Review: The Lost City of Faar

The Lost City of Faar by D.J. MacHale
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Each book of this series takes place on a different world. Each world has some sort of crisis, and the outcome determines the fate of the universe. This should be pretty intense. Unfortunately, it's boring.

As with the first book, I saw so much unrealized potential. The world that this takes place in should be fascinating. I wanted to love it. But the journal format forces the main character's voice on everything, and I find him juvenile and tedious. Events that should be edge-of-your seat exciting are told through this voice, so there's too much distance between you and the action.

Also the adults are my favorite characters, which doesn't seem right. (view spoiler)[Especially when they are being systematically killed off - which only makes me upset. (hide spoiler)]

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Review: Madapple

Madapple by Christina Meldrum

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This book was confusing until the end. I wouldn't say I liked it, but it's well written. The main character, Aslaug, is confused until the end, and the main story unfolds as she experiences it. Interspersed with her first person narrative are court scenes that offer an outsider view, contrasting modern reality with the weird world that Aslaug lives in. The contrast keeps you wondering what's real and shows how social constructs shape people's understanding of events.

Much of the first person narrative feels surreal. Aslaug is brought up without any knowledge of society, laws, norms, etc. It's an interesting view of how different the world can be to a child that is completely isolated and indoctrinated by her mother and the rest of her family. Once reality finally clicks, it's as if she comes out of a drug-induced haze, bringing the reader out of it with her.

Weird and dark, with issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, family abuse and dysfunction, mis-use of religion, incest, etc., it's well-written and thought-provoking after the final page. Definitely different than anything else I've ever read.



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Review: Wrapped

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Wrapped is a fun YA historical mystery with mummy unwrapping parties, artifacts and curses, secret museum excursions and a sinister plot. There's also Regency society to navigate, with an inappropriate romantic interest for the heroine.

It's entertaining but without the level of complexity that I'd usually reserve for a 4 star book. Still a fun, light read. From the ending, it sounds like there should be a sequel, so I'll be keeping my eye out for the next one.

**Received free arc for review.



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Review: Once in a Full Moon

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



If you are a teenager who loves to read about high school drama with some paranormal insta-love dropped into it, this may be for you. Even if you are such a teenager, you still might find this just as shallow and pointless as I did. I can't believe I wasted time finishing it. I probably wouldn't have, but I received a free copy to review and felt I should at least finish it.

**Received free galley for review


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Review: Always a Witch

Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I thought the first book ok, but wasn't too fond of the insta-love situation. Since I got the second book from NetGalley, I pressed on without much enthusiasm, but this book actually made the first worthwhile. The romance is still unexplained, but it's not the whole story. What makes it more interesting is the time travel. The consequences of time travel and magic on the future finally grabbed my attention.

I still think that this was a little too Young-Adult-ish for me. Some YA books work better for me as an adult than others, but usually some depth or complexity beyond teenage love and angst is a requirement. Thankfully, this had more to offer than high school drama, with an old magical family's future at stake, and the danger of being a modern teenaged witch sent back to 19th Century New York to deal with an old and evil enemy.

**Received free arc for review.

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Trudi Canavan

I've really been enjoying Trudi Canavan lately. She's an Australian author - Fantasy genre, of course. I read her Black Magician trilogy first, and had severe difficulties putting it down, and then severe issues with letting it go afterwards. It's rare that I read something that is so good that I don't want it to be over, even when I can't stop myself from reading to find out what happens.

So when I discovered that Canavan had a second completed trilogy, I felt a mixture of anticipation and dread. Odd, I know. But I was so worried that my expectations were too high, and that her second story wouldn't be as good as the first. The desire to read something good finally won, and I just finished the Age of the Five trilogy.

It was, again, excellent. I couldn't stop reading - but had to force myself to. The wonderful and surprising thing is, the second trilogy is so completely different from the first, that comparisons between the two weren't necessary. I could enjoy each one as a separate entity. So my expectations weren't disappointed. In fact, I'd say Canavan is definitely a new favorite of mine. If you're in the mood for a good fantasy with lots of magic, pick up one of these. I don't think you'll regret it.

I'm awed by the imaginations that can conceive of entire worlds and complex social systems that don't have any real reference to our own reality. To be a successful Fantasy writer... it's beyond the imagining of my logical self. But I can surely enjoy and appreciate those who are able to spin such tales, transporting me out of the blandness of reality.

Review: Lost - Gregory Maguire

 

Lost is a somewhat postmodern work. The main character is a writer who travels between Boston and London, so there were lots of cultural references for me to recognize and smile at, as well as many literary references (especially Dickens, etc). So from that standpoint, I definitely enjoyed it. I appreciated the craftsmanship of it, and even liked the philosophizing... and yet somehow it simultaneously left me feeling incredibly dissatisfied.

I've figured out that it's not because I'm not postmodern myself, but because I am, that I don't want to immerse myself in the chaotic craziness of the world when I step into a book. 'Lost' itself even confirmed and solidified this same idea that I've had for a while now. Here's a lengthy quote about Alice in Wonderland that I can't trim down any further because it just says it all:

A reading child back in those early days, corseted, even strait-jacketed by Victorian certainties, could delight in a story stuffed with nonsense. Time was malleable during a mad tea party in which there could be jam yesterday and jam tomorrow, but never jam today. Creatures could shift shapes, a sheep into an old lady, a baby into a pig. Fury could win out over reason. In the nineteenth century, reading Alice was refreshing because it was an escape from strict convictions about reality.

But now? Now? Children... hated the Alice books, couldn't read them, and why should they? Their world had strayed into madness long ago. Look at the planet. Rain is acid, poisonous. Sun causes cancer. Sex = death. Children murder each other. Parents lie, leaders lie, the churches have less moral credibility than Benetton ads...

No wonder Wonderland isn't funny to read anymore: We live there full-time. We need a break from it.
So Victorian kids turned to madness to escape the strict stuffiness of their world, and I turn to the Victorian times or other fantasy worlds to escape the madness of my own. The wheel of time turns...

Escape. It's great. But, if it doesn't trouble you to read postmodern works... try this one. You'll probably love it.