13 Book Reviews
Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey. Mixed.
The downside is that this is again largely set in Hell, like his Sandman series, and features the same basic idea, that Lucifer is the paragon of free will and angels are the real enemies. I would have put it down but for the chocolate-and-foil-bitingly-wonderful dialogue.
Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Good YA (whatever that truly means).
In a post-apocalyptic world, society has been made over to reduce conflict by putting like-minded people together to accomplish things they (allegedly) do best. Roth has Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, Candor and Dauntless groups set up to take care of 1)selflessly distributing/ governing, 2)make technological advancements, 3)grow food and make music, 4)make honest law, and 5)be the military/ police. Every kid gets an aptitude test when s/he turns 16 and they can then choose what group to join, following the test or not. If they don't choose their parents' faction, they might only ever see them again accidentally and briefly. Once they join their chosen faction, there is a stringent initiation, which some kids fail and some die trying. There are no second chances, either. Fail, and one is Factionless: homeless, jobless, voiceless, unvalued.
We meet the protagonist in her grey world among the Abnegation, wondering what path she wants to take. Will it be the one leading away from her beloved mother whose smile is the only true mirror she's ever known because actually using one is selfish? I don't want to say more cause it's a fun read. I'm eagerly awaiting the third, which the author jokingly calls "Detergent" in her blog.
I really enjoyed Tris' emergence as a strong character, and the politics of the group she runs around with. The comparison with Hunger Games is unavoidable because it has to do with kids, violence, and power-mad adults, but they're different.
My Liege of Darkhaven and The Dom's Dungeon by Cherise Sinclair. Pleasant porn.
In each book, there's a lazy woman who gets tied up and has orgasms with a rich, handsome, kind man who owns charities that benefit abused women. Well okay, first she has to prove she's kind, again in each book, by rescuing pets. Ha. Then in each book, the he in question marries the she. Ha ha ha ha. Not well-written, but porn! About girl parts and pleasure! And the guy's erect fixation on her every sigh and subsequent attempt to elicit mo bettah sighs. And the girl doesn't have to do jack. I imagine reading this gives me as much pleasure as a guy would get from watching a video of a girl giving a blowjob-- passive recipient angle FTW.
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Gross thriller.
Unlikeable protagonist has to report on, maybe solve hometown murders. She's like a traffic accident, so messed up you have to stare, but you have no actual sympathy. In fact, I had more sympathy for the murderer. It's so messed up, I think your sanity gets dinged one health point if you read this book. Stay away.
Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye
Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness
Erec Rex: The Search For Truth Erec Rex: The Three Furies series by Kaza Kingsley. YA (deservedly this time) Harry Potter doppelganger.
This is so Rowling, it amazes me that she hasn't sued-- there's the orphaned yet powerfully magical boy, the magic school and magic contests and even a Quidditch-alike and a Snape-alike! -- but maybe she's flattered by the imitation. That said, I like the whimsy in Kingsley's inventions and I like the compassion her characters have for despicable characters. It was fun enough.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Lovely fantasy.
Miyazaki's simplified version was the only one I'd known til I read this. Jones' prose is very nice and she has a delightfully funny imagination. Much better than the movie and the movie was great.
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. Nice fantasy.
This follows Howl's, is set in the same world, and Howl and Sophie appear, but it's mostly about a headstrong bookworm. She's so bullish that although her name is Charmain, I kept reading it as Chairman. She has to go take care of her aging relative and sort out the troubles of a kingdom while she's at it. Not as funny as Howl's, but I keep wanting to read more in that world. Speaking of which...
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Is supposedly set in the same world as the other two, but begins with such an unnuanced and stereotypical Arabic-type setting, I couldn't get more than two pages in.