Derek Landy - Skulduggery Pleasant

Title: Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant, book 1)
Author: Derek Landy
Pub. year: 2007
Pages: 380
Editor: HarperCollins
Summary: Meet Skulduggery Pleasant:
Ace Detective
Snappy Dresser
Razor–tongued Wit
Crackerjack Sorcerer
and
Walking, Talking,
Fire-throwing Skeleton
—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.

These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.
The end of the world?
Over his dead body.

So, Muffin here gave me this book as a gift months ago but it took me a little while to read it. I was willing to, but you know, massive TBR pile and stuff... Anyway, now I've read it and really enjoyed it, so let's talk about it!

You kind of dive into this funny story full of sarcasm, skeleton, magic, crappy cars, bad guys who wants to rule the world, and so on.

Stephanie is a clever and determined girl, and I really like the fact that she wasn't "oh yay, magic is real and in five seconds I'm like a super duper magic badass". It's cleverly written and realistic—as far as it can be in a fantasy novel ;). And Skulduggery, this witty skeleton who made me think of Harry Dresden (from The Dresden Files), is endearing as he grow attached to Stephanie. I liked how he's not at all patronizing with her and take her not as a yound teenage girl but as a person who seems to him strong enough to take care of herself.
Plus, there's a whole bunch of other peculiar characters in those two's life, which makes it even more awesome.

Magic is a bit renewed here, even if there's obviously some clichés about it in the story, but it was quite well introduced and some of its specifications were quite appealing to me! Don't want to spoil it for you so you'll have to read it or trust me.

I thought it was a story mostly for children, but as I read it I realised it is one of those who can be read at any age. And that's pretty awesome. I enjoyed it very much myself so Yay against prejudice!
Now, you know what you have to do if you think you'll like it!

Quotes:

'If you hear any screaming,' he said, 'that'll be me.'

'The gap was gaping. It was a gaping gap.'

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Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Pub. year: 2011
Pages: 400
Editor: Doubleday

Summary: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. The fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hangs in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

I think so many people have talked about this book already that I won't be able to tell you anything new. If you were expecting some controversial review about how bad this book is, you can leave now, because the hype is totally justified. I didn't even expect anything from it, I know everyone said it was good, but then that wouldn't be a first for me not to like something everyone else's does. Plus, I've never been to a circus in my life, and never really expressed any interest for it, so a circus romance...

How wrong I was. This is definitely a little masterpiece, in more ways than I could explain. First, you see those chapters, one addressed to the reader, one following a character in a timeline, then another in the past or the future, knowing fully that all will collide someday. The style is marvelous, very light and deep at the same time, full of poetry, and I really couldn't tear my eyes off it.

But not only that, this beautiful writing has a wonderful story behind it, very imaginative, full of surprises, of intricates mysteries and soft charming romance mixed with cruelty and deception. The Circus itself is a pure wonder, and the characters living it (or buzzing around it) are so moving and real that it's almost painful to see them hurt. I don't know what to say to express it properly, but this book really takes you into another universe, grips you and doesn't let you go until you release this last, sad breath, knowing the Circus has to go without you now.

The book is totally going on my "to read again and again" shelf!

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Gregory Maguire - Wicked

Title: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, book 1)
Author: Gregory Maguire
Pub. year: 1995
Pages: 407
Editor: HarperCollins

Summary: When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story.
But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch?
Where did she come from?
How did she become so wicked?
And what is the true nature of evil?

I saw the Musical Wicked last summer and fell in love with it. So when I heard about the book it came from, I wanted to read it really badly. Luckily, a friend offered it to me as a gift for my birthday, and I read it as soon as I could.

Unfortunately, it was not as entertaining and moving as the Musical for me. Even if I liked to learn about Elphaba's life a little bit more, I was often bored while reading. And the characters were quite different. It was hard for me to appreciate some of them like I did in the Musical. I know I shouldn't compare while reading a book, but it was too different and really less enjoyable for me.

In this book, we follow Elphaba from birth during her journey. We discover a lot more about her life, and why she does what she does, but I had trouble liking her. I didn't find her moving, even if her personality was complex and unstable. I felt like I was watching everything from behind a veil so I didn't truely entered the story.

I was a bit pissed with the author when each time I started to find a part entertaining, he jumped a few years later, losing my attention again and again.

I didn't hate that book, but I didn't like it either. Even the political issues that were raised in the Musical are boring and not as well exploited here. At least I laughed a bit at some replicas.

As a result, I don't feel really enthousiastic about this reading, and quite disappointed...


Quote :
"'I shall pray for you soul,' promised Nessarose.
'I shall wait for your shoes,' Elphie answered."
p.325

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Brandon Sanderson - The Alloy of Law

Title: The Alloy of Law
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Pub. year: 2011
Pages: 336
Editor: Tor Books

Summary: Three hundred years have passed since the events of the Mistborn trilogy and Scadrial has changed.
Electric lights now illuminate its streets, buildings soar into the skies, and the planet is a hive of commerce. Waxillium Ladrian has spent twenty years in the dangerous frontier wilderness known as the Roughs. When a family tragedy calls him back to Elendel, he imagines that he is leaving danger for the safety of urban civility.
Little does he know what grave dangers await him.....

Me, being a fury-fan of Sanderson's work, that's no news for you I think. So well, me jumping at this not-so-next-but-still book of the Mistborn series is no news either, right? Tor has published the first 6 chapters online this autumn and I was feverishly waiting for each new part to come up. I tell you, those chapters, that's a good third of the book, but read them anyway. They're worth it.

This new book is a bit leaving behind the usual Mistborn atmosphere to take a much more Western novel side. The hero, Wax, is an "old" sherif of the Rough coming to town to save his family heritage. He cannot resist the temptation to investigate a series of heavy robberies happening around the city, and helped by his faithful Wayne, will stick himself where he shouldn't have, obviously.

I loved finding here the usual humour Sanderson uses in his books, since on the magical side it was not as good as it was. Sure, allomancy is still here, it's even combined with feruchemy (don't try to remember the names of the combinations at the end, I got a headache from that), but somehow it's not really the point. Here, the story is really focused on the robberies, the mystery solving, etc. But the humour! It has a name, and it's Wayne: dear, awesome grumpy Wayne, obsessed with hats, always a stupid joke on the tip of his tongue, master of "exchanging" what he needs against what lays in his pockets. And man, the guy can make speed bubbles and fight like you've never seen it. How much better could this get?!

Alright, let's be fair, I maybe didn't enjoy this book as much as the others. Some characters lack a bit of deepness (I didn't even like Marasi, sorry), the story is pretty classical and very westernish, far from the mysterious intricate Fantasy Sanderson usually serves us. But for a pretty classical story, it was really good. And I'm telling you, passing on that, it's like passing on a cookie fresh from the oven, just because there's not as many nuts as in the previous one.

But there's plenty nuts in there, dirty fellows!


And for the first time ever, you can listen to an extract of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio.
Like it? Come back this week for a chance to win it!

"Aw, biscuits," Wayne said. "Did you have to hit him in the head?
That was my lucky hat he was wearin'."

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Karen Miller - The Innocent Mage

Title: The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, book 1)
Author: Karen Miller
Pub. year: 2005
Pages: 613
Editor: Orbit

Summary: "The Innocent Mage is come, and we stand at the beginning of the end of everything."
Being a fisherman like his father isn't a bad life, but it's not the one that Asher wants. Despite his humble roots, Asher has grand dreams. And they call him to Dorana, home of princes, beggars and the warrior mages who have protected the kingdom for generations.
Little does Asher know, however, that his arrival in the city is being closely watched by members of the Circle, people dedicated to preserving an ancient magic.
Asher might have come to the city to make his fortune, but he will find his destiny.

After our first CR together, and because I bought Lily a book I had in my TBR pile that I wanted to read with her, here we come again for a four-hands review on a very surprising Fantasy story!

Was the story good?

Lyra: Actually, I liked it, even if it's not really consistent. I mean, clearly, it's not what makes the quality of this book. There isn't a lot of things happening it the first book of this series, though I found it enjoyable. But yeah, you can easily predict of lot of the story.

Lily: Definitely, the scenario isn't the strong point of this one. The first pages I read gave me this deja vu impression, a mix of very classic Fantasy (a quest, a fabulous destiny, an evil magician, blabla) and very predictable action, which kind of spoils the fun of reading from time to time. The thing is, the book has many good points, don't get me wrong, but there are no surprises to expect, no heavy suspense, and mostly you just continue reading knowing where it's going. Luckily, you easily forget about this flaw, thanks to...

Were the characters moving?

Lyra: THAT's the whole point of the book. The main characters are really entertaining. Asher, with his accent, his honesty and everything that makes him who he is, is a very well written character. He brings a lot of fun to the story. Gar, Dathne and Matt add a lot to that, even if Gar is a bit naive and shakeable sometimes. And the "bad guy" is such a cliché that he's almost funny.

Lily: ... yes, the moving characters! This book relies on it's character to hook you, and good for me, I love being hooked by characters. The hero is pretty amazing, talking like a fisherman even in front of the prince, never afraid to say the wrong things, to dress the wrong way. His honesty plays a very big part in the charm of this book. The rest of the characters are also worth mentionning, though not as good as Asher: prince Gar is a good lad but quite predictable, and he really lacks strenght to be a proper leader. Dathne and Matt both have potential but in this first part, they don't do enough to be very interesting. I hope to see more of them in the second half.

So altogether... a must read or not?

Lyra: Maybe not a must read, but I definitely recommend it to you. It's been a week since I finished it, and I still think about it sometimes, even while reading another book.
The Innocent Mage is funny and entertaining. Once you're in it, you want to know what happens next, even if you know that action isn't the key word of the story. I think I'm gonna read the second and last book pretty soon. Maybe with the Muffin!

Lily: It's hard to say "must read" after pointing out so many flaws, but strangely I found it so easy and fun to read that I don't want to qualify it second rate either. For those who are not used to Fantasy, I think this is a great way to start, and anyone who's bored with war and politics would definitely enjoy the fresh atmosphere this book offers. I'll definitely read the second one, but not for some time probably... really, those friends that only offer you the first half of the series, that shouldn't be allowed!

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Marcus Sedgwick - Vampires and Volts

Title: Vampires and Volts (The Raven Mysteries, book 4)
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Pub. year: 2011
Pages: 256
Editor: Orion Childrens

Summary: Join the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. It's Halloween and the Otherhands are enjoying the Annual Pumpkin Hunt. And there are preparations to be made for the Great Halloween Ball. Minty is all a-fluster. Solstice is busy spraying fake cobwebs everywhere. Valevine is in charge of disorganising everyone's carefully laid plans, and Cudweed seems hungrier than ever and oddly preoccupied with 'fresh brains'. In fact when Silas, Valevine's long lost brother, turns up with Samantha, the Otherhands would be well-advised to check out their guests. It's not long before wily Edgar works out that there's a preponderance of vampires and not all of them have false teeth. Just when he's about to solve the latest mystery at Otherhand Castle, the lights go out...

It's Hallowe'en!! You know, that time of the year when you stuff yourself with candy, take out your old gothic clothes from highschool days hoping they'll still fit, put pumpkin brains everywhere while trying to carve a damn face into the thing... well, why not read Hallowe'en books too, while you're at it? Don't move, I have exactly what you need here. Pumpkin hunt, Hallowe'en ball, vampires, one old black crow: Edgar is back (in paperback) for a new issue of the wonderful series!

Remember the delightfully weird Otherhand family? After battling against a monster in the basement, ghosts in the attic and a very weird teacher, they are back for Hallowe'en this time. No one can do better than them to celebrate this party properly: after all, it's almost Hallowe'en everyday at the castle! Cudweed is as hungry as ever, Solstice the usual busybody, Valevine the usual nutcase and Minty the unusal preoccupied lady. But fear not, the real hero is still our brave Edgar, always ready to grumpily save the day!

As before, the narration is really the strong point of this book. Edgar is the most wonderfully funny crow you've ever met and it's a pleasure to have him tell the story from his point of view, with a lot of puns and jokes, and a great deal of complaining! You won't get scared by this book, that's for sure, but the whole point of it is to have fun with original characters, mysteries to solve, suspects to apprehend and adventures to have. Four book later, still no sign of getting bored, and both children and adults alike will love it. Does it get any better than this?

On a different but related note, don't forget that Neil Gaiman has set up this great new tradition for Halloween: offer a scary book to someone! I already sent mine and I hope they'll like it... How about you, why not sending a great book like... Vampires and Volts for example?

All details and stickers are on All Hallow's Read, and listen to our great Neil Gaiman talk about it, he does it much better than I!

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Neil Gaiman - Stardust

Title: Stardust
Author: Neil Gaiman
Pub. year: 1999
Pages: 223
Editor: Vertigo

Summary: Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall - named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...

Although Lyra and I have been blogging together for a while, we never really had the opportunity to read a book at the same time. Now it's finally the case! Let's enjoy this opportunity to see how both of us liked it, and what we have to say about it.

Was the story good?

Lily: Well, how could I say no? It is, after all, a Neil Gaiman's book, and I don't think I ever did—or ever will—find any of his stories bad. They have something very special in them, because in a way I can never say that it's "the best I ever read", even thought I never find it a chore to finish the books. Well here is the same, the story is kind of classic—very fairy tales like, as you guessed already, but with an edge to it, very dark sometimes. It's somehow based on a child story, being about this plain hero rescuing the star and bringing her back to claim his lover's hand, but quite mature in it's content—and I'm telling you, not all characters in this story will remain unharmed. And yes, there are details. Brrr.

Lyra: I agree with the Muffin. I'm never really enthousiastic with Gaiman's books, but I always enjoy them. He has a gift to tale things in a way that no matter what it is, I like it. I'm not a big fan of fairy tales but this one was cute, yet mature and unusual. I've always found it weird and frustrating that princesses fall in love with complete strangers, just because they're princes and about to rescue them. Here, we discover the girl AND the guy, and it feels all more credible and enjoyable.


Were the characters moving?

Lily: Of course, they're not staying still all book long... oops, sorry, you mean touching? That is something else also frequent with Gaiman books: while his characters are always surprising, courageous, strongwilled and so on, they lack some emotional attachment to them. Take for example Tristran... he's a nice guy, brave, becoming along the way a true hero, but that's it. You don't feel for him, as you don't feel for the pretty star, or the bad sorceress, or any other. It's a perfect story to read or to tell to escape the dull everyday life, but it's not the kind to become you favorite book ever.

Lyra: Will you stop saying what I have in mind, please? Like I said, I was glad to get to know each character, but yeah, I wasn't really moved by them. They were enjoyable but sometimes, I thought that they were acting in a way that didn't seems appropriate for what I knew about them (especially Tristran and Una).


So altogether... a must read or not?

Lily : A must read, I don't know. I definitely don't regret reading it, and I would recommend it to Gaiman's or Fantasy fans, but it's not really in my top list. The end is very predictable, not much happens during the story, and not being a big fan of fairy tales probably doesn't help. One thing though, the edition I read illustrated by Charles Vess is most awesome, the drawings fit perfectly the mood and I loved just looking at them. Buy it just for that, you won't regret it! And if you don't know it already, a movie was made in 2007 by Matthew Vaughn, quite different from the original story, but for once... I think I liked it better. Maybe because there were more pirates?

Lyra: (I always knew you were TEAM Pirate :P) I don't have the same edition, and mine wasn't illustrated (that's unfaiiiir), but anyway, I think it's a fine book to read. It's nice, I spent a good time with it, and I'm glad I did. But a must read, maybe not. If you feel like you can appreciate it, if you like fairy tales, if you like Gaiman's books or Fantasy, you should definitely try. If you don't, well, it's up to you. I've never been really disappointed by this author because he damn knows how to tell stories, no matter the subject, so, it can't hurt trying!

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Blake Charlton - Spellwright

Title: Spellwright (Spellwright, book 1)
Author: Blake Charlton
Pub. year: 2010
Pages: 467
Editor: HarperVoyager

Summary: In a world where words can come to life, an inability to spell can be a dangerous thing. And no one knows this better than apprentice wizard Nicodemus Weal.
Nicodemus Weal is a cacographer, unable to reproduce even simple magical texts without ‘misspelling’ – a mistake which can have deadly consequences. He was supposed to be the Halcyon, a magic-user of unsurpassed power, destined to save the world; instead he is restricted to menial tasks, and mocked for his failure to live up to the prophecy.
But not everyone interprets prophecy in the same way. There are some factions who believe a cacographer such as Nicodemus could hold great power – power that might be used as easily for evil as for good. And when two of the wizards closest to Nicodemus are found dead, it becomes clear that some of those factions will stop at nothing to find the apprentice and bend him to their will…

Since I am willing to be a speech therapist, this summary caught my eye. The beautiful cover helping, I bought the book pretty quickly after discovering it. I'm glad I did.

The author's way of bringing his handicap through the story is really clever and brings something special to it. And it allowed people to start understanding what it feels like to suffer that kind of disorder. Nicodemus isn't perfect, he's got his problems, his faults, his dreams, like anybody else. But if I liked his personality, I was a bit disappointed because I couldn't really become attached to the characters. Even if some of them have really interesting parts. It was like I was watching from beyond a veil. I really hope it gets better in the next 2 books.

Apart from that, I really enjoyed the story, the magic inside. I loved the different creatures we heard about, even if the beginning was a bit confusing and we don't really know what we are dealing with. I also appreciated to see different civilisations with their own beliefs. The frame is well written and well thought. But I am disappointed with the last 2 chapters, they should have been in the next book, not at the end of this one. It breaks the 'to be continued' end there could have been. The end is interesting, but it is not a end to me. It is a beggining stopped at a point where it shouldn't be.

Anyway, as you can see, it's hard to feel the whole stuff just after this introduction book, so I'm looking forward to read the following ones.

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Clive Barker - Abarat

Title: Abarat (Abarat, books 1 & 2)
Author: Clive Barker
Pub. year: 2002
Pages: 388
Editor: HarperCollins

Summary: Abarat: an archipelago of amazement and wonder. A land made up of twenty-five islands, each one representing one hour of the day, each one a unique place of adventure and danger (and one mysterious place out of time), all ruled over by the evil Christopher Carrion, Lord of Midnight, and his monstrous grandmother, Mater Motley. Candy Quackenbush, a 16-year old from Chickentown, Minnesota, crosses by accident from our world into Abarat, and discovers she has been there many, many times before. She has friends there and she has enemies. As Candy makes her journey between all the islands of the archipelago, she will discover a plot by Christopher Carrion to block out the Sun, Moon and stars to achieve a condition of Permanent Midnight. In order to prevent this disaster, Candy must find the courage to confront the Lord of Midnight; and in doing so come to know who she really is: a revelation which will transform her own understanding of her place in the epic events.

I already presented many of my favorite books to you, and I don't think this would feel right if I don't add Abarat to the list. I discovered this book by chance at the bookstore—the cover was beautiful, I knew the author from The Thief of Always (excellent book by the way) and the story seemed intriguing enough for me to go home with the first two books. Probably one of my best compulsive bought of the latest years.



The story works around some classical fantasy elements—a young and courageous girl with a greater destiny, magical creatures, an epic quest to save the world—but beyond all that there is something really fascinating about this story. I don't know if it is because the illustrations (by the author himself) are dazzling, or because the creatures living in the Abarat are so weird that you can't even begin to imagine where they come from, but it seems impossible to remain untouched by these books. Candy is the typical hero that you look upon to, flawed but oh so human, and all the people she meets on her journey are so surprising, terrific and terrible that it's impossible to forget them.

With the third book going out this month, the Abarat quartet will surely be one of the must have for a very long time, fit as well for children as for adults. Original, full of magic, mysteries, epic adventures and emotion, it has everything to seduce the reader, including delightful paintings (don't get the massmarket paperback or you will miss them!) and complex characters. Well, is there anything that could be missing? Oh yes, humour—forget it, it's also funny. If you a have some hours to spare, you definitely should spend them in the Abarat. The islands frozen in time are waiting for you!

Scarebaby, scarebaby,
Where do you run?
Out in the graveyard,
To have some fun?
Dancing with skeletons
Up from the ground?
Doing a jig
On the burial mound?

Scarebaby, scarebaby,
Horrid you are!
With the wings of a bat,
And a face with a scar,
The fangs of a vampire,
The tail of a snake;
You open your mouth
And the noise that you make
Is a song that the Devil sings,
Bitter and loud.
Tell me, my baby,
Was your mother proud?

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Diana Wynne Jones - Howl's Moving Castle

Title: Howl's Moving Castle (Castle series, book 1)
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Pub. year: 2009
Pages: 304
Editor: HarperCollins Children's Books

Summary: In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.
The Hatter sisters--Sophie, Lettie, and Martha--and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.
In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

After telling you about all those authors I love, I couldn't miss on the great Diana Wynne Jones, the one who—though I didn't know it at the time—wrote the book that inspired Hayao Miyazaki's eponym movie, one of my ever favorites. I am not going to tell you about this movie, but really, you should see it. Best animation movie ever—or close to be. So back to business: Diana Wynne Jones. Not only the lady was an amazing story teller, she had a way with words that makes them almost as magic as her stories. With a little down-to-earth and lots of demon/magic formulas/potions/sorcerers/moving castle, she brews this kind of story that makes you open your eyes wide and find again in yourself this little excitement that you had when you were a kid, and that some of us still have. Or is it because some of us are still kids?



This "Castle series" is composed of three books. In the first one, we follow the strong willed Sophie, changed into an old lady by the Witch of the Waste, who gets on board of Howl's moving castle. Howl is reputed to be a terrible magician eating ladies' hearts, but in fact he's just a gigolo, slightly lazy and stubborn, who made a pact with a fire demon—the delightfully funny Calcifer, in charge of moving the Castle. Sophie will try to break the promise binding them together while visiting the country and trying herself at magic, of course! In the second book, meet Abdullah, who by an extraordinary set of events finds himself a magic carpet, and meets a princess to save from the claws of an evil being. In this Arabian Nights atmosphere, we follow him and his annoying bottle genius to the rescue of not one, but a whole bunch of princesses... including Sophie, of course! In the third book, a young lady called Charmain is called to tend the house of a sick magician. The house has many tricks in its pocket for her, and while she tries to be a good helper at the royal castle's library, she will have to solve a mystery with the great Howl himself...

If Howl and Sophie are the constant characters of the series, you won't see them that often. What you will see is loads of original characters, magic everywhere, great adventures, mysteries and suspense... well, everything that makes a perfect fantasy book. Kids or not kids, who could deny the talent of the wonderful Diana Wynne Jones?

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Scott Lynch - The Lies of Locke Lamora

Title: The Lies of Locke Lamora (The Gentlemen Bastards, book 1)
Author: Scott Lynch
Pub. year: 2007
Pages: 544
Editor: Gollancz

Summary: After a devastating plague, a man known as the Thiefmaker pays off the city guard to allow him to take in thirty newly-orphaned individuals, whom he plans to train as thieves. One orphan sneaks into the group of paid children, "thirty-one of thirty". The Thiefmaker soon discovers that this one child, Locke Lamora, is extremely clever but not "circumspect", and is a liability due to his lack of foresight or restraint. The Thiefmaker decides to sell Locke to Chains, a priest of the Nameless Thirteenth god, the Crooked Warden who protects thieves. Chains uses his temple as a front to operate the Gentlemen Bastards, where they play confidence games on the city's richest citizens, in defiance of the Secret Peace.

This summary is probably not the best you've ever seen, and it certainly doesn't do justice to this book—mind you, I couldn't find anything else, and God knows I am bad at making them myself. One thing you need to know about this book: it's awesome. I know, I know, always telling you about good books... but who cares about the bad ones? Well, I don't, so here I am, telling you about something good again. Awesome even. Wanna know more?

Locke Lamora, as the title says, is what you could call a pretty good liar. But not the petty kind of lie where you try to cover a missing assignment or something: the kind where you take a false identity and set up a scam so great it's going to cost the victim a good deal of its fortune. Because like Robin Hood, Locke steals only the wealthiest, though he doesn't give to the poor; everything goes to the vault of his "church", where he and his little gang stack up all they need for their crimes. And everything could have been "happily ever after" if some Grey King didn't appear suddenly, killing garristas, blackmailing the Master of thieves and using Locke against his will to cause a great commotion that will probably cost too many lives.

Oh, here I am, making a summary after all. Well, now you know what it is really about, the gangs, the scams, the bloody Grey Kind and his mess. But one thing you still don't know is that: not only the characters living in this puzzling world are original, they also have a terrific charisma—starting with Locke, this genius, this weird gentleman that knows enough and has enough nerves to pretend being anyone in order to get what he wants (and I tell you, he does get it!), and also his crew, the devil twins Calo and Galdo, the strong Jean and the snoopy Bug. Just for the sake of this bunch, you should read this book. So if I tell you that many other characters are as much interesting, that the chapters about the Gentlemen Bastards' childhood are as hilarious as the ones about present times are gripping, that the city of Camorr is as full of mysteries and surprises as a good Fantasy book should be (though I must admit, the beginning tends to be slow and over-descriptive, you need to hang on before catching the ride), well...

I said enough, didn't I? How could you not like it? And even more: how could you know if you don't try? And like it all you want, there are still many to come, Read Seas Under Red Sky is waiting and so is the rest of the series!

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China Miéville - Un Lun Dun

Title: Un Lun Dun
Author: China Miéville
Pub. year: 2007
Pages: 521
Editor: Pan Macmillan

Summary: Stumbling through a secret entrance, Zanna and Deeba enter the strange wonderland of UnLondon. Here all the lost and broken things of London end up, and some of its people too - including Brokkenboll, boss of the broken umbrellas, and Hemi the half-ghost boy.

But the two girls have arrived at a dangerous time. UnLondon is a place where words are alive, where a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, where carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets... and a sinister cloud called Smog is bent on destruction. It's a frightened city in need of a heroine...

When I first heard about Un Lun Dun, I thought "sounds like Neverwhere by Gaiman" (which has been in my TBR pile for a while) and I didn't want to read 2 similar books one after the other. But I don't know why, when I saw this one's cover, I just wanted to buy it and read it as soon as possible—which I did.

China Miéville has an impressive imagination and even in the foggy, dark and a bit scary world he writes about, he manages to put slices of humour that are really enjoyable. The illustrations aren't too much to help us picturing the characters he depicts. The story is full of mystery enhanced by the mist around and the threat of pollution that lays around. There's a lot of different parts in the evolution of the main frame so it leaves no time for boredom.

Apart from that, I felt a lot of references during the reading, to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Neil Gaiman's world, Ghibli movies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and so on (some of them are confirmed at the end of the book, I might be wrong for the others) and really appreciated it!



Therefore, this book was a great discovery. Now I'm curious about Miéville's other works! Luckily I have another book he wrote in my TBR Pile (even if the beginning looks complicated): The City & The City.

Quotes :

"The hautest of couture. Be entertained while you wear. Never again need you face the misery of unreadable clothes. Now you can pick up your favorite works of fiction or non-fiction for your sleeves. Perharps a classic for the trousers. Poetry for you skirt. Historiography for socks. Scripture for knickers. Learn while you dress !"

"If you're brave enough to try, you might be able to catch a train from UnLondon to Parisn't, or No York, or Helsunki, or Lost Angeles, or Sans Fransisco, or Hong Gone, or Romeless... It's a terminus."

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Madeleine L’Engle - A Wrinkle in Time

Title: A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time, book 1)
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Pub. year: 1962
Pages: 232
Editor: Square Fish

Summary: Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure - one that will threaten their lives and our universe.

An American friend of mine told me about that book a while ago, saying that it was rather famous in the USA. Never heard of it before, so I bought it to see what it was about and maybe promote it in France at the same time.

The good thing about not knowing anything about a story is that you read it without any prejudice. You just take it as it comes, nothing comes spoiling your reading. And that’s how I discovered the story of these children, the magic it contains, the strange characters they meet. I think it’s a perfect adventure to read to kids, but it doesn’t keep me from liking it (since anyway I like to feel a bit like a child sometimes, especially when I read).

This book introduce us Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin, three young children who found themselves trapped in some wrinkle in space and time, looking for their father vanished years ago.

Despite the strangeness of some things (like Charles Wallace behaviour for a kid of his age), I found the stoy well directed with some obvious truth but also a lot of stuff that you don't see often in youth litterature. For a book this old, it's pretty amazing.

This book is the first of a series of five, all about the O’Keefe and Murray families, so you'll probably hear of it again around here sooner or later.

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Brandon Sanderson - Warbreaker

Title: Warbreaker
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Pub. year: 2009
Pages: 654
Editor: Tor Books

Summary: T'Telir, capital of Hallandren, is a colorful city by the sea where gaily dressed crowds bustle through sunny streets and worship heroes who have been reborn as gods. Ruled by the silent, mysterious God King, the pantheon is nourished by offerings of Breath, the life force that keeps them alive and youthful.

Exiled in Idris, the former royal family reluctantly betrothed a princess to the God King. Arriving in T'Telir, she finds both the city and the marriage are not at all what she expected. Her only ally is Lightsong, a god who is skeptical of his own divinity, who fears that war with Idris is inevitable.

Meanwhile, another new arrival in T'Telir, one who bears the sentient sword Nightblood, makes cunning plans based on the unique magic of Hallandren, which uses color to focus the power of Breath - plans that could change the world.

I got this book as a gift from my fellow Muffin a few weeks ago and I was really willing to read it as soon as I held it in my hands. I don't know.. I must have been absorbed by the cover, or maybe the color ? :D
Anyway, I’m glad I didn’t wait long to open it because it was a very amazing story. You can feel the background behind the whole thing: the characters, the plot, the world, the magic.. nothing is left aside by the author. He even made me enjoy the politic part in it, which is really not something that I’m interested in! Add to all that a certain touch of humor, and you get this perfect story!
I really felt that my way of seing things was somewhat reflected in the book. Sanderson sure knows how to lead his stories.

And as you can see, colors have a really important place in this world.
Knowing that people could only see them if they had enough power made me feel weird but astonished at the same time. Characters are interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes weak, sometimes strong... I could easily feel the story behind each of them, and I couldn't help but being curious about them.
Even though it’s quite a long book (it took me almost two weeks to read it), it really is a story I most certainly will remember for a while. It’s probably something like one of the ten best books I’ve ever read so far!

Quotes :

"That is a good sign, surely. An outright refusal would have meant war for certain."
"And whoever Certain is, I doubt we should have a war for him," Lightsong said idly, inspecting a grape. "War, in my divine opinion, is even worse than politics"
"Some say the two are the same, Your Grace."
"Nonsense. War is far worse. At least, where politics is going on, there are usually nice hors d'oeuvres."

"I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and -if you're not careful- those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book."
Blushweaver sighed. "You avoid thinking, you avoid me, you avoid effort... Is there anything you don't avoid?"
"Breakfast."

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Shaun Tan - The Arrival

Title: The Arrival
Author: Shaun Tan
Pub. year: 2007
Pages: 128
Editor: Arthur A. Levine Books

Summary: The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images that might seem to come from a long forgotten time. A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages. With nothing more than a suitcase and a handful of currency, the immigrant must find a place to live, food to eat and some kind of gainful employment. He is helped along the way by sympathetic strangers, each carrying their own unspoken history: stories of struggle and survival in a world of incomprehensible violence, upheaval and hope.

What a better way to talk about a book than the author’s way? This simple plot summary contains all the essential elements that will make you fall in love with the story: images all over the place, small and square, big and bright, overwhelming and poetic. No words seem to be necessary to convey all the feelings the author is trying to pass on. We leave the protagonist’s family along with him, taking in the sadness, the fear of the unknown. This unknown that proves to be unbearable at first, full of questions that we don’t understand, of papers we cannot read, of things we don’t recognize and other that are almost frightening. The giant city is impersonal, overwhelming once again: giant buildings like monsters, strange people and pets everywhere, strange jobs that we cannot take... and in the midst of it all, some people are here to lend a hand, to tell their own stories, their own arrival, and we marvel with them at the beauty of it all.

I think I said it all already, but Shaun Tan really has this magical touch with drawing, this unmistakable talent that makes his stories alive, touching, engraving themselves in your mind forever. By choosing subjects that anyone relates to, like being a stranger somewhere, helping someone who is lost, reuniting with your family, he ensures that the message is received by every reader, big or small, old or young. Because the only size that matters to love one of his book is just the size of your heart.

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Robin Hobb - The Dragon Keeper

Title: The Dragon Keeper (The Rain Wild Chronicles, book 1)
Author: Robin Hobb
Pub. year: 2010
Pages: 553
Editor: Harper Voyager

Summary: Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed by a river turned toxic. If neglected, the creatures will rampage—or die—so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons' uncertain ancestral memories.
Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned—as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals . . . and joys beyond their wildest imaginings.

Robin Hobb has written some of my favorite books ever. So, when I saw that she wrote another part of The Realm of Elderlings, I couldn’t wait to read it! And since I didn’t want to wait for it to be translated in French, I bought it in English when I was in London last summer.


For those who don’t know Robin Hobb’s Realm of Elderlings, these are the books you can find in it (I’ve read those in red):

The Farseer trilogy: 

Assassin's Apprentice - Royal Assassin - Assassin's Quest

The Liveship Traders: 

Ship of Magic - The Mad Ship - Ship of Destiny

The Tawny Man: 

Fool's Errand - The Golden Fool - Fool's Fate

The Rain Wild Chronicles: 

Dragon Keeper - Dragon Haven

Short stories:

Homecoming - The Inheritance - Words Like Coins - Blue Boots - Cat's Meat

The Rain Wild Chronicles, new addition to The Realm of Elderlings, takes place in the Rain Wild (no way) and in Bingtown, like in The Livership Traders. If Althea or Brashen are names we’ve already seen before, they’re not the main characters of this story. We follow new ones, like the dragon Sintara, Thymara who lives in Trehaug or Alise, a young women more interested in dragons than in men. Between each chapter of the book, notes are sent between two keepers of the birds about stuff of their “world” (family, city, events, …).
It wasn’t really easy at first to get into the story, ‘cause it was the first time I tried Robin Hobb in English. I had to learn the vocabulary of this world, and as in French, I had to learn to know the character in order to really appreciate the story. But once this done, it was a really nice reading. Being back to Robin Hobb’s world is always such a pleasure. She brings so much stuff in her worlds, her imagination is amazing and she knows damn well how to write what she has in mind!
Anyway, the book ends on a little cliff-hanger, not really frustrating but teasing enough to make me wanna read the second. Even without it I would have read it, anyway!
My only regret is that I didn’t chose a better moment to read this book, ‘cause I know I read slower in English, and it was an exam period, so...
I’ve bought a copy of the second book and will try to have it signed at the Imaginales that she will attend (in France, in two weeks). I probably won't have time to read it before the signing, but I'll try to do it as soon as possible to be back in this world again!

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