FantasyCategory Archives

Book Review: Shattered Pillars by Elizabeth Bear

Shattered Pillars (Eternal Sky #2) by Elizabeth Bear

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  3.19.2013
        

The Shattered Pillars is the second book of Bear’s The Eternal Sky trilogy and the sequel to Range of Ghosts. Set in a world drawn from our own great Asian Steppes, this saga of magic, politics and war sets Re-Temur, the exiled heir to the great Khagan and his friend Sarmarkar, a Wizard of Tsarepheth, against dark forces determined to conquer all the great Empires along the Celedon Road.

Elizabeth Bear is an astonishing writer, whose prose draws you into strange and wonderful worlds, and makes you care deeply about the people and the stories she tells. The world of The Eternal Sky is broadly and deeply created—her award-nominated novella, “Bone and Jewel Creatures” is also set there.

I also recommend:

My Review:

Picking up where Range of Ghosts left off, Elizabeth Bear dives right in with Shattered Pillars – action and strange names galore. Having just finished the first book of this series, I felt somewhat prepared and even more so, excited to see where the adventure would lead.

The development of Edene in this book is one of the most important storylines, I think. But in spite of its importance, it reminds me a lot of the storyline of a certain dragon lady in George R.R. Martin’s popular series. No, Edene is not surrounded by dragons, nor is she a hot, blonde HBO actress. What I mean is that when I read GRRMs books, I knew there was something important going on in that thread of the story, but I just didn’t care enough to figure it out. Then, when I started to watch the HBO series by the same name – I got it. I just needed to see it brought to life. I think the same applies to Edene. From what I understand of what is going on, there’s a lot of gross stuff happening around her and it’s strange and confusing and I have a hard time caring (other than how it affects Temur). But I know it’s important, so be sure to pay attention to that story…I know I forced myself to.

Now…Temur, I have no problem paying attention to. I love the story there and really am enjoying the exploration of the world through the various religious practices and especially the way the world is set up. There’s action, adventure, questing, and politics all happening in a setting that is the most exotic setting I have been exposed to.

Really looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up. If you are looking for a complex story to satisfy your cravings until the next “big” book comes out, I do recommend you look into this one.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

Val’s Random Comments | Fantasy Cafe | Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

 

 

 

Lydia
18 May, 2013
Fantasy, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Firebrand by Gillian Philip

Firebrand (Rebel Angels #1) by Gillian Philip

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  2.19.2013
        

At the end of the sixteenth century, religious upheaval brings fear, superstition, and doubt to the lives of mortals. Yet unbeknownst to them, another world lies just beyond the Veil: the realm of the Sithe, a fierce and beautiful people for whom a full-mortal life is but the blink of an eye. The Veil protects and hides their world…but it is fraying at the edges, and not all think it should be repaired.

Discarded by his mother and ignored by his father, sixteen-year-old Seth MacGregor has grown up half wild in his father’s fortress, with only his idolized older brother, Conal, for family. When Conal quarrels with the Sithe queen and is forced into exile in the full-mortal world, Seth volunteers to go with him.

But life beyond the Veil is even more dangerous than they expected, and Seth and Conal soon find themselves embroiled in a witch-hunt—in which they are the quarry. Trapped between the queen’s machinations at home and the superstitious violence of the otherworld, Seth must act before both of them are fed to the witch-hunters’ fires…

I also recommend:

My Review:

I’ll readily admit that, after the initial scene in Firebrand hooked me, it took a while for the book to regain the momentum it had in the prologue. But, ultimately, it did get there and I am excited to write this review because Firebrand was a book that, once it hooked me, it wouldn’t let me put it down until I finished it.

Gillian Philip takes the Sithe (I’m assuming they are similar to the Sidhe? but may be wrong here), a people who live on one side of the “Veil” and writes them into a world that is placed, apparently, into the medieval human times. An interesting contrast comes out of this, as the Sithe are ruled by a woman, are proud of their female warriors, and have a post-modern sense of morality (i.e. homoesexuality, polygamy, etc). The story follws a young, Sithe boy who was born out of a union between a witch and the captain of a dun who, now, is involved in a relationship with another witch. The young boy, Seth, is unloved by both of his parents and, in the beginning of the story, forms a bond with his older brother who is the only one to accept him.

Firebrand walks a fine line. There are quite a few world shifts as Seth and his brother move from the Sithe world into the human world and back. Yet, those shifts are needed in order to keep the story moving and Philip has definitely set the pace for the upcoming books in the series.

The only real issue I had while reading Firebrand is the lack of development between the character Catriona and Seth. Because of Catriona’s lack of voice (and her convenient receiving of voice at one point) she felt more like a plot device than an actual character that contributes to the story. This was magnified by the ultimate fate of Catriona at the end of the book.

Still, this was a fun novel and I’ll be looking forward to seeing the next installment when it is released.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

Bibliophilic Book Blog | Little Red Reviewer |Anna’s Book Blog

 

 

 

Lydia
17 May, 2013
Fantasy, reviews
2 comments
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Book Review: Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear

Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky 1) by Elizabeth Bear

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  3.27.2012
        

Temur, grandson of the Great Khan, is walking away from a battlefield where he was left for dead. All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother, who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather’s throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin.

Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards. These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power.

I also recommend:

My Review:

If I had not received the sequel to Range of Ghosts from the publisher, I can honestly say that Range of Ghosts would never have entered my radar. I’m fairly picky when it comes to my high-fantasy, and one of the qualifications is that the strange-name to familiar-name ratio be fairly balanced. Range of Ghosts was definitely not balanced.

However, I took the leap and purchased Range of Ghosts because I am unable to just dive into the second book of the series without having read the first. To be honest, about 100 pages in, I thought I was just going to have to suck up a loss because I just couldn’t get into the story. Then things started to happen.

So if you are like me and struggle with strange names and terms and trying to get your imagination wrapped around an extremely detailed and exotic world, let me lay out for you a little bit of the things you might just see in this series.

First, each kingdom has a different sky. You know which kingdom you are in by looking up – and the skies change according to who is in power. Cool, right? Yeah, I thought so once I figured it out.

Second, fluid sexuality is alive and thriving in this book. Characters can switch from male to female and back due to special circumstances.

Third, horses named Dumpling are fantastic characters. I won’t spoil the surprise.

Fourth, females (barren and fertile) have immense power. I loved this aspect of the book and, frankly, it’s a strong reason for why it’s receiving this review. I am fascinated by Edene, awed by Once-Princess Samarkar, and a little bit in animal love with a certain tiger.

I would recommend ignoring the summary of this book, as it just doesn’t do the complex nature of the story justice. Take your time, get to know the characters, and rest assured by the end of this first book, you will be rewarded.

Check out what these bloggers had to say!

The Little Red Reviewer | A Fantasy Reader | Neth Space

 

 

 

Lydia
16 May, 2013
Fantasy, Mythology, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Mending the Moon by Susan Palwick

Mending the Moon by Susan Palwick

  • Method of Obtaining: I received an advance copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Tor
  • Release Date:  5.14.2013
        

Melinda Soto, aged sixty-four, vacationing in Mexico, is murdered by a fellow American tourist.

Back in her hometown of Reno, Nevada, she leaves behind her adopted son, Jeremy, whom she rescued from war-torn Guatamala when he was a toddler—just one of her many causes over the years. And she leaves behind a circle of friends: Veronique, the academic stuck in a teaching job from which she can’t retire; Rosemary, who’s losing her husband to Alzheimer’s and who’s trying to lose herself in volunteer work; Henrietta, the priest at Rosemary’s and Melinda’s church.

Jeremy already had a fraught relationship with his charismatic mother and the people in her orbit. Now her death is tearing him apart, and he can barely stand the rituals of remembrance that ensue among his mother’s friends. Then the police reveal who killed Melinda: a Seattle teenager who flew home to his parents and drowned himself just days later.

It’s too much. Jeremy’s not the only one who can’t deal. Friendships fray. But the unexpected happens: an invitation to them all, from the murderer’s mother, to come to Seattle for his memorial. It’s ridiculous. And yet, somehow, each of them begins to see in it a chance to heal. Aided, in peculiar ways, by Jeremy’s years-long obsession with the comic-book hero Comrade Cosmos, and the immense cult of online commentary it’s spawned.

Shot through with feeling and inventiveness, this is a novel of the odd paths that lead to home.

I also recommend:

My Review:

When I received Mending the Moon by Susan Palwick from Tor, I have to admit, I was taken in by the pretty packaging. It’s beautifully bound, has a gorgeous, simple cover, and I wanted to pick it up and read it right away. So I read the inside description and I was immediately moved from interested to confused. Tor is well-known for publishing fantasy and sci-fi (through the Forge imprint) so what was a book about grief and murder doing in my hands?

I almost let it get to me. Almost. So let this be a lesson – don’t let first impressions get the better of you.

What I found in this book were many, many good things. First, it’s smart writing. I’m graduating from a small, liberal arts college this Saturday, and the descriptions in this book (from both students and teacher’s perspective) of college life are spot on. Especially the literary class descriptions. In fact, I found myself wanting to take a course that was described and it actually gave me a research bug of my own. But it’s not all the school part that is the smart writing – it’s all just intelligent, good, solid, story-telling.

Secondly, there is never any promise about answers. Because that is not what this book is about – the jacket flap will tell you that much. Instead, through a rather genius way, the story is told through a mirror. That mirror? The medium of a comic-book-type set of heroes created by four computer science kids. It’s actually quite brilliant… and once I understood what was happening the Tor publisher clicked for me.

What I love most about this book was it reminded me that fantasy fiction isn’t all high fantasy or urban fantasy. It also includes comic book heroes, Korean dramas, Japanese manga… you name it. Fantasy is fantasy – it’s taking real life and seeing it through unusual means. And it doesn’t require a dragon – a comic book hero works quite as well.

 

 

 

Lydia
7 May, 2013
Contemporary, Fantasy, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by:  Harlequin Teen
  • Release Date:   10/23/2012
        

This is not the time for the fight to end. Now is when the fight will begin. This is the time to regain what has been lost.Alera

Queen of a fallen kingdom, secretly in love with the enemy.

Shaselle

Daughter of a murdered father, rebel with a cause.

One lives behind the former Hytanican palace walls and walks the razor’s edge to keep the fragile peace in her beloved homeland. The other slips through the war-torn streets, seeking retribution for her family’s tragedy, following whispers of insurgency.

Both face choices that will separate them from those they cannot help but love. As their stories intertwine, a conspiracy ignites that may end in slavery or death—or lead to freedom anew, if only each can face what must be sacrificed.

I also recommend:

My Review:

Once again I am blown away by the complexity of this story. Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver is the third (and final I believe) book in the Legacy series and all of the main players have been maneuvered into places that seem nearly impossible to get out of.

I’ve been following this series since the release of Legacy and it is one of the series of books that I do not have to go back and reread in order to remember where I left off. Within a few pages of Sacrifice it all came rushing back to me – fluttering of my heart included. I felt like a teenage girl all over again.

There are a few things about Sacrifice that make it worthy of your time (and the series as a whole). While the romance aspect is there, Sacrifice centers around two very strong-willed, very determined young women who, ultimately, have to make choices that are difficult and necessary in order for the world to continue in a way that makes sense. I was at peace with where both characters ended up and throughout the entire book kept wondering where exactly Kluver was going to go next. I simply could not figure a way out of their predicaments without the story losing some of its quality, but it worked and it worked well.

This series has a little bit of everything (and some beautiful covers!) and it comes highly recommended by me. I wish I’d been able to get my teenage hands on books like these.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

The Reader Bee | Dark Faerie Tales | Alexa Loves Books

 

 

Lydia
26 January, 2013
Fantasy, Favorites, reviews, Young Adult
0 comments
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Book Review: The Scrivener’s Tale by Fiona McIntosh

The Scrivener’s Tale by Fiona McIntosh

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by: Harper Voyager
  • Release Date:   3/26/2013
        

Gabe Figaret, an ex-psychologist, turned writer, now works in a bookshop in Paris as he comes to terms with his past. While he’d prefer to probe his own mind rather than a stranger’s, he cannot refuse when Reynard, a doctor and one of his regular customers, asks Gabe to mentor a patient, a young, delusional and mute woman named Angelina.

At first, the shy girl appears to be terrified of Reynard. But as Gabe soon discovers, Angelina is not quite what she seems. As his relationship with the strange young woman deepens, Gabe’s life in Paris becomes increasingly unstable. He senses a presence watching, following, every move he makes. And there is a raven, which eerily appears wherever he turns.

Angelina tells Gabe there is only one way to save them both: he must flee to Morgravia. Gabe believes her claim to be part of her delusion but when she begins to link minds and show him the realm where the cathedral that he has dreamed about since his youth, is real, he is drawn into her spell and her plan. But the journey to Morgravia comes at a price higher than he may be willing to pay: he must kill Angelina and absorb her spirit.

Though Angelina is exquisitely persuasive, Gabe is not a murderer. But his morality cannot protect him for what is to come. Soon, Gabe’s world will be turned upside down, and he will learn shocking truths about who he is . . . and who he can-or cannot-trust.and he will learn shocking truths about who he is . . . and who he can-or cannot-trust.

I also recommend:

My Review:

I admit, I was extremely hopeful picking up The Scrivener’s Tale by Fiona McIntosh. After a series of historical and contemporary novels I was more than ready to dive into a fantasy world, and the idea of a single volume, set in a world that was already created, appealed to me. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to fully discover that world… but that fear was not the one I should have been concerned about.

The good was that McIntosh knows her fantasy world, Morgravia, very very well. I was able to get a feel for that world quickly – in fact more quickly then I do for other series that take their time introducing their own worlds. I found the good characters (especially Cassien) to be sympathetic, the bad ones to be teeth-gnashingly evil, and the story (overall) to be acceptable. However… and there is an however, the Paris section stuck out like a sore thumb.

I understand the appeal – starting a story like this off in our world and wanting a successful cross-over, but it just didn’t work for me here. There was not enough explanation of how it all came about, where the connection was, where certain characters went (after they supposedly perished), etc. It seemed left open-ended and unfinished and it really messed with my enjoyment of the story. Better to have just stuck in Morgravia and worked the story there than incorporate Paris in because, frankly, that incorporation demands more page space than a single volume will allow.

Still, the last half of the book was good fun. There were predictable moments and the battle scenes were a bit lacking, but the romance of the story swept me up and The Scrivener’s Tale became unputdownable for the last 150 pages or so.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Bookd Out 

Lydia
20 January, 2013
Fantasy, reviews
0 comments
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Book Review: Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

  • Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by: Simon Pulse
  • Release Date:  1/1/2013
        

Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house.

Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life.

Reason for Reading:
  • Fairy Tale? Caught my interest.

I also recommend:

 

My Review:

Wow. Just.. wow.

I’ve started a few reviews with that first line, but it’s been a while and now that I’ve had a few days to chew over this story I have to say… just wow.

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz comes off as being a strange little story about a boy and his sick little brother who are taken to an island where magical-type fish are eaten by those who are sick in an effort to get well. Sound strange? Well, it is.

You see, Rudy (a name that first had me thinking the character was a girl) meets Teeth – a half-fish/half-boy (aka merman of sorts) who is determined to save his brothers, those magical fish, from horrible deaths at the hands of the fisherman. But Teeth is also being abused and in a way that keeps Rudy up at night.

As I read this story I kept thinking that something was up. I had that feeling on the back of my neck, that tingling that made me think I was missing something. It wasn’t until I had almost reached the end of the book that I realized there was an awful lot of symbolism going on and that, perhaps, the story was allegorical in nature. Then the world opened up.

I don’t want to spoil what Teeth and Rudy and all of the characters in this book stand for (and I highly advise you to avoid spoilers until after you’ve read and thought the book through for yourself), but read it with the idea in mind that not all is as it seems. The experience that results is one that is dumb-founding and, perhaps, may prompt your mind to open up a little more. I sympathized deeply with Teeth – but even more so when I figured out what was going on and I have to applaud Hannah Moskowitz for writing an incredibly intricate, detailed book about a subject that is very, very relevant today.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Cuddlebuggery Book Blog | The Nocturnal Library | Wild Heart Book Reviews

Lydia
6 January, 2013
Contemporary, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, reviews, Young Adult
0 comments
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Book Review: Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

  • Method of Obtaining: I preceived my copy from the publisher.
  • Published by: Tor Books
  • Release Date:  10/02/2012 (This edition)
        

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio…and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

Reason for Reading:
  • The gorgeous, gorgeous book cover.

I recommend:

My Review:

If ever there is a case of book cover lust, it definitely would strike hard for a book like Ironskin. The first time I saw this cover I knew… I had to read this book – I didn’t even care that it was described as a “Steampunk Beauty and the Beast” novel. I didn’t care that, once I began reading, that Tina Connolly had openly ripped off Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (even to the point of giving her characters remarkably similar names) and just infused the story with magic and fae and dwarves. But soon, I couldn’t ignore those very things.

Quite frankly, I was more excited by the cover than I was by the story. I was interested, but it didn’t grab me. I was curious, but not burning up with curiosity. More than once, I put the book down, confused, because the story seemed to me like a bunch of puzzle pieces that all just didn’t quite fit.

So while I will probably keep this book on my shelf for the sheer pretty factor, I don’t know that I’ll steer anyone toward it – unless they, like me, wish to give it a shot and see if it can hold up its end of the bargain.

I’ve been trying to figure out over the last few days what could have made this work more. I think different name choices (there’s no need to beat your readers over the head with the fact that you are writing a Jane Eyre spin-off) would help. A more developed relationship between Jane and her sister would have worked well as well as more development of the relationships in the manor. And Connolly’s version of Mr. Rochester had me all sorts of confused – was he a good guy? a bad guy? And what about these Fae wars? What went on there. In short, I felt as if I was thrown into the middle of a story that had me turned around and completely confused by the time I was two chapters in.

So, in short – great cover, interesting premise, and a failure to follow through for this one.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Parajunkee | Heather’s Book Chatter | Book-Marks the Spot

Lydia
26 December, 2012
Fantasy, Gothic, reviews, Young Adult
0 comments
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Book Review: Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes

  • Method of Obtaining: I obtained my copy via NetGalley.
  • Published by: Month9Books
  • Release Date:  10/16/2012
        

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

Reason for Reading:

  • I adore fairy tale retellings

I also recommend:

My Review:

Last semester I was fortunate enough to take a seminar in the uncanny. This class introduced stories from the Grimm Brothers along with tales of creepiness from Kafka, Geothe, and other romantic, strange fairytales. We applied Freud’s theory of the uncanny and Kristeva’s theory of the abject to these stories and came out richer for it.

So I was excited when I got my hands on these dark retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes – because these rhymes ARE dark and I wanted to see what some well-known authors did when given the task of coming up with a story to match. While I didn’t expect the stories to be good across the board, I was hugely entertained by quite a few of them which is enough for me to bump up my rating and actually recommend this book for other lovers of the uncanny.

One of my favorite stories in this anthology deals with the Candlelight rhyme – one which was unfamiliar to me. It reminded me of an old tv program I watched years ago in which children were paraded down a hall to choose a new set of parents (that does not happen in this short story, but it shares a thematic principle). That short story was the only one of the bunch that I finished thinking I would have loved to read a full story on it.

The rest ranged from good to pretty bad – but mostly reminded me of some exercises we did in creative writing class. Short-story writing is harder than it seems it might be. It requires a firm grasp of the world, a perfectly place introduction into that world, and characters which are completely fleshed out so that the reader gets the sense they’ve known them for years by the time that reader finishes the first sentence. Unfortunately, most of the stories contained in this book did not meet that criteria – but still… it was entertaining, and dark, and fun to read as Halloween approaches.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

Crossroad Reviews | Star Shadow | Reader Girls

Lydia
9 November, 2012
Fairy Tales, Fantasy, reviews, Young Adult
1 comment
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Book Review: The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

  • Method of Obtaining: I obtained my copy via Netgalley.
  • Published by: HarperCollins
  • Release Date:  10/2/2012
        

One night when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and pancake-loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and the next morning, when she woke up, he was not. In fact, he was quite, quite different.

When Liza’s brother, Patrick, changes overnight, Liza knows exactly what has happened: The spindlers have gotten to him and stolen his soul.

She knows, too, that she is the only one who can save him.

To rescue Patrick, Liza must go Below, armed with little more than her wits and a broom. There, she uncovers a vast world populated with talking rats, music-loving moles, greedy troglods, and overexcitable nids . . . as well as terrible dangers. But she will face her greatest challenge at the spindlers’ nests, where she encounters the evil queen and must pass a series of deadly tests–or else her soul, too, will remain Below forever.

Reason for Reading:
  • I’ve enjoyed Lauren Oliver’s other books.

I recommend:

My Review:

I’ve enjoyed Lauren Oliver’s writing for quite some time now – picking up every book from her first until this last one… but The Spindlers didn’t just disappoint me, it made me angry.

If you are at all familiar with Suzanne Gregory’s Gregor the Overlander series, then this book will have many familiar themes. A stolen away sibling, a journey underground, a quest of retrieval, magical, mystical creatures. In fact, the resemblance was so strong I set the book down more than once and had to go elsewhere to clear my head because I was predicting where the story was going based on another story line from another author (and sadly, it still wasn’t all that different).

I loved the Gregor series – but the idea there was such a unique one that I really struggled in trying to give The Spindlers a place in that same arena without just blatantly comparing and contrasting the two. Usually when one book resembles another in some way, I use that resemblance to justify recommending the book – but in this case I think that resemblance is more of a hindrance than a help.

Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!

The Pretty Books | Pure Imagination | Carina’s Books

Lydia
5 November, 2012
Fantasy, Middle Grade, reviews
1 comment
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