like a light bulb turning on with all its dazzling brightness; instead, it's like one of those florescent bulbs that slowly brightens, but flickers while doing so and you're not sure if it's going to die or not.
But there are moments of great beauty in this book: the description of the Dragons (and they're not what you think they are) was utterly fantastic. Then there's the hard-earned relationships that Kaylin has with her co-workers: I really feel those relationships, and the end rang on a fantastic note. So while I'm not rushing out to buy the next installment, I am sufficiently engaged to consider glomming onto this series when that mythical day of my conquering my TBR passes. For those looking for a unique take in the epic fantasy sense, you should consider this.
The Shattered Mountain (2013)
Written by: Rae Carson
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Novella
Pages: 78 pages (Kindle)
My Review: 7 - Good Read
While reading my latest Star Wars pick, I realized I wouldn't finish it in time for my Wednesday flash review post. So in order to ensure I would have at least TWO reviews for you all today, I decided to put the SW novel aside and pull up Carson's latest novella on my Kindle. The Shattered Mountain takes place in the Girl of Fire and Thorns world, and in many ways, could be considered a prequel to the events in The Girl of Fire and Thorns. However, I don't feel this story stands on its own two feet: you really need to have read at least the first book in the trilogy, better still, the second, The Crown of Embers, to really appreciate the events of the story, which focus on Mara's history. The novella is utterly fast-paced: I finished it in a single sitting, and I constantly admire how Caron puts her heroines in horribly difficult situations and makes them do HARD THINGS. She makes her heroines make HARD DECISIONS, and poor Mara, she's no different. And even though this story was fast-paced, I'll be damned if Carson didn't make me all teary-eyed near the end, something I don't think would've happened if I hadn't read the first two books in the trilogy to date. So in short, if you're caught up on the trilogy and need something to tide you over until the third book, The Bitter Kingdom, comes out this fall, this is great. If you're new to the series, hold off until you're caught up, because the payoff is much more satisfying if you do.