Got a few to go through, here.
Last night, I finished The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. It was yes. It was super silly and fun and imaginitive, exactly my sort of humor. I'm willing to overlook a couple of plot holes (like, why did the Grafters even want to take over Britain or destroy the Checquy in the first place way back when? we need to have the Ultimate Motivation here- power or wealth or whatever) because of the ridiculously entertaining antics that ensue.
I was also a little thrown because the novel seems to changes voices slowly, but I chalk it up to Myfanwy discovering her own personality as the story progresses.
One real problem I had was that in the end, when you find out whodunit, well, you really couldn't have come to that conclusion definitively on your own. There are a number of suspects that have an array of possible motives. While it turns out the one responsible does make the most sense, there wasn't really anything that was like OH DUH WHY DIDN'T I SEE IT BEFORE, or even OH WOW THE PROTAGONIST IS SO BRILLIANT FOR FIGURING IT OUT, I WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN IT. We end up somewhere in the tepid middle of those.
That said, I overall enjoyed the read!
I read Divergent by Veronica Roth somewhere in the middle of the United States in the span of about two days. I love that they're making it a movie- it's packed with action and potential spectacle, and it's a simple story with simple characters that could appeal to lowest-common-denominator audiences while retaining a greater sense of purpose. Post-apocalyptic stories tend to do that- instill a sense of dread or even fear in us. How did we let it come to this?
It's teenage fiction at its finest, really. Several deep points about human nature are raised under the veneer of high school drama and romance. I can't really get any more specific than that 'cause it's been a while since I read it, but I do remember that wearing black and getting tattoos is symbolic of recklessness and edginess. So don't argue there's no high-school-esque vibes in there with me.
I've also downed The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I found the first one so-so, but it provided great context for the second, which was overall a better story. It's rumored these books each get more intense as you go through the series.
I just get a little sick of protagonists being important people, and everything being so, so personal. We're all lovers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, not just random people brought together from the vast population that actually exists. I know, the important people are the interesting ones that have interesting stories, right, fine, but the ever-present power struggle becomes overdone and trite.
Again, it's a good teen fantasy series with solid themes of loyalty and bravery, but nothing very revolutionary. At least, not in books 1 and 2.
