The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Last Wish" is a collection of stories about Geralt Rivia, the Witcher, whose occupation is to deal with monsters. This is a frame story in which other stories are the memories that the protagonist recalls as he recovers from a nearly fatal wound.

Readers who enjoy dark fantasy, fables, and fairy tales will love this book. The author retells some well-known fairy tales with ingeunity, such as "Beauty and the Beast" , "Sleeping Beauty," "Rapunzel", and "Snow White", and he also offers unique twists on ancient Eastern European legends such as the strigoi and rusalka, jinn, and even the Fair Folk, Fae or Elves. Some stories are pretty scary, and some are fairly humorous. Some have a little of both. All are written with loving care, with emotional depth, and plenty of action scenes.

Geralt, in my mind, is a hero, but he might be considered an antihero as well. I think he's a hero because he has a very good moral compass, and he makes tough decisions for the overall good. He's not driven by greed, but instead a desire to help people. But he also shows empathy and isn't unncessarily cruel. Even as a monster hunter, he doesn't kill them indiscriminately. His BS detector is well-honed as he deals with crooked humans who want to manipulate him. He's a well-developed character who struggles with the issues all humans face, despite his superhuman qualities.

This series is begging to be a movie, or even better, a cable network series. A thoroughly enjoyable read. I'm excited to continue this series.

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


"Coraline" continues my love affair with Neil Gaiman's books on audio. I love his voice so much. It's soothing but also keeps my mind focused on the story.  I think that he endows his words with all the emphasis, power and creative energy they should have.  He's really great with different voices as well. "Coraline" might be a short book on audio, but it's so rich and fulfilling.

I freely admit I had ghoulish tastes in books when I was a girl. I read every scary or dark fantasy novel in the children's section, and some multiple times (The Gruesome Green Witch I'm looking at you!).  I would have loved this book if it had been written when I was a young girl. It's nicely scary and intense, but also suitable for a child (and adults like me).  The "Other Mother" seethes with menace, and the use of subtle details (like her button eyes, penchant for eating beetles, and hair that waves as though a breeze is blowing although it isn't.)  There are even gruesome touches, such as the fact that some of the inhabitants of the world the "Other Mother" created are barely formed, gelatinous blobs.   I agree with another reviewer who said that they admired how brave Coraline was (and she's brave in the real sense, doing something in spite of her fears).  She's really an awesome young girl (but also realistic in her flaws).

I think that Gaiman has a sense of childhood that has not faded with his age. He understands the joy and the disappointments of it. Coraline is a young girl surrounded by adults, and that's a tough situation.  She seethes with physical and mental energy, and while appropriate in development for her age, she's also mature and capable of taking care of herself to a degree. But like any other child, she yearns for the love and attention of parents who care about her.  Luckily, she is able to see through the "Other Mother" and realizes that her parents are exactly what she needs and not a figment of her imagination with a menace beneath the wish fulfillment.

I would have to give this one 4.5 stars because it doesn't quite meet the high standards of The Graveyard Book in comparison. But it really is an outstanding book.  The movie is pretty good, if you get a chance to watch it.  I saw it first, and I plan to re-watch it and compare it since I watched it years ago and I'm just now reading the book.

If you can get this on audio, I highly recommend it.



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The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Left Hand of God starts out very dreary and grim. It was hard going reading such a dark story, but I found Cale's character compelling enough to keep reading. Reading books in which most of the religious people are the bad guys is difficult for me. Especially when the religion is either Christianity or a thinly veiled, ugly version of what people assume Christianity is. It seems as though Christianity is the religion that gets the most criticism in fiction, and this book is no different. Of course, some tenets are slightly different. But if you are familiar with Christian beliefs, it's clear to see where Hoffman is going here. Think Spanish Inquisition and Mad Monks, and you won't be far off. I won't spend too much more of this review 'ranting' about such things. The churchs of my faith have done enough damage throughout history to draw some negative views from people. But after a while, it's like shooting fish in a barrel, really. Are there bad Christians? Certainly. Are there decent Christians? Certainly. But, more often than not, 'we' get to be the bad guys. Oh well. Despite this unbalanced and rather unfair view of the Christian church, I was still able to enjoy this book, because Cale is a character that draws all this reader's interest back to him. And as magnetic as Cale is, Mr. Hoffman managed to populate this novel with a lot of other interesting characters, from Vague Henry, Kliest, Idris Pook, the Chancellor, Cale's first love, Arbell (who I never grew to like), and the various Matarrazzi citizenry. Also, the humor was very good. Extremely dark and sarcastic, but funny all the same.



One of my friends on GRs remarked that the book seems to have a split personality. I completely agree. The first part seemed like a relentlessly dark story of religious zealotry, and its deleterious effects on young boys. I thought the whole book would be about the boys trying to escape its effect. However, the story turns into a not quite as dark, but still murky coming of age story in which we see a young man go from point A to point Z, and how it affects him. It left me a bit confused at how to take this story. I think that Mr. Hoffman had so much fun writing that he sort of lost his sense of direction. Despite that fact, this was still a very good book. My tastes are odd enough that I can enjoy dark material (depending on the execution), although I am an unrepentant consumer of happy ever after stories. The crucial ingredient that causes me to love a book, or even like it, is a pull towards the characters or the story, and that can overule my desire for happy, sunny reads. In this case, Cale is that sort of character. I listened to this on audio, and I was seduced into a dependence on hearing Cale's story. He's an interesting kid. He scares a lot of people, annoys most others, and inspires a strange sort of loyalty in the rest that they don't quite get, nor does Cale. He's not even the nicest guy. But he shows a sense of honor that causes him to do the right thing, even when his pragmatic nature tells him not to. I hope that he doesn't listen to the junk that the Redeemers seem to want to feed him, about his darkness, his curse, and his true mission. I don't believe that about him at all. I do believe he is a very dangerous person. But why can't that darkness in him be used for good? I think it can.



Towards the end of this book, I listened with a very strong sense of dread. I knew that things weren't going to end well, but I couldn't not listen. I just have to know what is going to happen to Cale. He's important to me, and that means I will be reading the next book: The Last Four Things.



Thoughts on the audiobook narration: The British narrator has a beautiful, smooth voice, with a certain element that lends itself very well to the sinister aspects of this story. He has an ability to employ an almost monotone delivery (lending a paradoxically dark, sharp edge to the violent and also the humorous elements) that he employs in quite the right way to surround the listener with an atmosphere that brings this story to life. I would recommend listening to this book on audio if you can find it.



Recommendation: I would advise those who don't like dark subject matter not to read this novel. However, if you don't enjoy dark stories, but you like very compelling, enigmatic characters, you might find yourself compelled to read it anyway, like I was.



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Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins

Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Giants of the Frost turned out to be a slow read, but it was a very good book. I think that the use of Norse mythology was well done. I appreciate how Ms. Wilkins took Norse mythology and folklore and created something novel with these elements as a basis.



Although it took me a while to get sucked into the romantic aspects, admittedly a big part of this book, I enjoyed reading about the characters: Victoria, Vidar, Aud, and Loki, whose fates are entwined rather deeply. I also appreciated the secondary cast of characters, the norns (three sisters who weave the fates for the Aesir), Skripi (a forest wight who is a lot of help to Victoria), and Victoria's coworkers, especially Gunnar (who is a very good friend and source of information about Norse myths to Victoria), to name a few. It was interesting to see Victoria's journey from grounded, almost boneheaded skepticism (she calls herself a fundamental atheist), to a woman who believes that she is the reincarnated lover of the son of Odin. Loki was quite the scene stealer. Ms. Wilkins managed to take this scheming, perpetually joking and stealing trickster of Norse lore, and make him into an appealing antihero who definitely got my interest. Aud, who is the bondmaid of Vidar, really earned my sympathy. She made a bargain out of a mother's love that cost her a thousand years and is in love with Vidar, although she knows it will never be returned. I liked that the characters were complex, realistically selfish in their desires at times, and not always motivated to do the right thing; yet they did show good qualities that made me want the best for them.



Ms. Wilkins is a very good writer, drawing vivid pictures in my mind. My favorite parts were the retelling of Vidar's struggle to be reunited with his love. It reminded me of fairy and folktales in which a character goes on a quest and suffers greatly, for that which is their heart's desire. I admit that there were parts where my interest waned, but I was glad I kept reading, especially when it got to the more interesting parts with Vidar's quest. Although I was a bit ambivalent about the fated love aspect of this story (more from the execution since I normally love that in a romance), I admit that by the end of the book, I was crying and hoping that Victoria and Vidar would get their chance to be together and happy.



I didn't quite know what to expect with this book. I picked it up because of my interest in Norse mythology, and I'm glad I did. This book was expertly crafted, with gratifying depths of complexity; a rich tapestry woven from the threads of identifiably human emotion--both good and bad--and fascinating lore and legend. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.



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Unnatural Selection by Tim Lebbon (A Hellboy Novel)

Unnatural Selection by Tim Lebbon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


From the Top Secret File of an Unofficial Reviewer of the Files Recording the Incident Henceforth Known as "The 1997 Event."



For Authorized Eyes Only



Date: 15 October 2010



I came upon this historical document, and I was amazed at how close the world came to a true cataclysm. Fortunately, Hellboy, and the BRPD were there to save the day, at some significant personal cost. Truly, the death toll was astounding. The engineer of these horrible happenings was a man with good intentions, but one who slipped over into madness. He believed that if he brought back the mythical creatures that had once ruled the world, but had since slipped into Memory (that lost place where the legends go when beliefs falter), the earth could be the beautiful Eden that it was. He declared war on modern humanity, for their wanton destruction and rape of the Earth.



It was no easy feat, reading about the carnage that creatures like griffins, sea serpents, dragons, huge black demonic dogs, and yes, even a kraken; and others perpetrated on humanity. These creatures had an unlimited capacity for destruction. Based on this document as reviewed, Heathrow Airport is a smoldering ruin, and London hasn't faired much better.



We can only thank the BRPD, including Hellboy, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, and the werewolf who strove to be human, Abby Paris, for fighting these creatures, not to mention those who gave their lives in sacrifice, for dealing with these threats, and the man behind them.



This historical document reminded me that humanity is frail. We live in arrogance, assuming that we are at the top of the food chain, that we are stronger than myth and legend, that we can easily defeat the ancient dragons and other beasts of the past; but there is always a price to be paid for our arrogance. We must also look at the darkness within ourselves and determine if we will fight it, and become the heroes that we are meant to be, or to become the villains.



I'm a mere civilian who happened to be privy to this information, but I can truly tell you, we dodged a bullet here. Even still, the world will not be safe, if it ever was; for some of the creatures of Memory now inhabit our world. And they are hungry and angry for their loss. The BRPD will have their work cut out for them, indeed.



My thanks to the brave recorder of these events, Mr. Tim Lebbon, for posterity's sake. It is my hope that we will use this information to be prepared for the worst that is to come.



Signed,



An Observer



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The Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a powerful, gritty, very dark story. In fact, I am quite surprised that this was released as a young adult book, other than the age of the protagonist, Billi. Billi SanGreal lives a grim existence as the daughter of the leader of the very small remains of the once-powerful Knights Templar. They exist to fight the darkness and the demons that would destroy humanity. Only, Billi isn't so sure she wants to be a Templar. The cost has been too high. Her father barely treats her as his daughter, showing her no affection, only pushing her constantly to be the best warrior and to be utterly ruthless in her destruction of evil beings. She has already lost her mother to a horrendous attack by ghuls, demonic creatures who were once humans, but gave up their souls for power or possessions. Billi just wants a normal life. As if being a teen wasn't bad enough, she's considered weird because of her constant bruises and cuts, and the fact that her father was on trial for her mother's murder.

Her friend Kay finally comes back from Jerusalem where he was training to be an Oracle, or a seer for the Knights Templar. She's angry at him that he left her when she needed his friendship and support. She's also confused at the feelings she has for the handsome young man he's become.

And then, she meets gorgeous, mysterious Mike, who might be her first chance to have a boyfriend. But Mike isn't quite what he seems.

This was a very intense story. There were times I had to put this book down and take a breather. Billi's life truly is one battle after enough. Part of that is due to the struggle with her father for control of her life, and her yearning for him to show her the affection and approval she needs as his daughter. And then, there is the struggle with her feelings. She truly wants to be free from this life as a Templar that was forced her on by her father.

Mr. Chadda really knows how to pack a punch with his writing. Between the intra- and interpersonal angst and the battles between good and evil, the tension in this story never lets up. His worldbuilding is strong and compelling, and unrelentingly grim. This story has a seriousness that I appreciated, yet it challenged me to keep reading. At times, I was frustrated at Billi for her determination to rebel against her father. But it made sense. She wanted his love, and he didn't give her that very thing she needed so badly, and her rebellion was a way of letting up the pressure that she constantly lived under.

I thought the idea of a modern-day Knights Templar was fantastic. Although her father was pretty ruthless, and not very good at showing affection to Billi, I really liked and respected Arthur. He was a strong man with an unrelenting sense of duty. He was the kind of man who would fight evil to the end, regardless of the cost. He would hone his daughter into a powerful warrior who would do what was necessary in the battle against evil, if he had to make her hate him to do it. I admired him for that, although I wished that the relationship between Billi and her father was more loving.

The plot twists and turns until I really had no idea how things would end. The ending really brought things full-circle, but I won't pretend it didn't break my heart. Billi doesn't come out of this story without loss. She is like a weapon that has been tested and honed by the fires of combat and trial. And that includes painful loss.

Brutal and violent and unrelentingly dark, Devil's Kiss really involved me. I couldn't let go of this book, even though I had to put it down to regroup. I am very impressed with this author. His writing is vivid and stunning, painting a world that seems lost to the darkness. But it's not, for the Knight's Templars will continue to fight evil, until Kingdom Come. If you are looking for supernatural action with a strong heroine who has a compelling relationship between with her father, you will love this book. I certainly cannot wait to read the next book.


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