Review: The Rogue

The Rogue by Trudi Canavan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Let me start out by saying this was a vast improvement over the first book in the Traitor Spy Trilogy. In The Rogue, events finally start moving beyond reminiscing about the past and setting the stage. Sort of. The stage is still being set, but it's a wider stage than in The Ambassador's Mission. The focus is less on how Imardin has changed in the last 20 years and how Sonea has been a virtual prisoner and more on current events in Imardin and Sachaka. That alone made it more interesting to read, and I didn't struggle through this one.

But, this is still a slow mover. There's not much action. It's still very much an exploration of the characters, their daily lives and their thoughts and feelings about small events. It's also still very much a two-track plot. I'm not sure if the events in Imardin and Sachaka will meet up at some point, but right now they seem to be very separate stories.

It was good to see Sonea making some of the changes that I'd wished to see in the last book (less emphasis on the over-protective mother hen), and to dive back into Cery's underworld again. I had a hard time with Dannyl's part because I was still stuck on not liking what happened between him and Tayend (I like to believe in true and everlasting love - silly me), but his research did add something of interest.

The new characters get more interesting as well. Lorkin is no longer a fuzzy character. He gains a personality and opens up a new world by letting us see the Traitor's colony. We also meet a naive new Novice to bring crisis back to the Guild.

Probably only true Canavan fans will be pleased enough to stick it out to the final book of the trilogy - and they are probably the only ones who will read this book anyway. I am one of those. I persevered beyond the first book myself because I had to believe it would get better. And it did, but it still doesn't match up to her previous two trilogies, both of which are among my favorites.





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Review: The Talisman Ring

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A humorous Georgian escapade with smugglers, an old murder mystery, and tongue-in-cheek adventure. It's a dream come true for a couple of young ladies who long for a life with more adventure than proper society approves, and who are not prone to fainting. Fun.



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Review: Journey of Dominion

Journey of Dominion by Shawna Thomas

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**Some spoilers. Nothing very specific, but revealing aspects of the overall story arc.

The Triune Stones is one of those fantasy series that I really want to love but instead find myself feeling let down. I like the world, the quest, and the magic system. I like the healer-warrior aspect of the main character, and the cultures that she travels to. I am absorbed while reading, my attention captured.

So what is missing?

Journey of Dominion has a promising start. A few years have passed since the end of the previous book, and Ilythra has matured. I really liked her new supporting character, and was poised to forgive what was lacking in the first book and settle in to enjoy this one. And then, it just... stalled.

**Skip the next 2 paragraphs if you don't want spoilers**

Ilythra gets into a situation, doesn't recognize that she's in deep trouble, and spends the rest of the book unable to get herself out of it. If she had a clue and ever actually struggled or made a break for it, I would have been happier. Instead, she is completely powerless, entirely passive, and in the end has to be rescued. She is unable to use any of the multitude of opportunities to break free herself. I found this extremely frustrating. I feel like Ilythra should have been stronger somehow, able to do more for herself.

In addition, after this great struggle, nothing was accomplished towards the greater goal of the series. I expected at least some progress, but Ilythra can do no more than run away with her tail between her legs. There's also no resolution or help for the slavery and poverty in the city she ends up fleeing. I wish there had been something to show for her captivity, but there's really nothing. I suppose since this is the second in a trilogy, it could be setting up the last book (I sincerely hope these things are addressed in the third!). As far as I can tell, the only point of the second book is to show Ilythra how naive and powerless she really is, and to cast the fate of her quest into doubt.

**Done with spoilers**

I also have a problem with the attitude towards sexual relationships in this series. I prefer sex to be about love, not lust, and not something that characters try out with multiple people. In this series, Ilythra falls in lust with too many people too easily, and doesn't seem to understand what love is. She's really stupid about it, actually. I'm hoping the last book resolves this for me. I realize it's not something that would bother everyone, but I guess I'm old fashioned in my ideas about what makes a good romance.

All of that said, I am still really looking forward to reading the last book! I'm unwillingly hooked, I suppose. A lot needs to happen to satisfy me, but there's so much potential here for a really strong wrap-up. I hope it delivers, but am trying not to get my hopes up too much at the same time, given my ultimate disappointment with the first two books.

**Received free arc for review.

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Review: The Cloud Roads

The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This one caught me right from the first page. It was so nice not to have to work so hard to get into something (I've had a string of those lately). It just carried me right along, and didn't drag at all. Refreshing!

The Cloud Roads is a non-YA high fantasy set in a very alien world. There are no humans - the species that we meet have scales, shells, or wings, and are very colorful. Some live on land, some in the air, and some in the water. There's the feeling of a large and varied world beyond what we are introduced to in this book (mostly land and air dwellers), and I'm really looking forward to learning more about it in the sequel.

The main character, Moon, is an orphan who doesn't know who his people are because he's never met anyone else like him in this vast world. He finds his people shortly after we meet him (so I don't think that's a spoiler), but it is a struggle to find his place with them, and they are threatened by another race of destructive beings, which puts a damper on things. I loved the cultures and the intricacies of how the different peoples interact, and I especially enjoyed the outside perspective of Moon on the many cultural situations he found himself in.

It might sound very alien, and hard to get into, but it wasn't confusing and there wasn't any world-dumping. The focus was on the characters more than the world, so we got information as Moon got it, and the pacing was just right to keep me turning the pages and losing sleep. I loved it!




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Review: A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I have to admit to skimming much of the book to get to the actual meat of the story - the parts that get close enough to the characters for me to care what's happening. They are there, they're just buried under a gluttony of description and scene setting, even more than usual for Dickens. I just wanted him to get to the point and stop reveling in words for the sake of them.

I find myself unable to be in raptures over this, the bloodthirstiest Dickens I've ever read (if you can skim well enough to realize when something exciting is actually happening). Yes, it has social upheaval, danger, revenge, and portrays very vividly the tumultuous time of the French Revolution. Yes, you feel for the characters on both sides, and feel the full horror of what is happening, once you actually get there. But there are maybe about 80 pages that actually matter. The setup gives you such a general, omniscient view that it takes too long to reach the point of knowing the characters enough to care. Or knowing which characters to care about! This is in contrast to other great novels that I love (David Copperfield, Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend) that build understanding and love of the characters while getting close to them, alongside them, instead of from far above. And although Dickens is always descriptive and wordy, in those it does not overwhelm, while in this one it chokes. As a result, the characters read more like vignettes.

I will admit that it is quite moving at the end, once everything comes together. It's also very sensational, with the immediacy of the mobs and daily guillotine executions. Again, once you get there. My guess is that this is what appeals to a lot of people compared to the pace of other Dickens' novels that slowly build sympathy and feeling but don't actually involve much action. 3 stars for the last 50 pages!




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