Arielle
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but I absolutely loved this one, for the sophisticated reason of DRAGONS. Segnbora is an amazing character, and I'm glad to see Diane Duane writing female leads again (not that her male leads are any less good, but she writes women so well in a genre that often slights them), and what's more, the supporting characters were fleshed out as well. Also, Herewiss! It's interesting getting an outsider's perspective on him. And did I mention DRAGONS?
As for the issue of her forgiving her rapist - I read it differently than a lot of reviewers, it seems. Instead of the Goddess having Segnbora raped to make her the way she was, I saw it as the Goddess showing Segnbora that it was a part of her past, something that influenced her life, and that she needed to make peace with it and with herself to progress as a person. I found that to ring very true, and it moved me.
I remember reading the first two books in this series back when I was about twelve or thirteen, and loving them. The cliffhanger at the end of Days of Magic killed me, though, and twelve-year-olds aren't very good at waiting around for books to come out. So I didn't reread them until Absolute Midnight was released (seven years later, might I add), but they were every bit as creative and astounding as I had remembered. It's pretty obvious they're YA novels, especially in comparison to Barker's other work, but there is still such creepiness and depth in them that it's easy to forget. Also, the characters are to die for; Candy is expressive and interesting while staying very realistic - she actually acts like a sensible teenager! - and the main villain is both incredibly layered and incredibly terrifying. I actually like him more than Candy, but shh, it's a secret. Midnight had a different feel to it than the first two - sparser, harsher - but it was still a fantastic read.
This book is a hugely fun read for anyone interested in Norse mythology (and for the uninitiated who enjoy a complex story). It feels quite a lot like YA - another reviewer mentioned anachronistic slang and jokes, which I think were meant to convey that tone - but excellent YA. The lead is one of those rare female characters who's fierce, funny, and flawed without being artificial or preachy, and the side characters, particularly Loki, were beautifully fleshed out. The concept is original, too, though anyone who took issue with Phillip Pullman's subtle criticism of Christianity in the Golden Compass books should probably skip this one; still, it's a great book, and a pleasure to read.
I wanted this book to be the Maddy and Loki Show. I really, really did. Instead, it's the Maggie, Maddy, and Loki Show, and I am so okay with that it hurts. Though I was hesitant about the character of Maggie, I trusted Joanne to do her justice, and oh, did she. Maggie is prickly, clever, stubborn, and powerful (sound familiar?), but instead of being a Maddy clone with a coat of pious paint thrown on, she's her own fully-realized, independent character. A product of her environment, she has been raised to believe in the Nameless and follow all the commands of the Good Book, but she thinks for herself, and still she dreams (and Dreams, which is very important). She also is pretty naive and makes some terrible decisions, as only seventeen-year-olds can do, but I found that realistic, and coupled with her belief that she knows how to do everything right only adds to the complexity and contradictoriness of her character. tl;dr Maggie is awesome.
As usual, Maddy and Odin were spot on, as well as the rest of the supporting cast (especially Frigg, that sneaky Seeress!). And of course there is Loki, whose chapters are always a joy to read (and holds the dubious honor of being the first fictional character I've had a crush on in years). And the plot! Yeah, that's amazing, too. (Can you tell I'm a character-centric person?)
Basically, read this. You won't be disappointed.
This book got rave reviews, and I must say I really enjoy the structure, with all the photographs and letters - it's made even cooler by knowing that all of the photographs are real. I've got to say, though, that it didn't quite live up to its hype. It was intriguing and I read it straight through, but it was also surprisingly predictable and there wasn't nearly as much depth as I thought there would be. Overall, enjoyable, but not a must-read. (Plus points for having a romance in a YA novel that wasn't mind-numbing, though!)
There's nothing really wrong with this book. The prose is skilled, if not my style, the political plots are dense and well-developed, and I liked the worldbuilding and general idea. Unfortunately, Maia is my least favorite type of character: naive to the point of stupidity, beautiful, always good-hearted and beloved of everybody she meets - I found her totally boring and was hoping she would die and let Occula take over the narration, because at least she had personality beyond “yay please have sex with me oh I love you”. I've often heard this book contrasted with the Kushiel's Legacy books, of which I'm a huge fan, but aside from the god-touched sex machine thing, Maia and Phèdre have absolutely nothing in common. Frex, Phèdre has agency and is intelligent, which Maia...well.
That said, if someone doesn't mind that character archetype, I think they'd enjoy this book. So take this review with a grain of salt.
(This will have spoilers for the myths, but not for the details of the book. Read with caution, etc. etc.)
I'll admit it: I was drawn to Norse mythology in general (and this book in particular) based on my love of the Thor comics and Joanne Harris' Runemarks series. That said, this is the book that prompted me to pick up the primary sources. It's really a wonderful thing to read. The Loki sketched out here is neither a supervillain nor a comical trickster; he's a complicated, difficult god of chaos alienated by his society, and spurred on by anger and hate (and Odin's passive acceptance of fate, which is just not something you can run from), he eventually destroys the world. But it's okay; it'll grow back. Which is, incidentally, something I loved about this; I love the idea of a cyclical universe, both in myth and religion, and it's very prominent in Norse myth, and shown here as well. Loki destroys the world, yes, but by doing so he creates a new one. I just really love that entire concept, and could probably flail about it a lot more, but I'll stop now.
My main complaints with the book have nothing to do with the story, but the editing. Strange punctuation, occasional misspellings, some redundancy (like another review said, the word “venom” being used five or six times in one paragraph, and that's just an example), and maybe it was just my copy, but the print was badly blurred in places and was difficult to read. If you're interested in Norse myth, though, don't let that stop you from getting this book.
This is a fairy tale from Mid-World, totally understandable without having read the Dark Tower books, but enhanced by the knowledge. It would make a great audiobook; it has the rhythm of an oral story.
The prequel to The Fall of the Kings set sixty years earlier, this book follows the adventures of a swordsman-for-hire and his more than slightly mad lover. (Sound vaguely familiar?) The madman is, in fact, the predecessor of the one in FotK, but Kushner never made Theron (from FotK) sound at all like Alec from Swordspoint. This book had a slightly less intriguing plot, probably because there was no magic in this one, but I still was hooked by the story and the characters. Again, the ending was less than satisfactory, but it was also incredibly sweet, so I'll let that one slide.
Updated my review from 3 stars to 4, because even though I initially disliked it, the story stuck in my head and I ended up rereading it. And listening to the audiobook. Uh, I actually really like this book now.
A gorgeously done, witty translation that keeps all the dry humor and occasionally R-rated shenanigans from the original that other translations I've tried have left out. I love it.
A lot of people read this for the mythology only - I know I did - and probably aren't interested in the giant list of kennings or explanations of skaldic verse, but I encourage you to read them. There's so much more detail and side tales you'll miss if you don't, and they're wonderful, too. (Also, if you're planning on reading the Poetic Edda, definitely read the kennings [or get a version of it with excellent annotations], because boy, will you need them.)
Am I an awful person for hating this? I tried to read this years ago and couldn't get into it, and so I thought I'd try again because everyone and their mother loves it. I have no idea why. This was probably one of my most disliked books of the year; stilted, boring, and awkward. I mean, I enjoy a lot of things other people would find terrible, so I can't judge, but I have no idea why people love this so much other than “Dragons are cool!” Which isn't a bad reason at all, actually.
Knocked it down from 4 stars to 3.5 because of one scene: a character rapes another character and it's presented as character growth because he feels guilty about it. He faces no consequences and she forgives him. I'm not opposed to rape as a plot point but I really dislike it when it's at a female character's expense.
This, Young Miles, and Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem are actually omnibus editions of the first six books of the Vorkosigan Saga, a sci-fi series that actually really lives up to the hype. Her worldbuilding is to die for - the sort of thing where I wonder “how the hell did she come up with that and make it work?” - and the main character, Miles? Okay, he is awesome. Hilarious and clever and sort of a genius Harry Potter minus the Dark Lord, his character alone is enough to make me overlook the slightly skewed gender roles in the book, which may be author bias but may also be the result of narrating the story from the point of view of a straight male character in a patriarchal, military society - I can't tell. Still, these books have me hooked, and not only am I going to keep reading the series, but I'm probably going to add this to my list of top genre fiction.
This is, basically, an anthology of poems, fiction, and essays about - dun dun dun! - being Chicana and a lesbian. It's more than that, though; it's beautiful, and inspiring, and cuts through stereotypical bullshit to the heart of reality. It's truly lovely. And, like usual, I can't think of much else to say about it because I liked it that much. Just read it, and you'll understand.
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It was tough to read, very confrontational, and I liked that about it - I enjoy having to examine my own discomfort to see what that means about me - but as far as actual writing quality goes, I think it varied. Some essays were amazing, but a lot felt heavy-handed, or like they were relying too much on style and metaphor and not enough on emotional or literary impact. These essays positioned femme as a category unto itself, not as defined by butch or masculinity, and they had a lot of diverse viewpoints, which I loved, and because of that I'd recommend it to someone looking for a personal (as opposed to scholarly) view on fem(me)ininity.
While the facts in this book were interesting, something about the way they were presented rubbed me the wrong way. I think I expected more analysis from a book with that sort of title, when what little analysis there was was shallow and meandering. I suppose it's a good read if you're not interested in the little details, but I am (especially with history I already know so well!), so for me, it wasn't too great. I really did not like the way he sidelined women's contributions throughout the book, either; there was some mention of it in the beginning, then occasional mentions of prostitutes throughout, but that's it.