29. The Demon's Lexicon
29/50 The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Finally! Finally, I got my hands on this book and it was better than I thought. XD (I read the first chapter and was afraid for a moment that it would somehow disappoint me. Thankfully, it was a misplaced fear.) It has twists that make it difficult for me to describe it because I'm still sort of at that lollygaga stage where I'm really liable to inadvertently spoil someone in the middle of the summary out of sheer joy and THAT would be awful. I guess I am capable of saying that it is a YA fantasy that would appeal most to slightly older readers of Diana Wynne Jones. (The difference is that there is some romance. But not too much. I think this book could appeal to boys if the cover wasn't so formulated to ward them away.) I found myself wonderfully attached to all four main characters, and I very much want to find out what happens to them next (but must wait until next June. Whoo.)
Probably the only thing I hate about this book is the (US) cover which at best I have mixed feelings about, and at worst loathe. I would have never even touched this book if (a) I hadn't read the author's excellent and hilarious blog and could therefore trust her as a capable author whose hallmarks were more fantasy and humor than romance and (b) if my friend whom I trust did not recommend it to me like mad. And I know I can be swayed by book covers because I'm still reading The Luxe series. (If you toss the dust jacket, though, you'd probably be just fine. :D) The publishers have decided to market this towards teen girls, for reasons that I am not sure I completely grasp: the cover features a pouty-lipped young man and blurbs from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. :-/
First, I don't like it when they put photos of characters on covers, particularly if it's a character I'm supposed to think is good looking. (I am more of an art person; the Harry Potter covers are epic for me, in this sense. More about art on covers, below.) Because then the photo tries to take over the image of the character in my head, and I know full-well that any image I invent for myself will be better looking than whatever they hand me, since the one I come up with will be tailored to my specific (and peculiar) tastes. I think that's part of the reason why the Twilight covers work so well (and why Twilight fans had such a conniption when they first heard of Robert Pattinson... that and because the Twilight fandom seems rather high-strung in general -_____-...)
Secondly, as I mentioned above, The Demon's Lexicon analogues far better with Diana Wynne Jones. Maybe with a touch of JK Rowling and Neil Gaiman too. All three of these authors are rather boy-friendly (as is The Demon's Lexicon!), and while I could understand not being able to get blurbs from them, I don't understand why they would try to then market it so heavily towards girls. I guess the take-away message is please don't judge this book by its cover. Don't judge me by its cover, if you ever see me carrying it around with me wherever I go. XD (Hey, the book is awesome; screw the cover.)
For the record, I think the Japanese cover is far far more representative than the US cover (with the UK cover a slight step above the US cover; Nick is not soft). It does not hurt that the Japanese cover is drawn by Hiromu Arakawa who is famous for the manga Fullmetal Alchemist; the parallels between the two works is also there: the strongest relationships in The Demon's Lexicon are the ones between siblings who must also fight to survive in a world with magic. (That's not a summary, by the way. And now this review/rant's gone long enough...X-])
Cannot recommend this book enough. (Just chuck the dust jacket, if you have to.)
Next: Makes me want to read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
( Rest of the Reading List)
Finally! Finally, I got my hands on this book and it was better than I thought. XD (I read the first chapter and was afraid for a moment that it would somehow disappoint me. Thankfully, it was a misplaced fear.) It has twists that make it difficult for me to describe it because I'm still sort of at that lollygaga stage where I'm really liable to inadvertently spoil someone in the middle of the summary out of sheer joy and THAT would be awful. I guess I am capable of saying that it is a YA fantasy that would appeal most to slightly older readers of Diana Wynne Jones. (The difference is that there is some romance. But not too much. I think this book could appeal to boys if the cover wasn't so formulated to ward them away.) I found myself wonderfully attached to all four main characters, and I very much want to find out what happens to them next (but must wait until next June. Whoo.)
Probably the only thing I hate about this book is the (US) cover which at best I have mixed feelings about, and at worst loathe. I would have never even touched this book if (a) I hadn't read the author's excellent and hilarious blog and could therefore trust her as a capable author whose hallmarks were more fantasy and humor than romance and (b) if my friend whom I trust did not recommend it to me like mad. And I know I can be swayed by book covers because I'm still reading The Luxe series. (If you toss the dust jacket, though, you'd probably be just fine. :D) The publishers have decided to market this towards teen girls, for reasons that I am not sure I completely grasp: the cover features a pouty-lipped young man and blurbs from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. :-/
First, I don't like it when they put photos of characters on covers, particularly if it's a character I'm supposed to think is good looking. (I am more of an art person; the Harry Potter covers are epic for me, in this sense. More about art on covers, below.) Because then the photo tries to take over the image of the character in my head, and I know full-well that any image I invent for myself will be better looking than whatever they hand me, since the one I come up with will be tailored to my specific (and peculiar) tastes. I think that's part of the reason why the Twilight covers work so well (and why Twilight fans had such a conniption when they first heard of Robert Pattinson... that and because the Twilight fandom seems rather high-strung in general -_____-...)
Secondly, as I mentioned above, The Demon's Lexicon analogues far better with Diana Wynne Jones. Maybe with a touch of JK Rowling and Neil Gaiman too. All three of these authors are rather boy-friendly (as is The Demon's Lexicon!), and while I could understand not being able to get blurbs from them, I don't understand why they would try to then market it so heavily towards girls. I guess the take-away message is please don't judge this book by its cover. Don't judge me by its cover, if you ever see me carrying it around with me wherever I go. XD (Hey, the book is awesome; screw the cover.)
For the record, I think the Japanese cover is far far more representative than the US cover (with the UK cover a slight step above the US cover; Nick is not soft). It does not hurt that the Japanese cover is drawn by Hiromu Arakawa who is famous for the manga Fullmetal Alchemist; the parallels between the two works is also there: the strongest relationships in The Demon's Lexicon are the ones between siblings who must also fight to survive in a world with magic. (That's not a summary, by the way. And now this review/rant's gone long enough...X-])
Cannot recommend this book enough. (Just chuck the dust jacket, if you have to.)
Next: Makes me want to read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
( Rest of the Reading List)