Book Reviews: The Subtle Knife and First Meetings in the Enderverse
I'm combining both reviews into one post, and so they'll go behind cuts. I will warn you know: THERE ARE PROBABLY SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW OF "THE SUBTLE KNIFE!!!!" So if you intend to read the book and want to be surprised, don't read this review!
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book II) by Philip Pullman, isbn # 9780440238140, 288 pages, softcover, Laurel-Leaf, $7.50
I have to say first off that I found the jump from the strictly-Lyra Point of View of "Compass" to the multiple points of view (Will, Lyra, Serafina, Ruta Skadi, Lee Scoresby, even some beyond-tertiary characters like Lena Feldt) a little jarring. I perfectly okay with a book bouncing between several characters' points of view (one of my favorite books of last year was "The Stolen Child" by Keith Donohue, which alternated between two very similar first person voices and did it marvelously); I'm just saying it was unexpected that the second book in the series would move away from the narrative tack that propelled the first book.
It was also a bit jarring and unexpected that Lyra effectively takes a back-seat to Will Parry's story for a good chunk of the book. Not that I really minded that -- even when she's not the main focus, Lyra is still obnoxious, selfish and slightly annoying. I'll give Pullman points for letting the character grow a bit in this book and taking some of the rougher edges off, but I still prefer some of the other characters to her. I missed Farder Coram and John Faa quite a bit, but was glad to see Lee Scoresby and Serafina Pekkala get more time to be developed.
I also had a hard time letting Will grow on me. After Pullman pulling that stunt with Roger, I was skeptical that Will would be around long enough to justify my getting to know him. I'm glad that so far, history hasn't repeated itself.
I also cannot believe that I did not make the connection between "Jopari" and "John Parry." It's the kind of thing I'd do in my own book, and I completely missed it here.
While I may have found the change in POV a bit jarring, by the middle of the book I was caught up in the action again. I found everything after the mid-way point of the book to be exciting and interesting. The anti-religion / anti-God / Atheist propaganda aspect of the books is now in full force -- you can't really deny it when several characters announce that they believe Lord Asriel intends to kill God. It adds a dimension to what would otherwise be a nice little fantasy adventure series, and definitely makes the story worth not just reading but thinking about.
Still, it's the middle book of a trilogy, and even with the interior story arc of the discovery of the Subtle Knife and its history and uses, it feels like the middle book of a trilogy, with all the downsides: new characters take screen-time from older characters; lingering questions from the first book are still not answered during the second but new mysteries are added.
So far I'm enjoying the series overall and do like the newest character addition. We'll see how I feel at the end of the third book. And, of course, thanks to Hunter for giving me the trilogy for Christmas. (I intend to thank anyone who gave me a book as a present when I read the book, so Hunter will be getting at least one more thank you in these pages, as you may have already guessed.)
First Meetings in the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card, isbn # 0765308738, 208 pages, hardcover, Tor, $17.95
This one's been sitting on my bookshelf for a while just waiting for me to get around to it. What finally prompted me to pull it out of the stack? First, blakemp's review. Second, the fact that I'm really making an effort to read a short story every day for the 365shortstories community I started, and since this is a collection of short novellas I figured I could not only post a timely review following up on Blake's thoughts, but also add four more short stories to my list.
I am a large Orson Scott Card fan in general, and have enjoyed all of the Ender Wiggin books and stories I've read. I knew that two of the stories in this collection fleshed out the lives of Ender's parents before he was born, and that there was a story that took place in Ender's adulthood as well as a reprint of the original Ender's Game short story that Card eventually expanded into the novel.
I greatly enjoyed the chance to see what Ender's parents were like when they were younger (John Paul as both a child and a college student, and Theresa as a graduate student). These two stories added depth to characters I already liked an empathized with.
And I'm pretty sure it's no surprise to anyone that I enjoyed reading "Ender's Game" and comparing, at least in my memory, with the novel I love so much. There are some small detail changes -- character names and so on -- but the main thrust of Ender's story is there. Even if you never read the novel, the story will pull you in and make you feel for the kid.
The story that worked the least for me was "The Investment Counselor," which takes place in between "Speaker For The Dead" and "Xenocide." It's still a good story (a bit of a "how will he get out of being blackmailed" thriller) but I think it will work better for me after I've read the novels that bookend it.
Overall, a good fast read and highly recommended!
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book II) by Philip Pullman, isbn # 9780440238140, 288 pages, softcover, Laurel-Leaf, $7.50
I have to say first off that I found the jump from the strictly-Lyra Point of View of "Compass" to the multiple points of view (Will, Lyra, Serafina, Ruta Skadi, Lee Scoresby, even some beyond-tertiary characters like Lena Feldt) a little jarring. I perfectly okay with a book bouncing between several characters' points of view (one of my favorite books of last year was "The Stolen Child" by Keith Donohue, which alternated between two very similar first person voices and did it marvelously); I'm just saying it was unexpected that the second book in the series would move away from the narrative tack that propelled the first book.
It was also a bit jarring and unexpected that Lyra effectively takes a back-seat to Will Parry's story for a good chunk of the book. Not that I really minded that -- even when she's not the main focus, Lyra is still obnoxious, selfish and slightly annoying. I'll give Pullman points for letting the character grow a bit in this book and taking some of the rougher edges off, but I still prefer some of the other characters to her. I missed Farder Coram and John Faa quite a bit, but was glad to see Lee Scoresby and Serafina Pekkala get more time to be developed.
I also had a hard time letting Will grow on me. After Pullman pulling that stunt with Roger, I was skeptical that Will would be around long enough to justify my getting to know him. I'm glad that so far, history hasn't repeated itself.
I also cannot believe that I did not make the connection between "Jopari" and "John Parry." It's the kind of thing I'd do in my own book, and I completely missed it here.
While I may have found the change in POV a bit jarring, by the middle of the book I was caught up in the action again. I found everything after the mid-way point of the book to be exciting and interesting. The anti-religion / anti-God / Atheist propaganda aspect of the books is now in full force -- you can't really deny it when several characters announce that they believe Lord Asriel intends to kill God. It adds a dimension to what would otherwise be a nice little fantasy adventure series, and definitely makes the story worth not just reading but thinking about.
Still, it's the middle book of a trilogy, and even with the interior story arc of the discovery of the Subtle Knife and its history and uses, it feels like the middle book of a trilogy, with all the downsides: new characters take screen-time from older characters; lingering questions from the first book are still not answered during the second but new mysteries are added.
So far I'm enjoying the series overall and do like the newest character addition. We'll see how I feel at the end of the third book. And, of course, thanks to Hunter for giving me the trilogy for Christmas. (I intend to thank anyone who gave me a book as a present when I read the book, so Hunter will be getting at least one more thank you in these pages, as you may have already guessed.)
First Meetings in the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card, isbn # 0765308738, 208 pages, hardcover, Tor, $17.95
This one's been sitting on my bookshelf for a while just waiting for me to get around to it. What finally prompted me to pull it out of the stack? First, blakemp's review. Second, the fact that I'm really making an effort to read a short story every day for the 365shortstories community I started, and since this is a collection of short novellas I figured I could not only post a timely review following up on Blake's thoughts, but also add four more short stories to my list.
I am a large Orson Scott Card fan in general, and have enjoyed all of the Ender Wiggin books and stories I've read. I knew that two of the stories in this collection fleshed out the lives of Ender's parents before he was born, and that there was a story that took place in Ender's adulthood as well as a reprint of the original Ender's Game short story that Card eventually expanded into the novel.
I greatly enjoyed the chance to see what Ender's parents were like when they were younger (John Paul as both a child and a college student, and Theresa as a graduate student). These two stories added depth to characters I already liked an empathized with.
And I'm pretty sure it's no surprise to anyone that I enjoyed reading "Ender's Game" and comparing, at least in my memory, with the novel I love so much. There are some small detail changes -- character names and so on -- but the main thrust of Ender's story is there. Even if you never read the novel, the story will pull you in and make you feel for the kid.
The story that worked the least for me was "The Investment Counselor," which takes place in between "Speaker For The Dead" and "Xenocide." It's still a good story (a bit of a "how will he get out of being blackmailed" thriller) but I think it will work better for me after I've read the novels that bookend it.
Overall, a good fast read and highly recommended!