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Review: Blood Song [Raven's Shadow #1]

Title: Blood Song Author: Anthony Ryan Genre: Fantasy / Adventure / War Publication date: 2011 Summary: “The Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm.” Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order. Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the unified realm. Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright and dropped at the doorstep of the Sixth Order like a foundling knows no bounds. He cherishes the memory of his mother, and what he will come to learn of her at the Order will confound him. His father, too, has motives that Vaelin will come to understand. But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the realm, but the world.     Blood Song is Anthony Ryan's first book of the fantasy series Raven's Shadow (and in general). It follows the story of Vaelin Al Sorna, a boy with a destiny bigger than anyone can imagine. I was rather sceptical about that part, it has been done too many times (I'm guilty of that too, I'm afraid) but I read on nonetheless. Vaelin is the son of the Battle Lord of King Janus, the monarch ruling the kingdom he lives in. Vaelin is given to the Sixth Order to become a warrior and serve and protect the one true Faith. From there on Vaelin sets on a path of war and politics, trying to keep his humanity and friends alive. An unwilling puppet in powerful men's plans, he turns from a boy to a

man to a commander to the Killer of Hope.     There are a lot of things I liked about the story - Ryan's way with words is really cool, even his prophanities are original and funny; the world he paints is super detailed and well thought through so it was pleasure to immerse in it without being distracted by irregularities and plotholes. I also liked the story itself even though I am not a fan of the format he used (more about that in a bit).   One thing that overwhelmed me was the amount of detailed descriptions when it came to battles, tactics and fighting in general. It was vivid and sounded legit, I'll give him that, but it went a bit overboard for me. Maybe it was necessary, considering that all Vaelin knows and does is fight and plan offense/defence. If you cut most of that, the book would be really short. But still, those who decide to read on should either love reading about  fighting in minute details or learn to endure it (or skim over some scenes like me).    Another thing that kind of threw me off, and this is a personal preference rather than an actual structure problem, was the fact that the whole book was written like a memory, basically Vaelin tells his life story to a stranger - all the way back to his childhood when his father abandons him at the threshold of the Sixth

Order. And it is not that it starts with them talking and then comes the memory but the whole thing switches back and forth a few times. This type of structure kills my momentum and annoys me so that is why it took me a few weeks to finish the book (otherwise I would have probably devoured it in a couple of days).    In any case, none of those things were enough to deter me from reading it. And I'm glad. As I said, the story was great - if you don't count the battle descriptions there was pretty much a nice balance between the other elements - there was love(forbidden, naturally), friendship, lies, betrayals, enemies that hide in the shadows and a lot of inner turmoil. The hero has to suffer,  eh?  So yes, if you ask me if you should read the book - you totally should. I'll give you solid 4/5 points and I'll cross my fingers for the next one to have less sword waving and more story developing. Now that the war is over (oops, spoiler) I am curious what else Anthony Ryan has in story for us.     What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Blood Song? Read the full article

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Review: New Spring [Wheel of Time #0]

Title: New Spring Author: Robert JordanGenre: Fantasy/ AdventurePublication date: 2004 Summary: The city of Canluum lies close to the scarred and desolate wastes of the Blight, a walled haven from the dangers away to the north, and a refuge from the ill works of those who serve the Dark One. Or so it is said. The city that greets Al’Lan Mandragoran, exiled king of Malkier and the finest swordsman of his generation, is instead one that is rife with rumour and the whisperings of Shadowspawn. Proof, should he have required it, that the Dark One grows powerful once more and that his minions are at work throughout the lands. And yet it is within Canluum’s walls that Lan will meet a woman who will shape his destiny. Moiraine is a young and powerful Aes Sedai who has journeyed to the city in search of a bondsman. She requires aid in a desperate quest to prove the truth of a vague and largely discredited prophecy—one that speaks of a means to turn back the shadow, and of a child who may be the dragon reborn.      Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan is one of my favorite series of all time. Truth be told, it is not everybody's cup of tea and I have found that many grow bored with the massive world-building, numerous storylines and more characters than you can remember.

But not me. I love that shit. I love the world, the tiny details that make everything come to life and the care with which the author builds every character.      A fun fact is that I haven't finished the series (don't judge me, it can still be my favorite - those books are 600+ each and he has, like, 14 of them) but I have now set my mind to it. I'm on maternity leave with a baby and I'll be going on a lot of walks so long live the audio books.    I decided to start with New Spring which is a prelude to the first book of the series although the events in it happen years prior to the first one. It focuses entirely on Moiraine and Lan, switching between their points of view until they meet and bond. It starts with Moiraine being an Accepted in the White Tower - while I did love those moments when Nynaeve and Egwene were at the White Tower and training to become Aes Sedai, it felt a bit dull when I read it all over for Moiraine and Suan. Not bad, mind you, just repetitive. If I hadn't read about Nynaeve and Egwene I would have liked it better, probably. Still, we learn a lot of things about the White Tower which I believe are not mentioned in the other books.    Most of the book focuses on Moiraine and the prophecy about the Dragon Reborn, emphasizing on her journey and

her determination on finding the dragon after witnessing something like a prophecy made by another Aes Sedai. I liked the fact that young Moiraine was nothing like the Moiraine we know from the main series - it shows how much she has grown, how time and her position as Aes Sedai has changed her. I would have liked to learn more about Lan since his pov was there just to introduce the character and to push it in her direction so he can later become her Warder. But I guess we may learn more about him in the main series, I've only read up to book 6 so there is plenty of time to learn about Malkier :D    One thing I cannot go past is that they ruined the character of Lan for me. I saw him as strong, dutiful, restrained man who is also an amazing fighter (duh!) but at the later chapters of the book he was like a trained puppy in the hands of a woman (and not Moiraine!). I'm not sure if it was the Malkier custom he was bound to or the author was trying to show his soft side but it threw me off. I really hope he is not all mushy and romantic inside when he finally gets together with... ooops, okay, I almost spoiled this for those of you who haven't read the series yet.     All in all, the book can easily be read before or after the main story-line. While it does go into more details about scenes and people mentioned in the main series it doesn't really give spoilers. I decided to start with

 it this time mostly because Moirane is one of my favorite characters and I wanted to learn more about her. On the other side, every time I start with book 1 I read until 6 and then stop for some reason :D Hopefully this will break the cycle.    I'll give New Hope a solid 4/5 rating. It has the same style and it was really entertaining but it felt like an extra for me and the chapters with Lan were a bit weak and dragging. And I really hoped for more time to be focused on Moiraine and Lan getting to know each other and working together before he becomes her Warder. I'll definitely recommend it for anybody who loves the series and especially if they like Moiraine and Lan. It adds even more depth and nuances to their characters.      What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Wheel of Time: New Spring? Read the full article

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Review: Lord of the Flies

Title: Lord of the Flies Author: William Golding Genre: Classics/ Adventure/ Young Adult First Publication date: 1954 Summary: At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable novel about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”    Every time I write a review on a book that is considered 'classic' or the sort I'm afraid I am missing something or that, I don't know, I'm not smart enough to understand the underlying message of the story. Or maybe, just maybe, the fact that some books are considered outstanding in their themes, characters or plots doesn't make them any less boring to death.    Lord of the Flies was a major disappointment, to say the least. I've had parts of this book read to me in dictation exercises in High School and University and I've always been curious to read the whole thing. If they use it so much

there must be something awesome in there, right? Maybe the prose, maybe the structure, maybe the plot.     Boy, was I wrong.    Well, mostly. The prose is fine. William Golding has a unique style and as long as there is no dialogue the prose is awesome - it creates vivid pictures and gives you so much to work with. But then again when it comes to conversations between the characters... boy, did I want to cut my eyes out. To be honest, I'm not sure he sucked at writing dialogue or it was just the characters that were dull and annoying. Maybe the second but we'll get into that in a bit. Let's focus on the plot for a bit.    Lord of the Flies is a story about a group of young British boys whose plane crashes on an uninhabited island. The survivors try to create a society of their own, their rules and hierarchy (until they are rescued) but that quickly falls apart and they divide and turn on each other. When you summarize it like this it sounds promising, to be honest, I am not sure what went wrong. I just felt that the author spent too much time describing mundane things like the boys having diarrhea from eating fruit or playing in the water and being children. Nothing much happened until the last few pages of the book. And don't get me started on the ending - so abrupt, so ridiculous. They should have died, all of them.    My biggest issue were the characters. It has been awhile since I disliked every single character in a book. And it is not because they were children and their way of thinking is illogical or downright stupid - I've read other books with

young heroes. It was just that every single one was annoying in their own way, they would have been annoying as adults too. Piggy was the worse, even worse than Jack who was a jackass on level 999. I can't believe I was hoping for every single child in that book to die, especially right now that I am nine months pregnant as I write this review. Only Ralph had a chance to be liked, a meager one, but he was so passive and indecisive after being chosen Chief that I gave up on him.     The parts that were supposed to be suspenseful were simply dull for me (like meeting the beast in the night), the parts that were supposed to be scary (like Ralph being chased and running for his life) were just tedious. Maybe this is a book that has the point to impress with metaphors and symbolism. In that regard William Golding may have done his job well. But for me a book's first job is to entertain or excite its reader - something that didn't happen for me. I didn't connect with the character or the plot and which is worse - a lot of questions remained unanswered. Like why the whole thing is called Lord of the Flies, or where did that one little kid from the beginning go and so on, and so on.    I'm giving it 2/5 rating and consider this generous. There is a tiny chance I'm super critical on the book because my hormones are all over the place but I would never punish myself again by reading it a second time.      What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Lord of the Flies? Read the full article

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Review: The Word for World is Forest [Hainish Cycle #5]

Title: The Word for World is Forest Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Publication date: 1972 Summary: Centuries in the future, Terrans have established a logging colony & military base named "New Tahiti" on a tree-covered planet whose small, green-furred, big-eyed inhabitants have a culture centered on lucid dreaming. Terran greed spirals around native innocence & wisdom, overturning the ancient society. Humans have learned interstellar travel from the Hainish (the origin-planet of all humanoid races, including Athsheans). Various planets have been expanding independently, but during the novel it's learned that the League of All Worlds has been formed. News arrives via an ansible, a new discovery. Previously they had been cut off, 27 light years from home. Terran colonists take over the planet locals call Athshe, meaning "forest," rather than "dirt," like their home planet Terra. They follow the 19th century model of colonization: felling trees, planting farms, digging mines & enslaving indigenous peoples. The natives are unequipped to comprehend this. They're a subsistence race who rely on the forests & have no cultural precedent for tyranny, slavery or war. The invaders take their land without resistance until one fatal act sets rebellion in motion & changes the people of both worlds forever.     I don't know if it is just me but when I am reading a series I grow to like them more and more with every next book. I'm not sure if the author is getting better or the stories, if I am just more familiar with the style and the story but it has been true for almost every series I read (where I managed to go past the second book).    The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin, the fifth book in the series, is living proof of that. And the funny part is that the books in the Hainish cycle are not even following the same storyline. In the best case scenario we have a brief mention of planets or species we know from before but

other than that every book starts with new characters, new planet and new social, racial or alien issue.    In The Word for World is Forest the story goes like this: we have a new planet where a few thousand humans have been transported to mine wood material — a commodity desperately needed back on Earth. Just like anywhere else we humans go, we destroy, so after short four years they have irreversibly influenced the local geology, vegetation and sentient life. They have enslaved the local population, a race of humanoid creatures around one meter tall, covered with green fur. They use them as 'free labor', destroy their homes and way of life and find absolutely nothing wrong with it.    The story is told from three points of view: of Captain Davidson, a human military man who thinks anything non-human is beneath him and can (and should) be destroyed for the benefit of humans; of Raj Lyubov, the anthropologist of the colony and the biggest advocate for the local people and the preservation of their society; and of Selver, the chief Athshean protagonist of the novel (a.k.a one of the aliens). Davidson and Selver are the two opposites with Lyubov being a bridge in-between. It's an interesting conflict because Lyubov is a human yet he hates Davidson with passion; on the other side, after getting to know Selver he considers him a friend and does everything in his power to save and help him. Fun fact, Lyubov means 'love' in Russian where I suppose the name comes from.      This book has the perfect balance of battles, scheming, sci-fi and difficult themes that are still current now (Avatar, anyone?). And of course, the flow and the prose

are off the charts. I think this was the only book I read in one sitting and there wasn't even one moment I found slow or boring.    But most of all, I loved the fact that it made me hate Davidson with great passion. When the book started with Davidson's POV and his 'superior' and misogynistic way of thinking I was afraid how this man is going to become the protagonist, the hero. It didn't occur to me that Le Guin will start with the antagonist. And what a marvel he was! He was so convinced he was the smartest, the bravest, the toughest – basically the 'mannest' man – that everything he did and said fit his personality like a glove. And he didn't see himself as the bad guy, he was the hero in his own eyes. I was in awe at the commitment to the character that didn't waver even for a second. I think that made the book so much better for me. As they say, the book is as strong as its antagonist and I have to say, it has been a while since I hated a person so much. The fact that it made me feel so strongly about him is a testament in itself how emotional and influencial the books is. It even made me want the human race, my race, to fail and be destroyed to the last man. Weird what the power of fiction can do to you, eh?    I'm giving The Word for World is Forest 5/5 without a second thought. Le Guin worked up the ladder and she deserves the praise for this one. As you can tell, I'm still hyped about it :D Let's hope when I get my hands on the next it would be just as good.      What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on The Word for World is Forest? Read the full article

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Review: The Left Hand of Darkness [Hainish Cycle #4]

Title: The Left Hand of Darkness Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre:  Fantasy/ Sci-Fi Publication date: 1969 Summary: The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose – and change – their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.     I think the Hainish Cycle is growing on me. After I got rid of the initial expectations of what a Sci-Fi from the '70s should be like I actually started enjoying myself. And The Left Hand of Darkness was the peak of the series.      The longest so far, I found The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin to be a fantastic tale of a man that is thrown amid different cultures and struggles to understand them and to be understood. I love the fact that both

the people of Karhide and Orgoreyn are so different in their biology and way of thinking and most of all I loved the fact that Le Guin threw unfamiliar words and concepts our way and didn't stop to overexplain them. This allowed us to understand Genli Ai, the main character, much better; to walk in his shoes, so to speak, since we were confused and learning just as he was. We got to judge, misunderstand and grow frustrated with confusion only to slowly see things the way he saw them, grew along so that we can accept the difference in the people of that far-away planet and appreciate it.     The plot this time seemed balanced and even though there isn't much action or battle it is not boring. We follow Genli as he is trying to establish an agreement and further a mutually beneficial relationship between Karhida (and after that the rest of the world on the Gethen planet) and the Ekumen, an union of 83 worlds. His first attempt fails and he loses

all support so he decides to try his luck with the neighboring country - Orgoreyn.        Things get from bad to worse for him and he barely escapes death with the help of an unexpected ally. And while at first glance it looks like the book is all about the struggle and hardships of Genli Ai in attempt to get this treaty to happen it is so much more. It's is actually a journey of learning to accept and appreciate the difference and the alien view of his new allies in this hostile world. In the beginning Genli is just like us, full of awe but also ignorance and lacking deep understanding of his task. But after spending some time among them and almost dying during the typical cold winter of the world, he finally starts to see things their way, even feel more like one of them even though biologically he is anything but.      There wasn't that much of action in the book although Genli and Estraven, the former prime 

minister turned traitor of Karhide, went through hell and back in the middle of winter in order to save their lives. As with the other books the author spends more time describing landscapes and emotions rather than actions and adventures. The prose is as melodic as ever and the depth of her fantasy societies, their beliefs, religions, political systems etc is astounding.     This is probably the first book by Ursula Le Guin where I actually liked the main character. In her other ones I usually liked the supporting characters better or just finished the book because of the story itself. Here you can't help but feel something for Genli - his joy at his small accomplishments, his pain and desperation, his loss and love. That's pretty much all she needed to do with the other ones to make them so much better. I'm happy I got to read this book.     I would give The Left Hand of Darkness a 5/5 rating. It is not what I would expect from a Sci-Fi genre (even though it is technically a Sci-Fi/Fantasy blend) but that is what I loved about it. It was super different, it was thought-provoking and it involved the reader in a way that at the end you can't help but feel changed by it.        What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on The Left Hand of Darkness? Read the full article

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Review: The Left Hand of Darkness [Hainish Cycle #4]

Title: The Left Hand of Darkness Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre:  Fantasy/ Sci-Fi Publication date: 1969 Summary: The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose – and change – their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.     I think the Hainish Cycle is growing on me. After I got rid of the initial expectations of what a Sci-Fi from the '70s should be like I actually started enjoying myself. And The Left Hand of Darkness was the peak of the series.      The longest so far, I found The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin to be a fantastic tale of a man that is thrown amid different cultures and struggles to understand them and to be understood. I love the fact that both

the people of Karhide and Orgoreyn are so different in their biology and way of thinking and most of all I loved the fact that Le Guin threw unfamiliar words and concepts our way and didn't stop to overexplain them. This allowed us to understand Genli Ai, the main character, much better; to walk in his shoes, so to speak, since we were confused and learning just as he was. We got to judge, misunderstand and grow frustrated with confusion only to slowly see things the way he saw them, grew along so that we can accept the difference in the people of that far-away planet and appreciate it.     The plot this time seemed balanced and even though there isn't much action or battle it is not boring. We follow Genli as he is trying to establish an agreement and further a mutually beneficial relationship between Karhida (and after that the rest of the world on the Gethen planet) and the Ekumen, an union of 83 worlds. His first attempt fails and he loses

all support so he decides to try his luck with the neighboring country - Orgoreyn.        Things get from bad to worse for him and he barely escapes death with the help of an unexpected ally. And while at first glance it looks like the book is all about the struggle and hardships of Genli Ai in attempt to get this treaty to happen it is so much more. It's is actually a journey of learning to accept and appreciate the difference and the alien view of his new allies in this hostile world. In the beginning Genli is just like us, full of awe but also ignorance and lacking deep understanding of his task. But after spending some time among them and almost dying during the typical cold winter of the world, he finally starts to see things their way, even feel more like one of them even though biologically he is anything but.      There wasn't that much of action in the book although Genli and Estraven, the former prime 

minister turned traitor of Karhide, went through hell and back in the middle of winter in order to save their lives. As with the other books the author spends more time describing landscapes and emotions rather than actions and adventures. The prose is as melodic as ever and the depth of her fantasy societies, their beliefs, religions, political systems etc is astounding.     This is probably the first book by Ursula Le Guin where I actually liked the main character. In her other ones I usually liked the supporting characters better or just finished the book because of the story itself. Here you can't help but feel something for Genli - his joy at his small accomplishments, his pain and desperation, his loss and love. That's pretty much all she needed to do with the other ones to make them so much better. I'm happy I got to read this book.     I would give The Left Hand of Darkness a 5/5 rating. It is not what I would expect from a Sci-Fi genre (even though it is technically a Sci-Fi/Fantasy blend) but that is what I loved about it. It was super different, it was thought-provoking and it involved the reader in a way that at the end you can't help but feel changed by it.        What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on The Left Hand of Darkness? Read the full article

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Review: City of Illusions [Hainish Cycle #3]

Title: City of Illusions Author: Ursula K Le Guin Genre: Fantasy/ Sci-Fi First Publication date: 1967 Summary: He was a fully grown man, alone in dense forest, with no trail to show where he had come from and no memory to tell who — or what — he was. His eyes were not the eyes of a human. The forest people took him in and raised him almost as a child, teaching him to speak, training him in forest lore, giving him all the knowledge they had. But they could not solve the riddle of his past, and at last he had to set out on a perilous quest to Es Toch, the City of the Shining, the Liars of Earth, the Enemy of Mankind. There he would find his true self... and a universe of danger.    Well! Here we are already on the third book of the series and finally I am excited. City of Illusions is, no doubt, the most suspenseful and well-planned book by Ursula Le Guin (in my humble opinion). I was getting kind of scared that I would be utterly disappointed by the Hainish cycle but I can see hope at the end of the tunnel.      In City of Illusions we move back to Earth, hundreds of years in the future, where people, our people, are forced to live a simple life and are afraid of advancing in any field of technology since the Shings, the Liars of Earth, the Enemy of

Mankind, the bad guys, would destroy them.     One day a strange man with cat-like eyes appears in the quiet settlement of one of those human people, unable to speak or understand anything. They decide to take care of him and teach him everything a small child would need to survive. Once he has learned enough he sets on a quest to find who he is and where he came from since clearly, he is not a human and he is not from around.     Falk, this is the name given to our main character, goes through countless of obstacles to reach the city of Es Toch, the city of the Shings, only to find a truth nobody expects. I'll just take a second here to say how happy I am with the mystery element and the fact that I had absolutely no idea would happen to Falk or what had happened to his memories. The suspense was used masterfully and Le Guin gave us element after element to lead us in the direction she wanted us to go just so that the final conflict could escalate even further. I love books that are not black and white and this is one such example — it set a conflict and the main character had no idea which is right and which is wrong (and neither did the reader) so it makes your brain work, it makes you measure the possibilities and the alternatives along with the hero. It puts you in the hero's shoes, helping him make the choice.      I can't say the book is without faults though. In the beginning when Falk is basically with the brain of a newborn and his new 'family' finds him, things go slow —

which is okay. We need time to build momentum and we need time to learn about the new world, its problems and differences. However, the pace stays slow for the rest of the book too — with the exception of the last twenty pages maybe. I mean, he gets beaten up a few times, meets a few people who conveniently give him the information he needs for later on(although he NEVER listens to their advice before it is too late) but Le Guin spends more time describing the trees and the landscape than the actual interaction between those people. I stand by the idea that details are needed to bring the world to life but those are given all at once and are so irrelevant and repetitive that you can easily skip them and miss nothing important.    The other thing that bugs me is that neither Falk, nor the rest of the main characters in the Hainish cycle are very likable or relatable. For Falk, I understood the need of naivety and childish simplicity but even children don't get burnt on the stove twice. What I mean, basically, is that in order for me to fall in love with a book I need A) to fall in love with the characters or B) to fall in love with the plot. And since the plots so far have been quite simplistic and uncomplicated while the characters were dull or unrealistic this meant there was this disconnect to the story that was preventing me from enjoying it to the fullest.     Luckily, City of Illusions took a step in the right direction, at least as far as plot is concerned, so it gets 4/5 rating and a thumbs up. I do hope things pick up the pace from here and it only gets better.      What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on City of Illusions? Read the full article

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Review: Planet of Exile [Hainish Cycle #2]

Title: Planet of Exile Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Sci-Fi/ Fantasy First Publication date: 1966 Summary: The Earth colony of Landin has been stranded on Werel for ten years--& ten of Werel's years are over 600 terrestrial years. The lonely & dwindling human settlement is beginning to feel the strain. Every winter--a season that lasts for 15 years--the Earthmen have neighbors: the humanoid hilfs, a nomadic people who only settle down for the cruel cold spell. The hilfs fear the Earthmen, whom they think of as witches & call the farborns. But hilfs & farborns have common enemies: the hordes of ravaging barbarians called gaals & eerie preying snow ghouls. Will they join forces or be annihilated?    I started Planet of Exile by Ursula Le Guin convinced I wouldn't like it. After all, the previous book was a great disappointment for me. Funny enough, I was surprised.     The Hainish Cycle is a series of short novels connected only by the author's name and a few distant connections between characters and places. So essentially you don't have to read the other books to understand this one. From one side this is awesome since every book would be expected to provide a satisfying ending and resolution of the plot. On the other side, each book is too short for me to really

fall in love with the characters or the story. And I don't get to read about them again so even if I do, I'll be left wanting more.    The story revolves around three races that inhabit a planet with exceptionally long seasons. A single season there is around 15 years and at the time of the story Winter is Coming (haha, that's for you GoT fans). One of the races are humans, like us, who had come from the stars on a spaceship hundreds of years ago. The second race is humanoid people, hilfs, who look like humans, talk like humans and pretty much live like them during the winter when they settle down (the rest of the time they are nomads). The only difference I noticed was in their eyes — they have golden eyes. Other than that they only differ in their believes, traditions and way of life. The third group are the bad guys, the gaals — again, they look like humans but during winter they hunt and kill other people and take their stuff to survive which automatically makes them the bad guys. There may be some fundamental biological differences between the humans and the natural inhabitants of that planet but Le Guin doesn't go into detail there. It just feels like you're reading about three human groups with different ethnicity.      So the story switches mainly between Jakob, one of the leaders of the Earthmen; Rolery, a hilf girl that falls in love with him (mutual); and Wold, the very old leader of the hilfs and also Rolery's father. Unlike Le Guin's other books here we have all the ingredients for an exiting plot — forbidden love affair, clash between cultures, hard weather to make things worse and to top it all off, we have an army of

barbarians marching towards them, ready to kill the men, enslave the women and take their provisions. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It was. For the first time there was a real battle, uncertainty, fighting and death. With her other books all of those things are also somewhat present but it felt like they were happening to somebody else or that the outcome was certain and the hero was definitely going to win. In Planet of Exile the feeling of danger, of impending death and fear doesn't leave you until the very end.    There were some minor things that really annoyed me, I must admit. There were scenes that made no sense in the long run or characters that were named but played no role in the plot, just misdirecting you in thinking about why they were important to begin with. Also, this may be due to the length of the book and how fast it all developed, but the 'relationship' between Rolery and Jakob was super artificial and weird. Jakob didn't describe her as super beautiful or anything yet after just two meetings(where he was rude to her) he was madly in love; and after falling in love with him and spending the night with him Rolery seemed to lose all her personality and all she could thing about was him and if she could bear him children. Maybe it was normal for her race, we don't know since it was never explained, but I find it foolish and offensive that a woman, once she has found a man, stops being a person and becomes his extension.     Anyway, I'll give Planet of Exile a 4/5 rating since I did like the suspense it kept throughout most of the time. And I honestly love Le Guin's style and detailed expression — it is just pleasure to read. If only she could have added a bit more excitement and adventure to the plot (and more interesting characters) then it would have been a five.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Planet of Exile? Read the full article

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Review: Rocannon's World [Hainish Cycle #1]

Title: Rocannon's World Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Fantasy/ Sci-Fi First Publication date: 1966 Summary: A world shared by three native humanoid races - the cavern-dwelling Gdemiar, elvish Fiia, and warrior clan, Liuar - is suddenly invaded and conquered by a fleet of ships from the stars. Earth scientist Rocannon is on that world, and he sees his friends murdered and his spaceship destroyed. Marooned among alien peoples, he leads the battle to free this new world - and finds that legends grow around him even as he fights.     It's been a long time since I've read any Sci-Fi books so I feel a bit rusty in commenting. When I went through Ender's Game and Speaker of the Death I was so hyped that I couldn't put them down. It was strange, the jargon took some getting used to but still, it was super entertaining. Things were a bit different with Rocannon's World by Ursula Le Guin.     Despite being written in two different genres, this book and the Earthsea cycle's books are strikingly familiar. Same author, eh? For some that may be a plus but I feel like I am reading the same thing with different characters and slightly different setting.     A plus, I would say, is that they are both easy to read and provide with extensive details on world-building which is great — you can really envision everything. In Rocannon's World there is a lot written about the different races even though at the end I still can't tell them apart —

one are tall with dark skin and blonde hair, one are shorter with light skin and dark hair and there are two or three more types of races but I can't even recall those. I remember the bat-vampire people, they were easy to remember :D  Maybe it is may attention span that needs fixing or maybe it was the way it was written — the variations were too similar to stand out.     The other thing was that in this book there was some tech talk that I guess makes it Sci-Fi (and space travel and alien confederations, duh) but for me it just felt like numbers and words and stuff jumbled together. Not that I am a rocket scientist or anything but I expect that when I read something it would make sense — even if it is fiction. I'll do another comparison with Ember's Game by Orson Scott: it all made sense there. From the space shuttles, life on space ships, drills and training and even alien races and wars. Rocannon's World is more of a fantasy with hints of space travel and aliens (which is not bad per se but gave me the wrong impression when I saw its genre as Sci-Fi).    So a bit about the story itself...    The beginning was kind of confusing. It starts with Rocannon, who is the main character of the book, in his museum watching a strange woman with dark skin and golden hair. And then we jump into a flashback/backup story info

dump and we're in the woman's head learning who she is, how she got to that museum and what she wants. And the moment she plays her role she disappears, only to be mentioned in passing a couple of times. Then we switch back to Rocannon. I know this was written in '66 but good/bad writing is good/bad writing no matter how much time it passes and this was annoying to read. Further on, there are more POV jumps in the middle of chapters for a few paragraphs or sentences which, it seems, is normal for Le Guin, but which makes me want to hit things. A matter of preferences, I guess, but it didn't work for me.     After reevaluating the relationship with the planet of the blonde woman Rocannon sets in motion changes that get out of control. Due to his people not maintaining contact with the races on that planet, the planet is invaded by a fleet of ships that pretty much burn cities and villages and kill the people in them. Some of those people are Rocannon's scientific team which sets him on a quest to stop the invaders of doing more evil. Nobody knows what they want, who they are or where they come from, just that they are bad. Nobody cares either, apparently, since those questions are never answered.     As Rocannon sets out to find the bad guys and fix his wrong, so to speak, there are some minor battles and exciting moments, but just as it was in Earthsea, it was pretty low key and at times — downright boring. The so called 'battle' with the bad guys at the end was so anti-climactic that the no matter what the outcome could have been I would have been disappointed. It's true what she wrote, what can a single man do against an army, but c'mon, this is fantasy/sci-fi. We don't want to read about blisters from walking or what kind of grass they were eating all the way. We want excitement.     There was another thing that pushed the wrong buttons for me, and it was the fact that Rocannon felt so artificial and all-powerful that the whole plot was almost pointless. He either always had the right knowledge or the way to find it, some awesome powers that appear in just the right moment or all the right guides and helpers to get him from point A to point B in one piece, with cherry on top. It just felt... easy. And this made me feel cheated somehow, and definitely not as invested in the other character's demise as I could have been. I honestly didn't care when they died and it looked like Rocannon didn't either.    I'll give it 2/5 stars. I was not particularly impressed and it didn't really grab me. I've read that this was Le Guin's very first book so that may be the reason but I do think she can and has done better. I hope the next one proves that :)    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Rocannon's World? Read the full article

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Review: The Other Wind [Earthsea cycle #6]

Title: The Other Wind Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Fantasy Publication date: 2001 Summary: The sorcerer Alder has the power of mending, but it may have become the power of destruction: every night he dreams of the wall between the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the wall is being dismantled. If the wall is breached, the dead will invade Earthsea. Ged, once Archmage of Earthsea, sends Alder to King Lebannen. Now Alder and the king must join with a burned woman, a wizard of forbidden lore, and a being who is woman and dragon both, in an impossible quest to save Earthsea.      I don't know why but all book or series endings leave me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Maybe I hate endings, or maybe I don't like how the author decided to end their story — either way, I am never happy to read the last page.     The Other Wind, the sixth book of the Earthsea cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, and so far the last one confirmed, was not what I expected as a conclusion of the story. It started promising with a bit of mystery and new, diverse characters (something that has been missing for me in the previous books) and then when they all got together their personalities more or less disappeared and it was hard to tell them apart. I don't say that juggling a big cast of characters is

easy, oh no, but I've read many books where it is done marvelously. And here, well,  it was OK.     The story goes like this. We start with a new character, Alder, who has powers but not distinctive enough to go to study on Roak. He has a very specific skill though — to mend broken things. After losing his wife and unborn child and grieving over them he begins having a weird dream where his wife is calling him from 'the other side' of life, begging for freedom. The dreams become more frequent and more scary and he seeks help until he ends up at Ged's door (being send there by the mages of Roak). After we spent some time watching Ged and the young man tend to the house chores, eat and sleep (unnecessary long and quite boring) Ged then sends him to Havnor, where King Lebannen rules, and where Tenar and Tehanu have gone prior, to assist the king.      There are several plotlines happening here, which is surprising considering that in the previous books the plot was all straight-forward and linear. Here we have Alder's problem on one hand, the dragons coming back East to reclaim what was owed on the other and then we have the king of the Kargs, a warlike people 

from the East who despise sorcery, who has sent his daughter to marry Lebannen as the price for peace between them. All in all, we have all the ingredients for an explosive adventure. Unfortunately, Le Guin stays true to her style and all we get is talking, talking, sailing, more talking and occasional dragon sighing (but the dragons mainly talk and look threatening).      I won't go on much about the prose and writing style, I have already said how much I adore them, but they alone can't carry the story. Tehanu, who was supposed to be 'The woman from Gont', a dragon and what not played such a tiny role that it was utterly disappointing. And there was absolutely no magic involved this time, not even to make the boats go faster, which was also disappointing. My biggest disappointment, however, was the ending. Or to be precise, the events that lead to the ending.     I won't spoil it for you, of course, I will just say that the ending itself was good and logical. And it all built to it so it wasn't at all surprising. But all the events that led to it, and they were many for sure, were either pointless or just delaying the action endlessly. For such a small book I feel like it was never going to end, and not in a good way. And I know this is common practice with writers but at the end I half-expected to know what happens with most main characters. Here we got hits and bits for half of them which just intensified the bitter taste as I closed the book.    Anyway, I am happy I read through the series - I found the writing engaging, the overall story was interesting and it got me to care for some of the characters so that's great. I'll give it 3/5 rating since it really should have been better for the conclusion of the whole cycle.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on The Other Wind? Read the full article

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Review: Tehanu [Earthsea Cycle #4]

Title: Tehanu Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Fantasy First publication date: 1990 Summary: Years ago, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan—she, an isolated young priestess; he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him through no choice of his own. Once, when they were young, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger and shared an adventure like no other. Now they must join forces again, to help another in need -- the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny has yet to be revealed.     It's amazing how fast I am going through books these days. I'm not sure if it is this specific series that make it so easy or I am just in my element :D    Tehanu, the fourth book of the Earthsea cycle by Ursula Le Guin, is the last book of the original series. As such I expected it all to tie neatly together with a bow on top. I do love stories which give us more answers than questions at the end. And in a way, Tehanu did feel like and ending — but also as a beginning. I'll explain in a minute.    I complained before that I was disappointed that the plots in the previous books were not tied together, the only common element being Ged. Well, in Tehanu we have a bit more to work with - we have

Tenar (from The Tombs of Atuan) who is a farmer's widow with two children already grown and living their own life; we have Ged, old and powerless after saving the world from Cob before he was able to break the Balance and extinguished magic from the world; we briefly meet prince, now king, Arren (The Farthest Shore) as well. We have pretty much all the major characters, which were named before, appear in this book. Some die, some rise and some find happiness.   The book is told from Tenar's point of view as she goes to Ogion (Ged's first teacher, appearing in A Wizard of Earthsea) as he is on his deathbed. We are briefly told that Tenar had saved and taken in a child that was abused and thrown in a fire to die by its own parents. The two of them stay in Ogion's house even after he is dead and buried when Ged arrives weak and wounded on the back of a dragon. Yeah, we have dragons here although I wouldn't get too excited. We don't see them as much as we ought to.     The plot goes on and on about their daily struggles, hinting that the little scarred girl Tenar is taking care of is more than she appears to be. I won't go much into the plot as this book is probably the one with most intricate plot (still quite simple by my standards) so I'll let you enjoy it.    

 Let's talk about what I liked.    I complained (yeah, I do that a lot these days) that in every book the main character(s) are male and no women, save for Tenar, had been even named. They are just extensions of men with no role or real power. In Tehanu this changes — not only because it is presented from Tenar's point of view, but also because most of the characters in it are women.      Le Guin let us know those simple women, their struggles and thoughts, their hardships and relationships. It is refreshing from one side but it is annoying from another — none of them have any real power, not even over their own lives, and all of them seem to think their sole purpose in life is to marry, give birth and take care of the household — save for Moss, who deals with simple magic and has never married. It's not like I want to see women rule the world (even though I find that cool) but it feels like there is no balance between the female and male characters. And considering how much wizards talk about the Balance this feels off.    Another thing I liked, and what made it feel like an end for me, is that most of the characters got their ending — death, discovery,

power etc. It just felt like 'and they lived happily ever after' even though some of the endings were not that cheery.     And then we have Therru - she is a tiny mystery that didn't get uncovered to the very end. And when that happened — the story ended as if there was another book coming. There were some hints that she has power, that dragon people exist and they can transform themselves but nothing was actually confirmed. There is also this thing about the wizards of Roak looking for 'a woman from Gont' but that plotline was never developed or resolved. And if you had read the book soon after it was released then I bet it was super annoying for it to end this way. Luckily, after digging a bit more I found that the author published another book in 2001 called The Other Wind so we'll get a resolution to those questions after all. But imagine if Tehanu was indeed planned to be the last of the series (and for over ten years it was)? I was going to murder somebody.    Anyway, I'll give Tehanu 4/5 since it was indeed interesting even though I read more about how to work the land and tend goats than I ever needed or wanted to. Let's hope the final one will indeed answer all the questions that this one left floating around.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Tehanu? Read the full article

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Review: The Farthest Shore [Earthsea Cycle, #3]

Title: The Farthest Shore Author: Ursula K. Le Guin Genre: Fantasy Publication date: 1972 Summary: Darkness threatens to overtake Earthsea: the world and its wizards are losing their magic. Despite being wearied with age, Ged Sparrowhawk -- Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord -- embarks on a daring, treacherous journey, accompanied by Enlad's young Prince Arren, to discover the reasons behind this devastating pattern of loss. Together they will sail to the farthest reaches of their world -- even beyond the realm of death -- as they seek to restore magic to a land desperately thirsty for it.    As you can see, I am still going strong with the Ursula Le Guin's wave and I even think I'll be able to finish all her works (that I have) in no time. I did notice, however, that the more I read the more I realize that just good prose is not enough.     When I started with the first two books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, I thought that their plot would be connected in some way. It turns out that the only connection so far is the wizard Ged who features in each of them. In the third book, The Farthest Shore,

the story follows the steps of Ged years after the events in book 2, where he is Archmage of Roke, and his new companion Arren, a prince of Enlad. The two of them set on an adventure to find out what is causing wizards to forget their spells and the lands of Earthsea to lose its magic. It is a long and tedious journey as the two of them go to several locations where the magic has disappeared only to be taken to the end of the world to face the one that wrecked the precious Balance all wizards learn to protect and cherish.    As I've mentioned before, I love Le Guin's style — it's sweet, it's eloquent and it is easy to read (even though sometimes I think she could say things with a few words instead of few pages). But like any good food — if you eat too much of it eventually you'll get sick or grow to hate it. In my previous reviews I mentioned that her plots are usually super simple and straight-forward, with no wow moments; her focus is more on the prose itself and the depth of her characters and their inner experiences rather than anything else. If that's your thing then you'll probably love the book. It's not mine though.     I grew bored and weary in the first quarter of the book and the feeling didn't leave me until the last pages. I became excited then, we were about to find out who or what was causing the Balance to tilt and magic to disappear — but unfortunately there was no surprise there, no plot twist, not even a battle. It was super anticlimactic and I had to leave the review for the next day so as not to be too harsh while my frustration lasted.     Another thing that didn't sit well with me was that the whole book was in some depressing, no-hope-

to-win tone while there were little to no terrible obstacles along the way. Sure, Ged almost died twice but it was so obvious that he won't die that it killed any feeling of danger or anticipation which would have made the moment tense. Arren, on the other side, was more or less useless - he spent most of his time thinking how useless he was or how much he did or did not love Ged. From the very beginning of the book when Ged decided to take him on this journey he kept saying that Arren was the right person for companion, he had a role to play etc, etc. I realized that his role came after the journey and he really didn't have to be on that journey unless you count the moments when Arren physically carried Ged because he was hurt. But that could have been done by any man so...    Another thing that annoys me a bit is that there are no girls in the story. Sure, in The Tombs of Atuan we have Tenar but apart from that all the women that were mentioned are usually in passing, with no name and they were just an extension of their husband/brother/father. I get that the story was written in 1972 and times were different then but c'mon, this is ridiculous.     Anyway, I'll give The Farthest Shore 3/5 rating because I still like the whole idea of the Earthsea and the depth of the details Ursula Le Guin goes into to make this world so alive, so realistic. And I did like the idea of magic disappearing because of the imbalance, I just wasn't particularly trilled by its execution.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on The Farthest Shore? Read the full article

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The Tombs of Atuan [Earthsea Cycle #2]

Title: The Tombs of Atuan Author: Ursula K. Le Guin  Genre: Fantasy First Publication date: 1970 Summary: When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away - home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan.  While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain.        As I expected, I dipped my toes in the pool of fantasy and now there is no power on earth to get me out of the water :D I've missed the intricate world-building and the wizards and powerful darkness lurking in the shadows.        The Tombs of Atuan is the second book of Earthsea cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin and my favorite so far. It has the same melodic prose that was present in the first one, it has the taste of magic and secrets and it has new

characters and a fresh story.      This time we follow Tenar — a girl chosen to be the reborn priestess of the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth. Taken from her family and roots she is raised and thought that she is nothing and nobody but the voice and representative of the powers she worships. The first part of the story goes over her young years as she live in the temple and what her life is. Similar to A Wizard of Earthsea, this book also spends a lot of time over her growth and the world around her - describing her thoughts, the rituals she needs to perform and building Le Guin's fantasy world piece by piece. It is truly amazing how everything just comes to live in front of your eyes which would explain why I was able to sprint through this book in just a few hours.    True, there were some slow chapters where you just read about the girls' chores, their uneventful lives and routine but I realize this made it just more real to me. I could feel the dry summer heat as they went to get water by the stream; I could feel the cold, chilly evenings in the winter. I could literally imagine the temples and the labyrinth beneath them.     In The Tombs of Atuan we get 

something that we lacked a bit in the previous book - there are more characters, more natural interactions and frictions between them. We have Tenar on one side, and then the priestesses of the other temples, the girls serving in the temples and even Tenar's eunuch guard. In The Wizard Ged spent more times with his thoughts or alone and that was kind of boring eventually. While Tenar spends a lot of time asking questions, learning and going around exploring her 'domain' - the tombs of the unnamed ones that she serves.     In a way Tenar is very simple and narrow-minded because all she knows of the world is what she has been taught from a very young age. And when she later meets Ged (who is much more likable in this book) she is overwhelmed by his knowledge of the world, by his

difference from everything she knows about his people, the magicians, and the seeds of doubt sink their roots deeper in her mind.    There is more action in this book, more secrets to be uncovered and more unexpected turns. But what I have realized is that Ursula Le Guin's books are not of the epic fantasy kind like Lord of Rings; rather, they use the subtle magic of this unimaginable world, of the curious workings of the mind, of themes like freedom, responsibility and honor. It is just... magical.     I also noticed that the author again switches to third omniscient point of view from time to time but it doesn't happen as often as the previous book. So that is another great improvement in my book.    I'll give The Tombs of Atuan solid 4/5 rating. I really enjoyed it and I enjoy that I have no idea what will happen next. Every book has a tight, neat ending and they can pretty much be read as standalone which is super hard to do. But they are inadvertently connected and if you want to get the full experience you better start from The Wizard of Earthsea.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on The Tombs of Atuan? Read the full article

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Review: A Wizard of Earthsea [Earthsea Cycle #1]

 Ah, true old-school fantasy feels like home Read the full article

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Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Title: Their Eyes Were Watching God Author: Zora Neale Hurston Genre: Classic/ Historical Fiction First Publication date: 1937 Summary: Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person -- no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.    Every time I pick up a classic I am feeling insecure. Not because of how amazing and worthy it may be, or because I feel like my life will change or something, but because I rarely fall in love with classics as other people claim to do. Indeed for a book to become a classic it must have touched on a major subject, has an outstanding writing style or idea but rarely those things ring the bells of heaven in all of us.     When I started Their Eyes Were Watching God, and after reading

the short summary, I did my best to keep an open mind and enjoy the story. What made it more difficult than usual was the fact that I know little of American history and I had a horrible time understanding the dialogue due to the stylistic approach Zora Neale Hurston had taken.     Don't get me wrong, once I got past the latter (took me about 17 pages to get used to their way of speaking so I can read normally) I started to appreciate the story to its full extent. It felt so realistic, so touching and I couldn't put the book down. I may not be that big fan of realistic fiction (more of a fantasy/sci-fi gal myself) but I can appreciate a good story once I see it.    Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford following her from her early

childhood to her adult life. Strange enough this is not a story about religion or God per se (although they do play a role in it) or one about vile racism and subjugation; those themes are naturally intertwined in the main plot among many others. But no, this is a story about love and loss, a story about finding oneself and living by your choices no matter what other people think.     At the young age of sixteen Janie is married to Logan Killicks (a man around forty-years-old), pushed into the marriage by her grandmother who wanted her granddaughter to have stability and assurance in life. The loveless marriage and dull life quickly turns Janie in an empty shell who can't help but wonder 'is this all?'. Until one day she meets Joe Sparks - a handsome, driven man around thirty, and runs away with him. Their infatuation quickly turns into routine and Janie soon realizes that despite the money, the stability and everything Joe provides for her she is still missing something. True love.    We watch Janie transforms again and again throughout the story. From silly, dreamy girl to a woman who understands life a little better to dutiful wife who has given up on true happiness and goes through the motions on habit. And finally, to a flower in bloom once she meets

Michael Ealy, a.k.a Tea Cake, a man almost two times younger than her.    Everything until that moment is like a build-up for their relationship, their hardships and happiness. Without seeing what Janie has been through to become the person she is we would never understand her happiness, her love, her insecurity and her strength to go for what she wants no matter what the others think. The dark and stormy end of the story was my favorite part even though I did feel heartbroken for seeing her suffer yet again after everything she has been through.    And as a writer who likes things to be neat at the end I appreciated the frame of the story: starting with Janie coming home after being gone for a few years and telling her friend the story of her life - to ending up with Janie and her friend finishing the story on the porch of Janie's house. I did not particularly understand why the ending of the book should be spoiled in the very beginning but I guess it did keep the tension up - wondering and considering how the end would come.    I would give Their Eyes Were Watching God a 4/5 rating. It was entertaining, it was emotional and I could see why so many people love it.    What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Their Eyes Were Watching God? Read the full article

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The Great Hunt [or where to look for ideas]

      I've been struggling with this post (and writing in general) for quite some time and I finally got around to saying to myself 'Sit your ass down and get it written.' Well, that worked better than expected :D     It turns out that the most common reason for not being able to write – which applies to me and many, many others – is the lack of ideas or inspiration. Some have a hard time starting their story, others write themselves in the corner, others write without a problem but struggle with making the story come to life.

    The trick is to find something that makes you fall in love with that story so bad that you wish to push on no matter what. Maybe you find the perfect drawing/picture for your MC. Maybe you think of a mind-blowing plot twist or why not a whole language or species? Or maybe you just need to find something to get the cogs turning so you can get out of the hole you dug yourself into.    Everybody has their own thing - something that always inspires them, something that puts them in the mood for writing. If you're lucky, you have learned consistency and you can sit down and write every day, with or without inspiration. If you're like me, well then, you'll need a bit more to get started.   Here are the top ten things that help me get my head in the story: 1. Change of scenery   This one has always worked for me. I usually write at home, comfortably sitting on the sofa or in front of the kitchen table – with all the free time in the world. But nothing comes.    So I decided to try and write somewhere else.    This is a bit tricky because you can’t just bring your laptop everywhere and you can’t stay there for hours. You need

electricity (even if your laptop’s battery is awesome), you will probably need some food and drinks. So you have to find a cafe like Starbucks or Costa or even your local cafe if they will let you write there.    I found my writing den at Costa Cafe which is on the main street in the center of my city. You can sit in the back and have some privacy while you work. Or you can sit by the front window and watch people or enjoy the sun while writing your next chapter. Every time I go there I end up with twice as many pages in twice as little time. I definitely recommend. 2. Reading Books     I used to fool myself that I mustn’t read books in my genre since I didn’t want to unconsciously steal ideas and I wanted to develop my own voice. This is the worse disservice you can do to yourself.   Writers need to read. This is the only rule you can’t break. You don’t read to become like the other authors, you read to understand what works and what

doesn’t; how the pace makes or breaks a story; how to develop characters organically so they make sense and your readers love them. And last but not least — you read to be entertained.    From time to time you need to take off your writer’s pants and snuggle in your reader’s pajamas. You’ll be surprised how easily your imagination will come to life when you get lost into a new world. Yes, maybe you’ll find scenes and ideas so awesome you would want to put them in your book. And maybe you can use some of them for your story — it’s impossible to write a completely original book. Everything you can think of has already been thought of and told in some form. The point is not to come with a completely new idea but to make old ideas sound new again.  3. Watch a Movie/TV Show     I know this comes dangerously close to procrastination but it’s not when you don’t overdo it. And if nothing else helps, you have to find something to inspire you again…   What I personally do when I’m stuck is re-watch movies that previously inspired me (and that I liked enough to

watch more than once) or find new TV shows with an interesting storyline, particularly in the genre I’m writing in. You’ll be surprised how many twists and plot ideas you can get from there. And it’s okay to use those but be sure to make them your own and most importantly – be sure that they fit your characters and your story. Don’t do it for the big reveal or flashy moments. Do it because it’s the most natural progression or because it is something your character needs to do to evolve. 4. Looking at Pictures/Drawings     Visual stimulation is my greatest inspiration. For me, it may be anything — a person I meet on the street, an unusual sight, a picture, a drawing or a sculpture. Any kind of art usually gets my creative juices going as long as my weird mind connects it in some way to a story.    Often, when I go out to write I sit by the street window in the cafe and spend some time watching people. Their

interactions, facial expressions and even movements help me write realistic characters.    The next thing I turn to are sites like Pinterest and Tumblr or even Google itself. I’ve spent hours and hours on them looking at pictures, ideas and portraits for my characters so I can easily describe them in a way that will make them even more vivid for the reader. Sometimes, I browse through them for new ideas. Most of my plots have begun with a picture of a character, place or even an object. My mind needs little to get started and once it gets it on with the writing we go.  5. Find the Perfect Beat       Most of us have playlists made for a particular story. I know I do. And when I write on this story I put on that playlist and in 99% of the time, it gets me

in the right mind frame.     The trouble is that eventually those songs are going to become annoying or lose their power and then you’ll need something new. So I recommend spending some time on YouTube or Spotify just browsing through songs you’ve never listened to before. Start with a song you like or one that relates to your story in some way. YouTube will give you suggestions – check them out. Save the ones you like, skip the ones you don’t. (Damn I just sounded like the lady from the Spotify commercial). Even if a song doesn’t go well with the current story save it in another playlist. You’ll eventually finish this story and you’ll need inspiration for another one. Recycle your inspiration as much as you can — you’ll be surprised by the results. 6. Finding a Writing Buddy     Finding a writing buddy is a great idea. First, because you’ll get support and encouragement when you need them and second because you’ll feel accountable and you’ll try harder to put in the work.   The best option would be to find somebody from your city and write

together in person. After the initial excitement and getting used to one another, you’ll be able to spend hours not talking and just working on your books without being weird. If you can’t find somebody close by then find somebody online.    This person doesn’t have to be somebody that has read your work. But it is advisable to be a writer so they understand the whole process and can help with brainstorming if you hit a wall. And most importantly, they must be at least as committed as you are because there is nothing worse than you being excited and inspired to write and them talking nonstop and distracting you. 7. Going back to basics     Sometimes nothing helps getting you to write. Not your favorite music, not your favorite writing spot or a collage of your character’s portraits. I know the feeling — it’s the worst.   What I do when I hit such a roadblock is to get rid of everything that can distract me. Bye to my laptop, bye to my home where I can find a hundred things to do, bye to conversation or phone. I grab a notebook and two pens and I get out. The only thing I allow myself is some music — provided you have your social media muted or you listen to it offline. Minimize

your distractions.   At first writing by hand would be painfully slow. You may even just stare at the blank page and not write anything for a while. That’s okay. Let your mind go places, let it get bored. Because what do you do when you’re bored and you have nothing to distract yourself with? You think. And if you’re a writer as you claim then the first thing you’ll think about is your book. Maybe you’ll think about your favorite scene, or maybe about some plothole you noticed when re-reading, or maybe you’ll think of a cool new scene. Once you get there, let your hand do its thing and keep your mind wandering. 8. Talk to your characters     When I say talk to your characters I mean literally. I have a series called ‘Remnants’ and the second book is titled ‘Remnants of Souls’. I had some hard time writing it, for some reason it wasn’t moving forward properly, and I realized it was because I didn’t understand and see eye to eye with some of my characters.   So I put the book aside and wrote down a few interviews with the main

characters. You treat them like real people – if you’ve done your job right they will be just real enough – and you ask them the questions you don’t have the answers to; or even ones that you think you know. Then you let your inner schizophrenic out and answer from their point of view. It’s not only fun but it is a tremendously enlightening. Not to mention that you can later use those ‘interviews’ as extras for your followers when you publish that book.   You can try writing scenes with them that have no place in your book — something from their past or future; a dream or even something from a parallel universe. The idea is to understand what kind of person they are, how they react, why they do what they do and think the way they think. Once you know them well enough you’ll have no trouble finding ways to motivate them. 9. Brainstorm that idea     Getting stuck on a scene or a concept is something every writer runs into at least once a book. If you’re like me, you’ll run into that wall every few chapters. It’s not that I am such bad at planning (at least I hope) but I am constantly thinking of new cool ways the story can go: new scenes to add; new characters to create. And sometimes those ideas are conflicting hence putting me in the tight spot.     Brainstorming can happen in two ways. The first way, and the one I usually

choose because I prefer working alone, is to write a full plan for your story. I know that for you pantsers this is not an option but I am a planner so…    You can always change things along the way but the idea is to write the whole plotline, develop it and find a proper ending. Then you can see if the changes you have in mind can work without changing absolutely everything. If you’re not ready to commit to a plot you can write each scene on a post-it note or a card and just line them up and re-arrange them until you’re happy with the outcome.   The other option is to use a friend or another writer to brainstorm. The good thing with this is that they will bring a new, fresh perspective and that can spring ideas within you which can resolve your problems. The bad thing is that they have a different way of thinking than you and the ideas they give you may be confusing or completely inadequate for your vision of the story. So be careful when you pick your buddy for brainstorming. 10. Re-reading your story     I bet every book about writing you’ve read told you never to re-read or edit your work until you’re finished. This is absolutely true if you can manage it — it’s hard to finish something when you keep going back.   But if you put the editing aside sometimes you have no other options but to go back and re-read. Why, you ask?   First, because you’ll get excited anew for the story. When you began writing it you had an idea, you had vigor and you probably spent a few long, sleepless nights imagining the whole story, the

characters, the landscapes. Re-reading it will take you back to that state of mind.    Second, if you had spent a long time away from the story you are bound to have forgotten some small details from it which were hints or turning points for scenes to come. Once you read them your mind will connect the dots again and you’ll be able to pick it up from where you left it.   Third, you can think of new ways to continue the story. If you have spent some time away from it and you come back you look at it with new eyes. You may have forgotten some of your ideas, you may not like some of the scenes or the characters and you may also decide to take it in an entirely different direction. That’s all great as long as it gets you writing.    How do you find your inspiration? Do you have any tricks for getting back into writing mode once you've been out of it for a while? I'd love to hear your stories and suggestions as well.Yours truly,Joana Read the full article

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Review: Kingdom of the Wicked [Skulduggery Pleasant #7]

Title: Kingdom of the Wicked Author: Derek Landy Genre: Fantasy/ Children Literature/ Adventure Publication date: 2012 Summary: Magic is a disease. Across the land, normal people are suddenly developing wild and unstable powers. Infected by a rare strain of magic, they are unwittingly endangering their own lives and the lives of the people around them. Terrified and confused, their only hope lies with the Sanctuary. Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are needed now more than ever. And then there's the small matter of Kitana. A normal teenage girl who, along with her normal teenage friends, becomes infected. Becomes powerful. Becomes corrupted. Wielding the magic of gods, they're set to tear the city apart unless someone stands up against them. Looks like it's going to be another one of those days…     Oh, how I missed Skulduggery and Valkyrie. It has been a long time since I read the last book and now that I am thinking about it I am not sure why I allowed such a big break between them. Derek Landy is definitely one of my favorite authors - his humor, his easy-going style and the numerous adventures packed tightly in single book do not allow room for boredom. I have felt many thinks reading the books of the series but boredom was never one of them.     In Kingdom of the Wicked we are facing a new end-of-the-world situation as it often is with our favorite heroes. Random humans are suddenly developing magical

abilities thus threatening the magical world with exposure to the rest of the world. To top it all off, representatives of other Sanctuaries breathe in the neck of the Grand Mage Ravel and the Elders looking for a way to assume control one way or another. Oh, and yes, Valkyrie gets zapped by a dimensional shunter which sends her travelling between her own dimension and another. All fun and games :D     Behind it all is a man who has learned his true name and thus become almost all-powerful. For those of you who don't know or remember, every person with magical abilities has three names - the name they were given(usually by their parents), the name they have chosen and their true name. By choosing a name you prevent anyone else from controlling you. By finding your true name, which is almost close to impossible, you tap into powers beyond one's biggest imagination - you can even become a god. Valkyrie knows her true name which is another problem on its own but over the course of history we find out that no more than ten people found out theirs and they were a major problem or a disaster causing death and destruction in their wake.     So basically our favorite duo is again facing insurmountable odds

and in all fairness, it is understandable that they get their asses kicked on every turn. Eventually they realize that to win they may need to fight fire with fire which means god against god. No normal human, or sorcerer for that matter, can take down the enemy alone. So here Darquesse comes to play.      I don't know about you but apart from destroying the world part, I'm a big fan of Valkyrie's alternative ego. She is powerful, no-bullshit-I'll-break you kind of person and in this book we come to realize she is not as crazy as they make her - she doesn't want to kill everybody, just those who threaten and annoy her. Let's be honest - if you had her powers wouldn't you too? Her only bad threat basically is that she doesn't want to let Valkyrie have control.    All in all, with Kingdom of the Wicked you'll get exactly what you'll expect plus more. You'll get fighting, unbelievable magic, mystery and even dimensional travel to alternative worlds. And the book reads so easily that I ate 600 pages like it was nothing. And now that Valkyrie is seventeen there is no trace of the childish feel of the story. It's pure badassness and witty humor.     I'm giving the story 5/5 rating without a second thought. The whole series is a must-have and must-read and it would be entertaining for adults just as well as children.     What about you? What rating would you give? What are your thoughts and takes on Kingdom of the Wicked? Read the full article