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fantasy

reviews May 12, 2015

The Novice by Taran Matharu

SummonerThe Novice (Summoner 1) by Taran Matharu

Fletcher was nothing more than a humble blacksmith’s apprentice, when a chance encounter leads to the discovery that he has the ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, he must travel with his demon to the Vocans Academy, where the gifted are trained in the art of summoning.

The academy will put Fletcher through a gauntlet of gruelling lessons, training him as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against the savage orcs. Rubbing shoulders with the children of the most powerful nobles in the land, Fletcher must tread carefully. The power hungry Forsyth twins lurk in the shadows, plotting to further their family’s interests. Then there is Sylva, an elf who will do anything she can to forge an alliance between her people and Hominum, even if it means betraying her friends. Othello is the first ever dwarf at the academy, and his people have long been oppressed by Hominum’s rulers, which provokes tension amongst those he studies alongside.

Fletcher will find himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with nothing but his demon Ignatius to help him. As the pieces on the board manoeuvre for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands … (publisher)

I was positively surprised with this book. Somehow I was totally unaware that this was YA book and it still tuned out good.

Orphan boy finds out he can summon demons and goes to an academy, school that teaches summoners, there’s a war going on so they need everyone they can get. Nobles, commoners, dwarfs and elves. There is tension between nobles and well, everyone which escalates in a tournament where you can earn positions for the war.

I liked Fletcher and seeing him grow into his powers. He’s very loyal to his friends and isn’t afraid to stand up to bullies, the type you want to have on your side. He gets some hints about his biological parents and I can’t help but wonder if there’s something more to it and why he was abandoned.

One of my favourite part of the book was the demons. They all have different personalities, they are connected to their owners and can sense their emotions.

I can’t wait that they get out from the academy to the real world. We haven’t seen anything from the actual war against the orcs and I’m curious to see how that turns out.

3,5/5

Published: Hodder Children’s Books (May 5, 2015)
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

reviews February 24, 2015

Age of Iron by Angus Watson

age of ironAge of Iron (Iron Age 1) by Angus Watson

LEGENDS AREN’T BORN. THEY’RE FORGED.

Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar’s army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people.

First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar’s most fearsome warriors, who’s vowed revenge on the king for her sister’s execution.

Now Dug’s on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join ­- and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that’s going to get them all killed . . .

It’s a glorious day to die. (Goodreads)

I really wanted to love this but I didn’t. I like fantasy and I like history so this should be perfect book for me, right?
I think the biggest problem was that I thought this was a fantasy book. But it was in Britain, Romans are coming and Germany was also mentioned. Just because you add pagan gods and add few druids and their magic doesn’t make it proper fantasy book for me. If I think it as a historical book then the too modern language would bother me. At some point I wanted to start counting how many times shagging was mentioned but that would have meant too much commitment.

I didn’t mind the blood, gore or mentions of rape but that could be a problem for someone. I’m pretty sure that every time new female character was introduced we’re told how her face, hair, boobs and ass looks. And it got tiresome after awhile.

Aithne was big-boned, big-arsed, busty and tall with hair the colour of piss-soaked stable straw, while Lowa was average height, slender, with hair so blonde it was almost white. Admittedly she was on the stocky side of slender. Riding and archery had built muscle, and a keen observer would have seen that her right shoulder and arm were bigger than her left from drawing the longbow, but she was slim-waisted and supple, with a bottom that lobbed slingstones would have bounced off. Aithne had the small-featured, freckled face of a milkmaid. Lowa had the pale skin and high cheekbones of a fairy princess. Aithne had dark, bovine eyes with long, heavy lashes. Lowa’s eyes were blue, pale-lashed and slanted like a wildcat’s. Aithne was gregarious while Lowa watched from the edges. Aithne was confused and idealistic where Lowa was logical and pragmatic. Aithne was a glutton for food and booze, often to be found vomiting before bed, while Lowa never overate and had never been sick after drinking. Aithne was two years older, but Lowa had been the leader as long as she could remember. (pg.53)

I couldn’t care less about the characters and I was so bored that I had to force myself to open the book. The writing wasn’t bad but unfortunately that’s not enough to make this good. But I liked that there is strong women who went to battles, and fought well, so that is a bonus and earned higher rating.

This definitely wasn’t for me but everyone else seems to love this so don’t take my word for this.

2/5

Published: Orbit (2014)
Format: paperback
Pages: 523
Source: my own

reviews October 16, 2014

The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein

red magicianThe Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein

In the schoolroom of a simple European village, Kicsi spends her days dreaming of the lands beyond the mountains: Paris and New York, Arabia and Shanghai. When the local rabbi curses Kicsi’s school for teaching lessons in Hebrew, the holy tongue, the possibility of adventure seems further away than ever. But when a mysterious stranger appears telling stories of far-off lands, Kicsi feels the world within her grasp.

His name is Vörös, and he is a magician’s assistant who seems to have powers all his own. There is darkness growing at the edge of the village—a darkness far blacker than any rabbi’s curse. Vörös warns of the Nazi threat, but only Kicsi hears what he says. As evil consumes a continent, Vörös will teach Kicsi that sometimes the magician’s greatest trick is survival. (publisher)

The book follows Kisci, a young Jewish girl, from a small Hungarian village in the 1930s. When a red-haired stranger called Vörös, who can see to the future, comes to the village and tells about horrors to come, the village rabbi refuses to listen and insists that nothing will happen. The two men clash and becomes the talk of the village. But Kisci believes Vörös and wants to help him protecting the village. But then the Nazis come and everything changes.

This is YA book about Holocaust mixed with magic and it’s quite short being only 144 pages.

I liked it but since it’s so short it gets kinda jumpy at some points. Suddenly you notice that one year has gone and people have gone from just falling in love to be practically engaged. The year in the concentration camp is covered quite hastily but since this is targeted to younger people it might be a good thing too. We still get the desperation and hopelessness through.

I liked that while Kisci and Vörös are drawn together it’s not romantic. There was just enough magic mixed with history that it fitted.

3,5/5

Published: Open Road Media (2014)
Format: kindle
Pages: 144
Source: NetGalley

reviews November 7, 2013

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

Blood Song (Raven’s Shadow 1) by Anthony Ryan

Vaelin Al Sorna’s life changes for ever the day his father abandons him at the gates of the Sixth Order, a secretive military arm of the Faith. Together with his fellow initiates, Vaelin undertakes a brutal training regime – where the price of failure is often death. Under the tutelage of the Order’s masters, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly.

Now his new skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin is the Sixth Order’s deadliest weapon and the Realm’s only hope. He must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict.

Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword. (back cover)

The book starts with grown and captured Vaelin Al Sorna who tells his story to a historian of the enemy, before he is to fight in a duel where he is sentenced to die.

Abandoned as a child by his father at the gate of the Sixth Order of the Faith, which is sort of a military monastic order. The boys go through brutal training and not all of them survive it. Vaelin emerges as a leader of the group and becomes the most feared and greatest warrior known as the Hope Killer.

The book starts where it ends which was nice touch and while you knew what would happen, you will still wonder how it became and how he turned out the way he did.

There’s lot of people in the book and at first I was really lost who was who (even if there’s character list in the end) and trying to keep them sorted. The book starts little slow part when it picks up, it really picks up! Makes you glad you didn’t give up in the beginning.
The time when the boys were training was interesting and it showed what molded them when they were growing but it felt at times like it went on forever.

I wish it was better explained in what time we were. At times it suddenly jumped years ahead and you realize that Vaelin isn’t 15-year old kid anymore. Made it confusing but that’s my only major complain about the book.

I liked Vaelin and it was interesting to see him growing up. He’s not entirely good but he’s not entirely bad either. I’m curious to see if he will meet his father in later books because there’s some unfinished business there.

The book ended too soon and I really wanna get my hands on the next one!

4/5

Published: Orbit (2013)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 592
Source: publisher

reviews October 23, 2013

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass 1) by Sarah J. Maas

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament – fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted? (back cover)

Celaena is an assassin who has been in prison at Endovier for a year. She’s being dragged from the prison and given a choice to become the king’s champion for 4 years and then get her freedom. But first she has to win the competition against other criminals to win the price.

I’ve read lot of great reviews about this and I’m so glad it lived up to those!

I loved the fact that Celaena was an assassin and not some damsel in distress. What’s not to like in a girl who speaks her mind? The book starts after she was captured so we don’t see her killing people or anything like that. She manages to become friends with princess Nehemia and she’s lot more friendly and likeable with her.

And of course there is a love triangle. This is YA book after all. I have to say I’m all for Chaol, the Captain of the Guards. Dorian, the crown prince, didn’t do anything for me and I didn’t really believe in their romance. It felt awkward and they fell for it way too easily. But yeah, I’m rooting for Chaol.

4/5

Published: Bloomsbury (2012)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 420
Source: library