Fire and Hemlock Review

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Fire and Hemlock ReviewI had to give this book five stars, even though it isn't perfect. The plot is confusing at times, with holes that could have been filled in if the author had done some tweaking. Another drawback is that some of the best characters--like the quartet--tend to be given short shrift. Yet even with these drawbacks, a fantasy of this calibre is not likely to come along often enough so as to be taken for granted. Hence the five stars.
As I mentioned above, there are plot holes, but this is a side effect of the chief beauty of this book: its mystery. The story is set in our world--1980's England, to be exact--and the fantasy elements are laid on in subtle nuances of depth and detail. A slight otherworldly quality--almost too subtle to be detected--mars an otherwise commonplace funeral. Everyday events take on the significance of revelations. The magic itself is of the type that more often than not creeps at the edges of things, pervading the story with an atmosphere that is by turns haunting, fascinating, and occasionally hilarious.
With a deft hand the author weaves the ballad of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer together with the story a young girl, and soon enough the magic of legend and her mundane life intertwine. Polly is a "hero" in more than one sense: not only by virtue of her role as it is projected in the ballad, but also due to her struggles to cope with an increasingly unbearable living situation. It is not only the darkness of evil magic that Polly must eventually face, but also its everyday counterpart: the divorce and callous negligence of her parents.
The cast of characters and their relationships are wonderful, down to every last individual; it is their believability and richness that makes this book impossible to put down. There is also a refreshing realism in their interactions that plays a necessary counterpoint to the otherwise murky strangeness of the atmosphere. Children grow to adulthood as we watch them, their friendships and alliances change; the relationship between Polly and Tom Lynn grows ever more complex, undergoing constant shifts and adjustments.
You will find this book in the Young Adult section, but most readers of fantasy know that this is no reason to be put off. Diana Wynne Jones is one of the best YA fantasy writers around, and this is one of her darkest, deepest, and most complex books. You may need to reread it to fully understand what has happened by the somewhat bewildering conclusion--but if you enjoy it the first time, that should not be a chore, but a pleasure.Fire and Hemlock Overview

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Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures, Book 1) Review

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Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures, Book 1) ReviewI liked this book. It was interesting, the paranormal aspects were fairly unique, and I love a story with a long family history like this one has.
But I just liked it. It never grabbed me by the throat and demanded that I keep reading. I think, mostly, this was because the pacing was off. There was too much time during the story when I was relaxed and not worried about whether the characters were going to get out of trouble. Sure, there were intense moments when I was glued to the pages, but then things slowed down too much and I was lulled into a strange sense of security. This made it too easy to set the book down.
The characters weren't as developed as I wanted them to be, either. Ethan's voice felt too feminine to me. Actually, when I first started reading, I thought the story was from Lena's perspective, just based on the voice. Then, after I adjusted to Ethan's voice, he didn't feel real to me. His entire character felt cliche, like the teenage girl's ideal boyfriend, not what boys are actually like (I think another reviewer said this, and I couldn't agree more).
Then there was the setting. It didn't *feel* like the south. To me, the story could have taken place in any rural situation. We didn't get a sense of southern culture, which is so unique and could have had an amazing impact on the story. A really good example of southern setting, by the way, is Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell. Great book. But I digress...
Beautiful Creatures is a good story. I think it could have been great if it had been shorter, which would have increased the tension and kept the reader glued to the pages through the whole story. Or, at least, if it had a bit more depth to it with the characters and setting. Overall, the only thing that really set it apart was the paranormal aspect, which was really interesting and unique. Unfortunately, it's not enough.
Total side note: I find it interesting, and a little sad, that so many people here are voting against the reviews that don't give high stars, even when the review is fair and well-written. After all, different opinions are what make the world an interesting place. Expecting everyone to agree with you just turns us all into lemmings. :)Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures, Book 1) Overview

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Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7) Review

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Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7) ReviewLet me say it right off: "Dead Beat" is not the best in the series, but it is damn good nevertheless. In all fairness it has several weaknesses, which I will briefly mention below, but it certainly doesn't betray the usual strong plot, fun adventure and high quality writing we came to expect from Jim.
The previous installment, "Blood Rites", had Harry discover new and disturbing facts about his life. In this book, Harry turns to introspection. Faced with a bunch of necromancers in a mad race after a lost artifact of unspeakable power, all of them much stronger magically than Harry, our hero has to make choices and compromises which are morally ambiguous. As with real life, there are no clear-cut `right' solutions (high points for realism, Jim). But hey, nothing like moral dilemmas to have a character grow. Indeed, here we find Harry gradually losing the naiveté and bumbling enthusiasm of the first volumes; this is a world-weary Harry who has to undergo a painful examination of his weaknesses of spirit in order to be able to live with them. Nicely done.
If the hero gets all the attention he deserves, that can hardly be said about the rest of the characters we came to love, or love to hate. Thomas pops in and out of the plot at random moments; some old characters get cameo appearances, others are conspicuously absent for the entire duration of the plot, which was decidedly odd. Also, there should be a limit to how many artifacts Harry is able to locate during the course of a book ... and then lose to the bad guys rather immediately! I am not saying this makes for a bad plot, but boy was I gritting my teeth in frustration. Finally, some small inconsistencies (an attentive reader will no doubt notice them, so I won't go into that). All these do not change my impression of the series, which is among the best out there now that Anita went bananas and Meredith will soon collapse from sexual exhaustion. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Go Harry!Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7) Overview

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Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) Review

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Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) ReviewFrom the first sentence this book takes off and kept me breathless to the end. Well OK, I was able to catch my breath but poor Harry hardly ever does. The Harry here is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden and the narrator seems to "get" him as much as the author does. The book starts with a pair of grisly murders and Harry has been brought in on the case by the Captain of Chicago's Special Investigations unit. There is a mob connection and a drug connection and people that seem to want Harry dead.
What James Marsters accomplishes in narration is nothing short of magical. He not only does justice to the voices of a host of characters, he makes you feel like you've traveled this journey with him and when Harry is bone weary you can feel it through Mr. Marster's voice. I know he has done the next 3 books in this series already, and I hope he does them all.Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) Overview

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Our Time on the River Review

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Our Time on the River ReviewAfter David, a nineteen-year-old from Cooperstown, New York, enlists in the military during the Vietnam War, he and his fourteen-year-old brother, Steven, are sent to canoe down the Susquehanna River, where they must rely on each other to survive. When they first set out on the river, the two brothers don't get along well, but as they encounter problems, they start to look out for one another. As they canoe down the river, they frequently make stops either to camp for the night or to purchase food in the cities they come across. One night, raccoons eat all of their food. Another night, they don't go to sleep for fear that a stranger would attack them. On one occasion, they take shelter from a storm, but their supplies and extra clothes get wet. Fortunately, they find a Laundromat in the next city. They experience many new things and, in one city, even get paid to help set up a carnival. In another city, Steven gets a gash down his chest while playing around in a junkyard and they must get to a doctor for a tetanus shot. Then, in one of the last cities they stop at, they upset some men in a bar, who then chase them away. They barely escape and are hit by rocks as they paddle away. Then, after their canoe capsizes and they almost drown, they call their dad to come and take them home. Later, David is sent to Vietnam, but returns home a while later, after a missile hit the building he was in and caused his eardrums to burst. Our Time on the River is a great adventure that any reader would enjoy.
This story is filled with suspense. One night, David and Steven find that there is someone in the woods near their camp. They take turns being lookout all night because they were afraid the stranger would attack them. In one town they upset some men at a bar and are chased back to the river. They get away just in time, but still are pummeled with rocks as they leave. Later, strong current makes it impossible to steer the canoe and they hit a tree stump, capsizing. David gets stuck on the root of a tree and Steven must scramble to save him from drowning.
This story has interesting characters. David is a tough-guy and enlists in the military even though the Vietnam War is being fought. His younger brother, Steven, is a shy fourteen-year-old and the two don't get along very well until after their adventures on the river. Their mom is always worried about them, telling them to be careful, but their dad is always encouraging them to have fun. He is the one who sends them on their adventure.
The relationship between the two brothers seemed very realistic. At first, they don't get along at all and neither one wants to canoe with the other. Their first night, they start to play around and David ends up chasing Steven, but when he catches him, he holds him underwater almost drowning him and they end up mad at each other. Later they start to look out for each other. When Steven gets cut at the junkyard in one city, David makes sure they find a doctor and get him a tetanus shot. Then, when the canoe capsizes in strong currents, David is stuck underwater on a tree's roots and Steven jumps back into the river to save him.
Our Time on the River is a great adventure story. It is filled with suspense and is very realistic. The characters are normal people, but still are interesting to read about. It is a captivating story that any reader would love from beginning to end.
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Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2) Review

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Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2) ReviewThere are many kinds of wolves in the world, and not all of them are human. Not even those that walk on two legs.
Someone, someTHING, is shredding people in Chicago, leaving behind huge doggy footprints painted in the blood of the victims. Oh, and of course, it's round about full moon time. Reluctantly Karrin Murphy, Director of Special Investigations for the Chicago P.D., has had to call in Harry Dresden, professional wizard. Not that she trusts him much anymore after the way he left her hanging the last time they worked together. But he's the only with the knowledge and special skills she'll need if she has to deal with a werewolf on the loose.
In this second volume of his exciting new "Dresden Files" series, Jim Butcher has packaged up another action-filled detective story with a mystical twist. Like any good gumshoe thriller, "Fool Moon" has a plot full of peril, false leads, near misses, and all the usual (and unusual) suspects. Like any good fantasy tale, it has a believable, well-developed mythology. The reader comes away with an arcane education--werewolf lore, potion-cooking, demon-summoning. As narrator, Harry Dresden lets his audience in on all the little trade secrets of the practicing mage. Now, if only he could learn to be so candid with his colleagues and friends....
In the final analysis, "Fool Moon" is more about learning to trust than about foiling werewolves, more about self discovery than arcane knowledge, more about the demons in Harry's heart than those in his summoning circle. In other words, it is about Harry Dresden himself, a hero of pure intention, tremendous power, and courage in the face of unspeakable danger, who just happens to be afraid to meet his own eyes in the mirror. He infers the blackness of his own soul from the reactions of others brash or foolish enough to meet his gaze. And he fears that the kind of knowledge that has so blackened him will be at least as destructive to others. Harry's struggle to come to terms with himself and those he cares about, his faltering advances and all-too-frequent backslides, are what really keep the reader turning the pages. They are also what keep Harry half a step behind the villains until it is almost too late.
If you like action, mystery, magic, or just watching the growth of a compelling character, you'll want to read "Fool Moon."Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2) Overview

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A Secret Woman: A Mystery Review

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A Secret Woman: A Mystery ReviewI've been reading mysteries for 45 of my 60 years, and can usually see the end coming long before I get to it, but this one was a surprise. Actually two surprises :-)
The explanatory parts woven into the story in part 2 that the editorial reviewer objected to I found necessary to make sense of the characters as this information was largely missing from my knowledge base.
This sounds to me like a first in a series and I am eagerly waiting to see how Simon Goltree's personality and detecting techniques carry over and develop in subsequent books.A Secret Woman: A Mystery Overview

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Body of Water Review

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Body of Water ReviewThis is an amazing book. I was at the book party and bought one of the first books. It is greatBody of Water Overview

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A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles) Review

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A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles) ReviewI loved the original SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. I devoured the whole set of five books within the same day. At the end of THE WRATH OF MULGARATH, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi had hinted that there might be more to the Spiderwick story, and that definitely made me excited. A GIANT PROBLEM is now book two in the new BEYOND THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES series, and I must say that it's taken until this book to really make me enjoy these further adventures.
The story picks up immediately from book number one, and I had to go glance back through THE NIXIE'S SONG to remember different plot details. Pretty much, Nick and Laurie are off on further adventures to stop the coming onslaught of giants destroying by fire the whole of the state of Florida. A daunting task for two kids and a blind old man named Noseeum Jack. I had been hoping all along through the first book and in beginning this second one that the story would grow beyond stopping giants from randomly destroying things. Yes, the problem seemed large, but just not enough for me -- especially after the original five books. That's why I was pleasantly surprised and chilled to come to the twist ending of A GIANT PROBLEM. It took the whole series to a new height, and I am extremely excited to get my hands on book number three, which I won't even tell the title of since it holds a bit of the secret.
The writing is as usual superb, and the illustrations dazzling in that throwback style that DiTerlizzi is so brilliant at. Just looking at his drawings sucks the reader into another world. My only complaint is that I had to wait so long for book number two. I really hope that we don't have to wait another year before the final installment.A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles) Overview

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Tales from the Hood (Sisters Grimm, Book 6) Review

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Tales from the Hood (Sisters Grimm, Book 6) ReviewBook 6 is another quick and exciting read in the Sisters Grimm story. It would also seem that it might be a pivotal edition: the girls are growing up, old characters leave, new characters enter, and the Scarlet Hand has taken over Ferryport Landing. As good as this book was (and it didn't disappoint for a moment), I'm more eager to see what the next couple of books will mean for the girls.Tales from the Hood (Sisters Grimm, Book 6) Overview

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