Review: The Eye of the World

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



It's really difficult for me to write an unbiased review of this because there's a fair bit of nostalgia involved for me. I began reading The Wheel of Time in 1995, and it was the first fantasy series that I really fell in love with. It captured my heart and held my imagination for a long, long time. I re-read the series over the years as new books were released up until Robert Jordan died - it was too heartbreaking that he wasn't able to finish it himself and I've waited until the series is finished (and the mourning period is over) to read it again.

Even on my 7th time through this 800 page tome (I know, I'm crazy), it had the power to grab me again. There is so much action, so much danger, and I love the feel it has of a world and history much larger than what we are introduced to here (even though we already get a lot!). Even knowing exactly where it was going, I still wasn't bored.

This has everything you could possibly want in a classic, epic fantasy: humble beginnings; reluctant self-discovery; prophecies; creepy, dark, evil enemies of various types; good guys with unknown motivations; a unique magic system; swords and fighting men (and women); memories and relics of old things; cities; remote places; survival on the run; a vast world with many glimpses of what is to come... I could go on and on. This, to me, is Fantasy at its best. There's not just a country or two, a city or two. There are several countries, cultures, peoples, and races that are each vividly described so that it feels like an entire world. You can get completely absorbed in it if you want to. It is so well-developed as the books progress that I almost believe I've been there. I love the feeling of being in this world, and 14 books gives me that long to soak it in.

Another thing I've always enjoyed about The Wheel of Time is that it has both male and female lead characters, and really great supporting ones as well. The female characters can be annoyingly bossy at times, but they are also often sympathetic (depending on whose point of view you're reading at the time). The women are strong, just as strong as the men, and I especially love following Egwene's story in the future out of those we meet in the first volume. I love the variety of characters, and I can never decide whose point of view I like best.

Many people are afraid to start the series because it's so long. I can see how that would be intimidating, and I'm glad I started when there were only 6 books. I believe it ended up so long mainly because the story has more than the usual one or two protagonists. 5 main characters are introduced in this book, as well as a few minor ones. With that many characters, and more to come, 14 books is what it took to play out all their paths in sufficient depth (although I will agree that some of the later books could have been less detailed). I really don't mind the length, though. I love this world. I love to have plenty of time to live in it. I don't claim that it's perfect, but I do believe it's worth some effort. Now that my memory is stirring, I can't wait to relive the rest of it again.



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Review: The Curse of Chalion

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The Curse of Chalion is the story of a noble, broken man who has just managed to escape from slavery. Once a soldier and a lord, Cazaril is now almost to the end of his rope, destitute, friendless, and betrayed. The first part of the book is the story of how he rebuilds his life, and how his sense of honor brings him to continue giving his life and loyalty to Chalion even when he feels he has nothing left to give.

It's a slow start - I didn't see what the point of it all was for quite a while. Cazaril is a noble sort of hero with some middle-aged wisdom to give in the role of mentor and adviser, and he is also humble. He really doesn't have any flaws, and I liked him for it - it's kind of refreshing these days. But aside from him getting sucked back into politics, it doesn't feel like it's going anywhere.

There's a lot of groundwork-laying until about 180 pages in when something significant finally happens. From that point on, it doesn't slow down at all. It turns out to be really great fantasy with plenty of political intrigue, action, and interesting magic. Suddenly I was completely in its grip! The ending is completely satisfying, bringing together pieces that I didn't even know were part of the puzzle.

The reason I can only give this 4 stars is that there are some gruesome parts that turned me off. Gruesome more in the lingering medical condition sense than the fleeting battle blood-and-guts sense (which I'm fine with). I'm kind of squeamish on the medical stuff though, and I really couldn't get past it, even though the rest of the story was fantastic. The slow start is something I can deal with because it pays off in the second half of the book - but give me too many medical details and I'm just not happy. That's me, though.

This is the first book in a trilogy, but it really feels complete to me as it is. I don't feel any lingering questions forcing me to pick up the next book. It can totally stand alone if you're not in the mood for a series. From what I've read, the next book moves to one of the minor characters, so it's almost more of a companion novel. I do intend to read on.



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Review: The Singing

The Singing by Alison Croggon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(This review may contain spoilers.)

After a significant detour in The Crow, The Singing returns to Maerad, and the story then switches back and forth between Hem and Maerad as they search for each other. I enjoyed the return to Innail, the battle with the Landrost, and the warmer friendship between Maerad and Cadvan. Hem's portions were interesting as well - Saliman, the traveling show, the moving army of the Dark. There is plenty of magic and plenty of danger.

I enjoyed it, but the first two are still my favorites. I can't quite put my finger on why. Mainly, I think my hopes and expectations were too high, but it may also have been the effect of switching back and forth between the two characters, where the previous books were always focused on one.

One of the things hampering my 5-star level enjoyment was that the closer we got to the end, the more remote Maerad became to everyone around her. This is just when I felt like she should be getting closer to others and coming to greater understanding of herself, her magic, and the world around her - as she did in the Riddle, but now it should be in a broader sense than before.

Instead, she is no longer capable of thought, so overwhelmed by magic that she can't even open her eyes. She struggles with herself and her visions a lot more than interacting with Cadvan. He just looks at her with concern a lot, and she isn't even aware he's there. The end of the book mostly just happens to her as magic takes control, and Cadvan sits by.

Then it's over and goes straight into the epilogue, which means a distancing from the characters and the story. The epilogue wraps up a lot, but not in the immediate way that the rest of the story is told, and I wasn't ready for that yet.

I will admit that as I read this, I was getting impatient to find out if Maerad and Cadvan were going to have any romance or not. It was exactly what was needed to round the story out (in my fondest hopes). But Croggon stays focused on the quest all the way to the epilogue. Then she finally lets a teeny, tiny little bit of romance in, but it feels distant from the real story instead of part of it. I was disappointed that it didn't get a little more direct attention earlier in the book. The way that Croggon evokes emotion at the fall of a city or the loss of a friend, for example, could have been used more effectively to portray the depth of emotion in love as well. I wanted just a little bit more.

So I suppose my main complaint, other than wishing for romance throughout, is that the story was over too soon - which is not a bad complaint to have. I loved it that much that I wanted it to continue on past the conflict and into peace and happiness. I needed more time to extricate myself from this world without feeling totally lost afterwards. So the epilogue came too soon, and I had the feeling of being distanced from the characters as I watched them carry on into life without me. I am so sad that it's over!



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Review: The Secret Keeper: A Novel

The Secret Keeper: A Novel by Kate Morton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The Secret Keeper is my favorite of Kate Morton's so far. There is much here that is familiar from her other work - family secrets, switching time between generations to reveal those secrets gradually, and unexpected twists.

What is different about this novel is that it is more nostalgic than gothic in tone, which gives it a completely fresh feeling even though it also still feels like Kate Morton in style. The feeling of hope and anticipation of each character in their youth is both tangible and bittersweet, as if you already know the loss of that feeling even while you're closing your eyes and savoring it. If you have any memories of being a child playing outside on a hot summer day without a care in the world, your own memory enhances the nostalgia.

Whether it's the anticipation of youth, the tempered weight of regret later in life, or the 'seize the day' spirit of the Blitz in World War II London, Morton made me feel the hopes and losses of each character in each generation. She made me care what happened to them from the start so that the unfolding secrets mattered to me. And the twists were brilliant in this one. Loved it.



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Review: The Crow

The Crow by Alison Croggon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The Crow is very different from the first two books of the Pellinor series. It switches completely to Hem's point of view, going back to follow him through his experiences adjusting to the School in Turbansk, coming to love the city, and realizing the impact of the advancing war with the Dark.

At first, I found it hard to switch from Maerad's perspective to Hem's. My feeling at the end of The Riddle was an urgency to continue immediately to find out what was going to happen next - only to discover I had to wait for book 4 to read anything further about Maerad! That was tough. Switching to Hem was like starting a new story - getting to know a new character from the beginning, new surroundings, new conflicts. It took me a while to switch gears, but once I did, I came to love Hem's part as well. It turns out he's more important than we all thought, and deserves a whole book to himself.

As we join Hem in Turbansk, there's a change from the travel narrative of the previous books to impending siege and war. Hem feels very much like a boy out of his element at the beginning of this book. But as the siege approaches, he is jolted out of those petty troubles and is forced to look outside himself. He is too young to be directly involved in the fighting, but he finds important roles to play in defense of the city, learning about his own gifts along the way. His growing maturity as he experiences war and siege and flight is natural and profound. I hardly recognized him at the end.

Honestly, though, Saliman is really my favorite character in this. His generosity, kindness and laughter, along with his seriousness and strength in the face of disaster make him one of the bright points of the story - and it doesn't get much brightness once things begin to fall apart. He is the solid point around which everyone moves, and he does far more than fill the role of mentor and father to Hem.

Once again, Croggon's powers of description vividly bring to life the city of Turbansk so that you wish you could reach out and take a mango from a tree in one of the gardens. She really makes you care about this beautiful city, to feel it personally that this warm, lush, vibrant home is being destroyed by such overwhelming evil forces. We witness first-hand the fear and destruction brought by the Dark, making it more immediate than the visions Maerad had. Now we are not just being told that bad things are going to happen, we feel the impact and understand the urgency of Maerad's quest in a much more personal way. And somehow Croggon is also able, in just a few words here and there, to make you feel the loss of a close friend, or the depth of the sacrifices made by those who are fighting. The story is often heartbreaking and grows darker and more depressing as the conflict rises.

Because it was difficult to get into at the beginning with the sudden switch to Hem's perspective, and because it was much darker, I'm only giving this one 4 stars. I still loved it, and love the series, but I can't say I enjoyed it as much as the first two books.



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Review: Easy

Easy by Tammara Webber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a lot different than most of the stuff I read. It's contemporary, and it's romance. I enjoyed the change, and I really enjoyed the college setting. I really can't think of anything else I've read that is in college rather than high school, so I felt like I was reading something new.

It is mainly a contemporary romance, and there is plenty of attention to the physical and emotional aspects of falling in (and out of) love. It's definitely for the more mature audience. There is sex, and although it's not very graphically described, there are other things that are quite explicit.

In spite of the heavy focus on romance, that's not all there is to this book. If it was, I probably wouldn't bother with writing this review because it would have been just a quick fluff read not worth thinking about. But there was enough here to make it more than that. It's also about the experience of college - classes, parties, the process of separating from parents, finding out who you are, etc. It also involves attempted rape, rape, and the social pressures surrounding the reporting of such assaults, so there is some pretty serious stuff in there. I am still thinking about it, so that tells me it's not just brain candy (not that I'm opposed to reading fluff when I'm in the mood!).

It was refreshing to read something other than the norm for me, and I also enjoyed indulging in a true romance for a change.



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Review: The Riddle

The Riddle by Alison Croggon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The Riddle starts out exactly where The Naming left off. It is still largely a travel-quest story, but the havens are fewer and the stakes are much higher than before. I found this second installment did not remind me as much of Tolkien as the first. I believe it's because the story leaves the haunted lands of barrows and wights and the enchanted forests, and pursuit by the Dark is less immediate.

The story grows in leaps and bounds, really taking off in its own direction, and Croggon outdoes herself with her powers of description. The Naming was beautifully written, but The Riddle takes place in a much broader variety of landscapes, and Croggon brings each of them alive so that you feel that you are there with the smells, sounds and sights. She takes you from warm tropical islands and sea voyages with the smell of salt on the air to mountain tops and passes, to the frozen north with dog sleds and northern lights and wolves, where you can feel the ice cracking. It's truly breathtaking, and I love this series as much for the vivid world she evokes as for the people struggling in it.

This is quite a bit darker than The Naming, as reality sets in and Maerad begins to crack under the pressure. I found her annoyingly bratty through at least half of this book. She willfully lashes out and pushes people away, and spends a lot of time feeling sorry for herself in her self-alienation. On the surface, it's disappointing that she is not just the perfect hero-child, riding forth valiantly to sacrifice everything. Looking a little deeper, though, her reactions are plausible - until a few months ago, she was an ignorant slave. Now she has discovered she is fated to save the entire world, and she is still not firm enough in her new life to understand and accept the support and love of others. She is very confused, and unable to bear the weight of this new world on her own. I didn't like her, and I didn't like all of the decisions she made, but I understood where she was coming from.

Fortunately, one of Croggon's strengths is bringing transformation to her characters, and the change is believable because it happens through experience and real circumstances. Maerad is forced to confront the consequences of her childish actions, and she grows through hardship, mistakes, and painful discovery of herself.

Once this soul-journey truly began, I found it very hard to put the book down. While Maerad is undergoing such a painful process, the story itself takes some unexpected turns, defying the 'quest narrative' expectations in my mind and keeping me on the edge of my seat. Rarely these days do I find a story that surprises me as well as evoking such a variety of emotions, and I'm not letting go of this series for a long time.




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