Friday 26 February 2016

A Gathering of Shadows

26236443

Book Title: A Gathering of Shadows
Author: V. E. Schwab
Series: Shades of Magic #2
Date Started: February 20th 2016
Date Completed: February 26th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Star
Final Rating: Five stars
Review:

I have to say, I wasn't as blown away by A Gathering of Shadows as I was at A Darker Shade of Magic, but at the same time reading this story felt like coming home. Maybe the reason I wasn't so amazed was because I already knew how amazing Schwab's stories can be, so instead I felt comforted and happy while reading - that is until Schwab started breaking my heart into little pieces.

The magic system in Schwab's world is really interesting; it follows some of the more traditional idea of magic, with the idea of manipulation of the elements, but there's lots of new twists added in. I felt the exploration of the magic itself was a little less adventurous than in A Darker Shade of Magic. We aren't really going back and forth between worlds this time, so its a lot more focused on Red London's individual magic system. I have to say, I personally preferred the diversity in the writing when we were jumping between all these different worlds, not least because of the contrast in their descriptions and the way magic works there. The world building is definitely stronger when we get to see all the Londons, but I appreciate that this sequel was more about the characters.

A Gathering of Shadows doesn't have an obvious plot, but you don't notice that as you're reading. It's like moving pieces on a chess board, and while I does have elements of second-book-syndrome with a filler-book style, the things that are happening are still important and interesting. To be honest I trust Schwab enough to read a whole series of moving characters into their places if she can make it as engaging and fascinating as she did here. And if she can put in as many little twists and one liners that just make me smile, I'd happily read more.
The inclusion and importance of friendships also did a lot for me: this story is a lot to do with the development of relationships and how that changes the characters, which consequently changes the world. Pretty basic stuff. But it's not often that friendship is actually the basis of these changes - usually it's love, whether familial or romantic - but seeing such close relationships that aren't focused around sexual attraction but are just as influential is a really nice breath of fresh air.
And finally, the brilliant cliffhanger. I'm not a huge fan of cliffhangers as a general rule, because it usually relies on your reader having to go on to read even more, and having a story stand on its own is a really valuable skill. But for Schwab, I'll take it. It avoided being irritating because the whole story is building towards it; it hasn't just come out of the blue to lure the audience into buying more books, and while of course I want to know what happens next, I'm actually pretty happy to wait for Schwab to work it out in her own time. It's the kind of cliffhanger where I need the rest, but I'm happy to wait for the extra bit of quality.

The characters of these Londons are definitely what this story is built around. In high fantasy (can I call it high fantasy? It has our world in it, historically speaking) you tend to get stories built around the worlds themselves, with people thrown in to keep the plot moving. But Schwab likes building on her characters, even within singular books, and because of this I fell in love with them all over again. (I also have to give a special mention to Hastra, who is quite frankly the sweetest person I've ever come across in a book.)
Kell is an interesting protagonist. He does suffer a little bit from the 'scowling main character' trope, but there's a lot more to him as well. I have to say, I am more engaged with his character when he's dealing with the various monarchs from the other Londons (as opposed to just being at home and trying to deal with the people he's close to), but there's still something about his character that makes you want to have him as a friend.
And then of course, we have actual goddess Delilah Bard. I could talk about the importance of strong female characters, but Lila already has that covered. It's also really nice to see a female character that isn't even necessarily the main protagonist, but still has an awful lot of importance in the story, and power over her own life and mentality, while being able to wear a dress if she wants to. And have the sharp wit in her dialogue to make me smile quite a few times.
Interestingly enough, I don't really remember how I felt about Rhy in the first book. Thinking back on it, I don't know how that's possible since he's such an eccentric and distinguishable character, but I really don't. Not that it matters because I adore him now: from a literary perspective, it's really good to have someone that balances out Kell's scowls, but even past that the way Schwab is so naturally able to make aa very flirty, at times teasingly irritating, and potentially womanising character likeable is impressive to say the least.

A Gathering of Shadows actually surprised me by how strong the pacing was considering that very little actually happens. The tournament everything's pivoting around doesn't actually take place until the last third of the book, and even then we're too busy focusing on everything else for it to dominate the plot - but there wasn't one point in this book where I was bored or feeling lost. I didn't know where we were going, but Schwab's confidence definitely echoed in the story because I was happy to just go wherever it took me (and I think having that trust in an author is quite a rare thing for a lot of people). It was definitely worth the wait.

This series is absolutely wonderful, and I think so many people would enjoy reading it. There's the classic high fantasy elements that I love, but a touch of something more familiar to urban fantasy as well. I would especially say the Shades of Magic series is a good way to transition from Young Adult to Adult fiction: there's a lot of common ground between the two, but a gentle nudge towards heavier world building, and a deeper look at characters as individuals. But even past that, this series just swallows you up and won't let you go again until you've read everything in sight.

Image Source https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26236443-a-gathering-of-shadows

Saturday 20 February 2016

Sleeping Giants

28587880

Book Title: Sleeping Giants
Author: Sylvain Neuvel
Series: Themis Files #1
Date Started: February 15th 2016
Date Completed: February 20th 2016
Genres: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Mystery
Quality Rating: Five Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star
Final Rating: Five stars
Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

Sleeping Giants was a really engrossing and interesting read. I kept thinking as I was reading it how I was going to review it because it's really hard to pin down exactly how its all put together - I just know that it was so, so good. It creeps up on you a little bit, as I'm sure it's meant to, and suddenly you're completely lost in this crazy little conspiracy just as it starts to get out of hand.

I'm not usually a fan of using interviews and mission logs to tell stories, mainly because everything becomes bland and without description and it can be very hard to piece together what's actually happening. But there's a first time for everything, and Neuvel impressed me not only with the ease at which he built a tangible story despite the reader only really seeing things from one perspective, but also through his characterisation of people who are usually overlooked. Which brings me onto The Interviewer (I honestly have no idea what else to call him). I'll talk a bit more in my character section, but the real star of the show in this book is The Interviewer, and we don't even realise until everything's gone too far to turn back. It's almost like, as a reader, I wanted to be one step ahead of him, and try to work out what he was doing, but every time I tried, he came back with something new again. For a faceless, nameless, initially 'unimportant' character, he sure is devious.
Neuvel also uses quite a bit of science-talk, but I actually found it understandable, and it's not an exaggeration to say science is not my strong point. Admittedly, when you're talking about a mythological force unlike anything anyone's ever encountered there's some room to make some outlandish but believable explanations, but nothing stood out as outrageous or out-of-place.

Sleeping Giants caught me off guard a few times with its twists and drama. Most of the time I was too busy trying to work out what was going on with the mission that suddenly a huge, compromising situation with the characters (who are just as important - if not more - to the book) came as a surprise. But then it was always just gone, its effects undoubtedly still hovering in the air and messing up whatever smooth plan was originally in place, but the story kept moving and time kept passing. While I would have liked to soak in some of the effects a little more, it did a really good job of replicating what working on a project like this would be: you have to keep working, no matter what.
I think the management of the variety of nations, locations and people was good as well. It never felt like Neuvel was taking on too much for himself and everyone had a part to play - something that often annoys me with books that try to take in stories that affect the whole world is that they'll just throw the odd mention of another country in just to prove it's more dramatic than a few individuals, but often it doesn't fit or is done messily etc. Sleeping Giants tied in just enough to make the situation feel real, but not too many that it felt like name-dropping. I also think when it came to certain issues with other countries that The Interviewer played an interesting role: he's not particularly morally grounded, but he often has a very good point when it comes to making deals between nations and collateral damage.

While the characters in this book are definitely detached from the reader because of the style of writing, I still rooted for them regardless. I think inevitably you project onto The Interviewer, since that's the nameless character that comes face-to-face with these people while in a way you never do, but by the time you get to the end it feels like The Interviewer has turned the tables because now they have their own story to tell - well, hint at.
He starts off as a very passive character, but The Interviewer almost becomes the heart and soul of what's going on. The people he interviews realise it eventually, and start trying to turn questions back at him, and learn more to have power over him, but by this point his 'micro-managing' is so adept no one can really take it away from him. But at the same time he does seem to care. Of all the people included in this book, I'm still left trying to work him out.

The pacing is handled very well - especially considering the most we're given is speech between two people at a time. But I never really felt myself getting bored and there was never too much unnecessary rambling added in for the sake of it (sure there's some rambling here and there but it's part of the characterisation of individuals). In fact I read this book in a few sittings because every 'chapter' ended with its own little enigma, which led to the next mystery, to the next and the next and the next and I just wanted to figure it out.

I always say I hate drawing comparisons (and I really do) but to sum it up pretty quickly, Sleeping Giants like The Martian for fantasy lovers; that same level of uncertainty, science-talk, and improvisation from the characters, but a little closer to fantasy and ancient mythology. The little dance the various governments and individual characters are performing feels like a game, so if you like to engage with books by trying to stay one step ahead this should be fun - good luck besting The Interviewer.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28587880-sleeping-giants

Monday 15 February 2016

Zeroes

26232290

Book Title: Zeroes
Author: Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti
Series: Zeroes #1
Date Started: February 13th 2016
Date Completed: February 15th 2016
Genres: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Contemporary
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star
Final Rating: Four stars
Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I enjoyed Zeroes a lot more than I was expecting, and I can't help thinking back to Uglies where I think Westerfeld was at the top of his game. Of course, there are two more authors in the process this time, and I can see where that comes through in the representations and I guess separation of the story into three simultaneous stories. It's good fun, and something actually a little different in the genre.

I'm impressed at how consistent the writing styles ended up being in this book - I know from personal experience that writing with another person can make it really hard to keep up the same style throughout, and I can't imagine what it would be like with three authors. But at the same time I think each individual personality came through in the way the characters' powers are described: while the book is third person, each 'perspective' has a reasonably distinguishable style depending whatever power they have, and I think this was a way each writer could leave their own mark on the story. Again, I'm sure it was very hard to take those and still keep up a consistent flow in the writing, so credit where credit's due.
Having said that, I do feel like there were some times when things got a bit lazy. There was inclusion of darker subjects, and diverse representation, but it did get kind of skimmed over. I appreciate that wasn't really the story that was being told, but I think they could have made the book better by just exploring these things really gently before moving to the main story. I'm also really tired of reading slang used in teenager's dialogue to tell the reader that they're teenagers - it just sticks out as sounding strange a lot of the time, and it's always the most stereotypical words that sneak their way in. I just think it's unnecessary and a lazy way to characterise age.

While Zeroes has a main storyline, I think it's fair to say we get pairs of characters approaching the plot in different ways. Essentially: we've got Ethan and Kelsie in the center of it all; Thibault and Riley coming to the rescue most of the time; and Nate and Chizara managing things from the outside. While I would have liked the characters to mix a little bit more (and I'm not a huge fan of pairing them all off in little couples), I still think the authors were able to develop each character and their shared story nicely and fairly. We get to see a lot of all of them, but we get the diversity of plot form each pair - I guess this is where the three authors almost split the job?
Personally, I would've liked to see the story turn a little darker considering we're dealing with gangs and drug sellers and the police, but I completely understand why it wasn't for the target audience - and it's nice to see some of this most serious topics explored even a little bit. Having said that, something I really liked was how the characters' 'powers' were actually more problems for them - and the problems presented are a lot more relatable than 'oh no I accidentally killed this person while I was being an idiot.' Kelsie, for example, can enhance and twist emotions of crowds, but they can mess up her own mentality, and when she's alone she feels almost drained; Ethan's 'voice' knows things even he doesn't to get him out of situations, but his rambling often gets him into trouble too; Chizara can manipulate electricity but it can be overwhelming when it's absolutely everywhere. I think these are things that actually readers can really relate to in slightly less exaggerated ways (who hasn't felt exhilarated in a crowd, but then overwhelmed? You might be able to make wise cracks that help you in life, but sometimes they'll make things worse as well; and we all have huge amounts of control of things with social media, but it can be too much sometimes). For YA (and maybe slightly younger readers too) I think this is a really good way to use the superhero genre, because it makes it less 'desirable' entertainment, and instead more understanding and helpful.
The book ties itself up pretty neatly, but there's still so much more to come. And I'm actually quite excited to see where it goes.

Zeroes has a good diversity in representation and a clear refusal of a lot of tropes (mostly). It is quite obvious that the writers deliberately chose opposites to stereotypes, but I do appreciate good intentions. I think the fact that each character has their own personality helps balance this out too.
It feels like Ethan and Kelsie (Scam and Mob) are the 'main' protagonists at the start of this book, but I felt things becoming more and more about the others as I read. I'm not complaining - I really like the fact that it's about all of them - but there was a little confusion for me when we start off following them for a good while and suddenly all these other people have just as heavy (if not more) involvement in what happens. Besides that, however, I really like these two; they're the closest to the typical protagonists you'll find, but there's still quite obvious little twists on their characters that give them just enough mystery to make things interesting.
Thibault and Riley (Anon and Flicker) were a strange pair for me, and I'm not sure how happy I was that it was quite clear from the beginning that they were going to gravitate into the same story, but it didn't feel as natural as the others to me. Admittedly, I liked where they ended up, and it's so nice to see a disabled character that isn't there just to show vulnerability, and an isolated figure who maybe doesn't choose to push others away - like I said, subtle twists on things we've seen before.
Now Nate and Chizara (Bellwether and Crash) really interest me as individuals, though in the story it felt like they were just the two left over and so had to go into a shared side story. I don't trust Nate whatsoever, and I wish they'd made him just a little but more dangerous this time around - though I'm sure it'll come to that in the future. And Chizara wasn't my favourite character, but I like the fact that she kept getting pulled in again by Nate, no matter how hard she tried (and wanted) to avoid being a part of their group.

I absolutely flew through this book (had it not been the BAFTAs I would've finished it in a day), and I think this comes down to the structuring of the story. The writing has a really nice flow to it, but really I had to keep reading because the plot was always building really fast throughout the whole thing (apart from Chizara's chapters - for some reason nothing much happened in her story, and her chapters were always in chunks, unlike everyone else's). I think the fact that Westerfeld, Managuan and Biancotti [that's a mouthful] managed to build up engagement with the characters in a really short space of time also really helped keep my motivation up.

I think Zeroes is marketed slightly wrong: it's very heavy on the whole 'superpowers/superhero' thing, but I think a little push towards crime or thriller could raise some more interest in readers. The two genres are close anyway, but I feel like so many people turn off when they hear 'another YA superhero book' - I definitely did, that's why it took me so long to pick this up. And while I understand the benefits of marketing it to an already popular genre, I feel like it's overlooking the fact that a lot of people are starting to look for something a little different in Young Adult books - which I would argue this book provides.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26232290-zeroes

Saturday 13 February 2016

Kafka on the Shore

17186635

Book Title: Kafka on the Shore
Author: Haruki Murakami
Date Started: January 28th 2016
Date Completed: February 13th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Mystery
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Two Star
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

I'm not that sure what to say about Kafka on the Shore, because I'm not that sure what happened. I think the main reason it didn't work for me was that I didn't understand it, and eventually got bored of trying to understand it, so gradually my enjoyment levels were just falling. I wanted to finish it, because I thought everything would tie together and I'd have an epiphany and it would be amazing, but unfortunately my heart just wasn't in it at the end.

I've heard a lot about Murakami - and of course it's always the hype that obliterates actual enjoyment - but I was expecting a little more in the writing. Having said that this book is basically all about the subtext in the writing, but I guess I was ready for beautiful imagery of magical turns of phrase. Like I said, it's the expectation that ruins these sorts of things, and so when I got normal (that's a bit harsh: still good, but not an immediately fantastical style I guess) prose story I was a bit underwhelmed. When you add that to the fact that I was completely lost with the story, it didn't leave me any fronts to enjoy from.

While I've given up trying to understand what the overarching plot of Kafka was, or even the metaphorical one, I did honestly enjoy individual scenes. There are particular ones that really stand out - either because of how original, or heartfelt, or tense, or interesting, or graphic they were. And the fact that Murakami was able to have scenes with that much diversity of quality really impressed me. It's partly why I kept pushing to get to the end (and the ending is definitely the best part of the book), because there are some really great scenes. It just didn't all tie together for me, and I'm still not sure if that was just my reading or if they were a bit distant from each other.
The then negative side of this was that the rest of the book either didn't click with me, or was just unnecessary. I mean, there's so much sex and gore (neither of which I object to, but it seemed to be there just for the hell of it to pass the time) and descriptions of mundane life that just didn't need to be there. Sure, it felt like I was really moving with the characters through their everyday life, but it wasn't the most engaging literary technique I've ever read.

There are some really nice representations of diverse characters in natural, everyday situations here. I don't want to be specific in case of spoilers, but I do like it when minorities are shown honestly and unashamedly in everyday life, and their identity isn't used as a plot device or to directly tackle an issue; it's just part of who their character happens to be.
Kafka was a nice protagonist, though far beyond his 15 years. I kept getting confused because I forgot how young he actually was, and what that meant - having said that it doesn't really pose any big problems to him at any point, past perhaps moral ones.
I was really interested in the whole mystery surrounding Nakata, and I thought that maybe it was going to be the very last thing we discovered, and suddenly that would make sense of everything else. Of course, this being magical realism, it was a bit optimistic to think that, but I would've liked at least SOME exploration of possible causes for him being the way he is.

I was warned Murakami takes his sweet time, but I didn't expect it to take just under half the book for things to even be established. And even then it's very slow going. I appreciate it's not really about the literal events that happen, but when I felt so out of the water with all the metaphors and what the point of the book was supposed to be, I did struggle to keep up my own pace of reading, and so everything felt like it was dragging out even more.

For me, take it or leave it. I know a lot of people really love it, and I'm a bit disappointed that it's weird little quirks didn't do it for me, but essentially I just got so confused and caught between just enjoying the story and trying to understand what was happening. I definitely don't want to give up on Murakami, but maybe I need to try a different genre.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17186635-kafka-on-the-shore