The Downfall of the Gods by K. J. Parker

What if you did a really bad thing and wanted absolution from the deity of your choice.  You might go to the local temple of said deity and pray for forgiveness and make offerings.  But, what if that deity suddenly appeared to you and denied you petition in person, how could one possibly react?

That is the opening to the very unique tale in Downfall of the Gods by K. J. Parker.  Lord Archias seeks out forgiveness and redemption of his soul only to be turned down flat by the goddess he was praying to.  Instead, they reach an arrangement that leads to adventure.

From the very beginning of this book I was struck by one thing:  this is a narrative written with little embellishment or physical detail and yet the tale remains compelling.  My first reaction was that it was very much like a more mature version of a Roald Dahl book.  Elements like location, scene or time were given sparingly and only when crucial to the plot.  It was a more plain spoken and direct interpretation of a story that allows the reader to paint their own picture.

Not only were scenery and setting  given in Spartan measure, the characters were likewise not over-done.  We get very little in the way of physical description and only start off with just a bit more about who the characters are in this world.  What we do get is excellent character development of our central characters.  With a narrative that is this short and bereft of window dressing the author seems to have banked on the motivation of the characters.  I have to say, it pays off very well.

Downfall of the Gods  is raw yet entertaining storytelling.  This book proves that, though helpful, a good story does not require dramatic scenery to create drama.  I do have to rate this a PG13 due to some of the language and some mature subject matter discussed in the story.

 

 

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by Tynga at Wednesday, February 10, 2016

 Fantasy, goddess, K. J. Parker, Netgalley, Review, Subterranean Press  Leave your mark

✎

The Awakening by Jayne Faith and Christine Castle

Jayne Faith and Christine Castle hooked me with their first book in this series. I think it's the cross between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor that makes things really exciting. I'm a big fan of The Hunger Games, but quite honestly, I hate the flakiness of The Bachelor. I think it's the terrifying idea of losing your life if you don't win the competition that makes things way more compelling than the fake TV show. In my experience, self-published books can be pretty hit and miss, but in this case, I really think the authors are on to something.

This book is so much more than a game of survival and a love story between the two main characters. It's also a story about two races coming together, despite their very different cultural views, and fighting for Earthfell's freedom. Maya is from Earthenfell and she is one of the Obligates fighting in the Tournament of the Offered. Toric is the Lord of Calisto and the Sacred Texts say that no Calistan can step foot on Earthenfell until the prophecy says so. The whole idea behind the Sacred Texts and the Calistan religion is a little bit confusing. I hope more is revealed in the upcoming book so that things may be clearer and complete. The authors may be holding back purposely, but either way, I'm sure more is to come.

The attraction between Toric and Maya is really sweet. I really hope we see their relationship grow, despite their differences. Toric's dark past and sexual needs shocked Maya but she's not that innocent anymore. The Tournament has hardened her and she's now ready to fight for her life, even if that means taking advantage of Toric's obvious infatuation with her. The newest challenge in the Tournament will be difficult for Maya, and I honestly didn't see this twist coming. I hate the fact the authors announced what the new challenge will be and ended the book on a cliffhanger. Since the next book might be coming out next month, I'm not too annoyed, but I'll still be waiting impatiently.

The rest of the characters add a lot of antagonism and mystery to the story. Akantha, the Mistress of Tournament, is a ruthless and jealous woman. Engaged to Lord Toric's brother, Jeric, she's jealous of Maya who seems to have enthralled both brothers. She's out to get Maya, and is willing to do whatever it takes for her to fail. Jeric is confused, and doesn't know his place anymore. As Toric's younger brother, he was once named heir when Toric was considered dead after being kidnapped for years. Now that Toric is back, he seems wandering without a path. I kind of feel sorry for him, even though I don't agree with some of the things he's done or said to Maya. Toric's mother is another player in the political game. We don't know much about her, and she hasn't really had a prominent role in the story yet, but I anticipate her having a bigger role in the coming book.

Overall, I think this was a decent sequel. I hate the cliffhanger we were left with, and quite honestly the book could have been a little longer. Many questions were answered, yet many more have arose. The series so many different genres, including romance, young adult, science fiction and paranormal that I'm sure it will please many reader. As a fan of all these genres, I think the authors have created a wonderful mix.

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by Tynga at Monday, February 08, 2016

 Alien, Christine Castle, future, Jayne Faith, Purchased, Review, Sapient Salvation, sci-fi, Science Fiction, Science-Fiction, Self Published, young adult  2 People left their mark

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Stacking The Shelves [196]

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

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 Happy weekend everyone! I'm just here to share my latest purchases with all of you. Let's get to it.

Purchased

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

The Awakening by Jayne Faith and Christine Castle (ebook)

Lit Cube

The Forever Watch by David Ramirez

Let me know what you got!

[inlinkz_linkup id=605828]

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by Tynga at Friday, February 05, 2016

 Stacking The Shelves, sts  20 People left their mark

✎

John Dreamer by Elise Celine

John Dreamer had a really interesting and unique concept, but failed a little in it's execution.

The book opens when Andy wakes up to find herself in a vast white room with seven chairs.  She notices that one has her name on it, and the style of the chair fits her personality.  One by one, other teens appear in the room, all of whom have their own chairs (with different styles/personalities).  What are they doing there?  How did they get there?  Are they dreaming?  Or even dead?  And if not, how do they get out?  Eventually a very flamboyant guy called simply The Guardian appears and explains just a tiny bit to them:  they are all here to fulfill their dreams.  Then he disappears again.  What on earth does that mean?!?  And what's next?

First (of course), the good!  As I mentioned, this is a totally new-to-me plot.  It doesn't fit neatly into any of the more common YA genres, like paranormal or dystopian.  I suppose I'd call it "psychological suspense light."  I was definitely hooked from the beginning, wanting to know more, just like the characters.  I tried to guess at what The Guardian meant when he told them that they would all fulfill their dreams, and I couldn't.  Also, Andy was kind of an everywoman.  She wasn't overly smart or overly pretty or overly confident or overly shy.   Even the outfit she is described as wearing is average:  a white top with jean shorts and sneakers.  Almost anyone could identify with her.  The remaining six characters covered the gambit from short & nerdy to chubby & shy to an everyman (male)... something for everyone!

A big appeal of the book was the mystery, so I won't tell you what The Guardian means about fulfilling dreams.  But once that part of the story starts to unfold, it is rather neat to see each character's reaction, and what happens when they have attempted to fulfill their dream.

So now the flip side:  John Dreamer was a pretty short, quick read (only 203 Kindle pages), which didn't leave a lot of room for character development.  I felt like all the characters (even the main character) were very 2D.  And I wanted more!  This story was totally interesting, and I would have happily read a longer book with more character development.  Just as with the characters feeling a little flat due to short length, the action also fell a little flat due to the short length.  Again, I would have happily read a longer book if it meant more detail and development of the dreams!  No one is ever going to like every single character in every book, but I think I would have really liked most of these characters... if I got to know them better.

This is kind of a side note, but I would go see this if someone made it into a movie!  The Guardian is just screaming to be on the silver screen.  (I vote for Christopher Walken for his part.)  With Hollywood borrowing so heavily from the book store lately, I hope someone discovers John Dreamer for next year's YA summer flick.

A quick, slightly flawed, but still entertaining read.

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by Tynga at Thursday, February 04, 2016

 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, dreams, Edelweiss, Elise Celine, Fiction, Review, YA, young adult  Leave your mark

✎

Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6) by Brandon Sanderson

Bands of Mourning is the 6th book in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson.  During this review I will be revealing some plot points from the first five books and yes, by that I mean spoilers.  So, if you haven't yet started reading this series and intend to, I suggest you come back to this review once you've gotten this far.  After all, this isn't just a book series, it is a real adventure.

In the previous book, Shadow of Self,   Waxillium, Wayne and Marasi learn there's a kandra doing mischief.  Masquerading as various people and doing the one thing kandras aren't allowed to do, killing people.  Fortunately for the trio, there is another kandra sent by Sazed (now known as Harmony).   This one comes in the guise of a lovely woman named Melaan at a party. Melaan lets them know that the kandra they are going up against is named Paalm, a kandra who has lost one of the spikes that gives the kandra their sentience.  At the end of it all, when Wax finds that the kandra who had been causing all the problems was really Lessie, his dead wife. Waxillium had fallen in love with a being that was sent by Harmony  to guide him to a goal. This is just a small bit of what went on.

To me, this was a masterstroke by Sanderson to bring the characters to a pivotal moment.  The interplay and tension among these compatriots in nearly tangible in this installment.  I have to tease right here and say that, one of the casualties of these two books is a hero.  In the end it was a deed that needed to be done and there was another to take the place.  There seems to be almost a theme between Shadow of Self and Bands of Mourning.  An idea of the end of one being the beginning of another.  As proof, we see the end to some notions we had about these characters washed away just to allow them into more complex and real people.

The story itself is what we have come to expect from Brandon Sanderson. It's rich in detail and there is sufficient action and revelation to keep the reader fully engaged.  This one also has an even that I so wanted to happen but, was afraid would never come.

Being released so soon after Shadows of Self was a surprise and the book itself made it a very pleasant one.  There is quite a bit of violence a and some occasional innuendo all of which inches this one into the PG13 area for me.

 

 



 

 

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by Tynga at Wednesday, February 03, 2016

 Brandon Sanderson, Epic, Fantasy, Fiction, Macmillan, Magic, Mistborn, Purchased, Review  Leave your mark

✎

The Siren by Kiera Cass

 

There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews about this book. Unfortunately, I agree with many reviewers that The Siren isn't really worth the read. I wanted to give it a chance since it was independently published back in 2009 and now recently republished by HarperTeen. I figured that meant it was a good story and worth polishing up to publish it the traditional way. Despite the fact the writing was cleaned up and the cover was given a makeover, I was very disappointed with the book. The mythology behind the Ocean and the existence of sirens was promising, but the main character Kahlen and her story were uninteresting and flat.

Kahlen has only 20 years left in her 100 year sentence as a siren and she has always followed the Ocean's rules. She's counting down the years until she's free from the Ocean demands, despite the fact the Ocean has been her "mother" for years. How she can love the Ocean when she's forced to kill with her song for her will remain a mystery to me. The story behind the mythology is that the Ocean needs to feed off human lives in order to survive. She uses the sirens to lure people to their demise and in return for 100 years of servitude, the sirens are given a new chance at life. I can understand Kahlen's melancholy because I would hate being forced to murder thousands of people to keep the Ocean alive. The idea of sacrificing a few for the many is unethical, especially since the sacrificed are chosen at random.

Kahlen's constant depression is lifted when she meets a boy named Akinli, and since it's against the rules to speak to any human, she tries to ignore him at first. Strong feelings develop between the two and after only a few days, Kahlen is convinced she's in love. Loving a boy is something the Ocean would absolutely disprove of, so she runs away from this "amazing" boy in order to keep him alive. Kahlen falls back into depression and most of the story is spent reading her inner turmoil about how she hates killing people and wished she could live out her normal human life now, instead of waiting another 20 years. The only thing that makes the story bearable is the Ocean and Kahlen's siren sisters. Elizabeth, Miaka, Aisling and Padma each have their own story, and honestly, any of their stories would have been better than Kahlen's. For reasons unknown, we ended up with the story of the most boring siren.

The personification of the Ocean was the only thing I liked about the book (that and the cover, but that doesn't really count). I enjoyed how the sirens try to teach the Ocean how to love and explain Kahlen's pain. The mystery behind the Ocean is constant, which makes it an intriguing character throughout the book.

The majority of the time, I don't mind first point of view books, but in this case, it wasn't the best method to tell Kahlen's story. The end of the book focused on Kahlen's return to human life, but that meant forgetting everything about being a siren. How can the story be written in the first person, when all is forgotten in the end? It just doesn't make sense.

There are so many things wrong with this book, especially the boring main character. The unrealistic love story is another disappointing factor and if the author would have taken more time developing this relationship, I think it might have been a little more genuine. It takes more than a quick dance and cake to fall in love. True fans of Kiera Cass might enjoy The Siren, but for any other reader, I would stay clear of this book. If you're intrigued, head for the library instead of the bookstore.

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by Tynga at Monday, February 01, 2016

 Harper Collins, HarperTeen, Kiera Cass, Purchased, Review, siren, young adult  2 People left their mark

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