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To be honest, I was first drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover. Who wouldn't fall for the jeweled toned rich hues suggesting autumn evenings wrapped up in cashmere? Then I noticed the girl, front and center oddley white except for a hint of a blush on her cheeks and gold toned eyes. I was curious.

Furthermore joined me on my journey upstate to my summertime reading retreat.  It's August pub date meant it wasn't the first book that I read, but I kept eyeing it as I pulled others from the shelf.  Clocking in at 393 pages, this is not a slight read, but once I started it, I put it down only to sleep.

Alice, almost twelve, is filled with anticipation for Ferenwood's annual Surrender. She is anxious for life to change, because frankly Alice's life hasn't been so easy lately.  Not only is Alice considered odd, even by Ferenwood's magical standards, her father is still missing.  Alice's father is the one who really cared for her and understood her despite her differences from everyone else in Ferenwood. He indulged her and listened to her. And now it was only Alice, her three little brothers and her mother.

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Where do dogs wander to in the dark of night? How tall is a ladder to an exotic land? Will unusual creatures help guide you to your destination? How long is a piece of string? Don’t know the answers? Well, it’s all up to your imagination!   In similarity to those that leave the stories […]

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The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1) Robert Jordan. 1990. Tor. 814 pages. [Source: Bought]

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

The Eye of the World is the first in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I first reviewed this one in October 2012. I thought the book was promising, that it had great potential. As the first book in a long series, it also serves as an introduction. An introduction not just to the world or to the main characters, but an introduction to the writing style: the details, the descriptions, the narration, the foreshadowing. It also hints at the complexity. Hints. (If you think there are a lot of names--both people and place--to keep up with in the first book, then you should know it only becomes more challenging in later books. It isn't necessarily good or bad that this is so. It just is.)

To keep it very simple, The Eye of the World is a coming-of-age adventure-quest story. It is all about the journey, or, you could just as easily say it is all about the chase. Eye of the World is essentially setting the stage for a big battle between the forces of good and evil.

The Eye of the World introduces readers to a handful of characters. Three young men who could potentially change the world for better or worse: Rand, Perrin, and Mat. Two young women who follow them into danger: Egwene and Nynaeve. Both have significant roles to play in the books ahead. Neither really steal the show in this first book. We learn that both women are able to touch the True Source (One Power) though they've not received training. Both women intrigue Moiraine, the Aes Sedai who has promised to protect them all--to the best of her ability. She knows that the Dark One seeks to destroy these three men, and quite possibly all those that stand in his way. Moiraine and Lan, her warder, will do what they can but they know it will be a continual struggle, a challenge, to stay a step or two ahead of the evil that pursues them.

There are also other characters introduced in this book that I'd like to mention. I love, love, love Loial. He's introduced relatively late in this one. But I adore him! He's an Ogier. There is also Thom Merrilin. He's a gleeman--an entertainer, storyteller, musician, juggler, etc. He travels with this group at the very beginning. There's also a young girl, Min, who is able to a certain degree to see the future. Readers also briefly meet Elayne, Gawyn, and Galad. And Queen Morgase. And the queen's Aes Sedai, Elaida.

It had been two years since I'd read this one. It was interesting to see what I remembered, and what I'd completely forgotten. I liked this one very much upon rereading. I enjoyed so many things about it still.

Quotes:

Not more than twenty spans back down the road a cloaked figure on horseback followed them, horse and rider alike black, dull and ungleaming. It was more habit than anything else that kept him walking backward alongside the cart even while he looked. The rider’s cloak covered him to his boot tops, the cowl tugged well forward so no part of him showed. Vaguely Rand thought there was something odd about the horseman, but it was the shadowed opening of the hood that fascinated him. He could see only the vaguest outlines of a face, but he had the feeling he was looking right into the rider’s eyes. And he could not look away. Queasiness settled in his stomach. There was only shadow to see in the hood, but he felt hatred as sharply as if he could see a snarling face, hatred for everything that lived. Hatred for him most of all, for him above all things.

He was hoping his father had not noticed he was afraid when Tam said, “Remember the flame, lad, and the void.” It was an odd thing Tam had taught him. Concentrate on a single flame and feed all your passions into it—fear, hate, anger—until your mind became empty. Become one with the void, Tam said, and you could do anything.

Strangers and a gleeman, fireworks and a peddler. It was going to be the best Bel Tine ever.

Aes Sedai and wars and false Dragons: those were the stuff of stories told late at night in front of the fireplace, with one candle making strange shapes on the wall and the wind howling against the shutters. On the whole, he believed he would rather have blizzards and wolves. Still, it must be different out there, beyond the Two Rivers, like living in the middle of a gleeman’s tale. An adventure. One long adventure. A whole lifetime of it.

“What kind of need would be great enough that we’d want the Dragon to save us from it?” Rand mused. “As well ask for help from the Dark One.”

“I still think you shouldn’t come,” he said. “I wasn’t making it up about the Trollocs. But I promise I will take care of you.” “Perhaps I’ll take care of you,” she replied lightly. At his exasperated look she smiled and bent down to smooth his hair. “I know you’ll look after me, Rand. We will look after each other. But now you had better look after getting on your horse.”

The Aes Sedai you will find in Tar Valon are human, no different from any other women except for the ability that sets us apart. They are brave and cowardly, strong and weak, kind and cruel, warm-hearted and cold. Becoming an Aes Sedai will not change you from what you are.

But hope is like a piece of string when you’re drowning; it just isn’t enough to get you out by itself.

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Oliver and the Seawigs. Philip Reeve. Illustrated by Sarah McIntyre. 2014. Random House. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I didn't not like it. I could easily say I liked it well enough. But you know how there are certain books that you read and get excited about and just can't wait to talk about? This wasn't that kind of book for me. While there was not one thing about the book that I didn't like, I just didn't find myself loving it. I don't know why readers feel, in some ways, obligated to love everything they read.

I liked the opening paragraphs. "Oliver Crisp was only ten years old, but they had been a busy and exciting ten years, because Oliver's mother and father were explorers. They had met on top of Mount Everest. They had been married at the Lost Temple of Amon Hotep, and had spent their honeymoon searching for the elephants' graveyard. And when young Oliver was born, they simply bought themselves a back carrier and an off-road baby carriage and went right on exploring." See. It starts off cute and promising. And it doesn't disappoint. You know from the start what kind of book this will be. And you get just that.

I liked the characters. I liked Oliver Crisp. I liked the wandering albatross, Mr. Culpeper. I liked the near-sighted mermaid, Iris. I liked the island, Cliff. I liked how they met and became friends. You can certainly see this is a unique story.

I liked the pacing. It is a nice, imaginative adventure story starring unique characters.

I like the illustrations. I like the layout. Many kids, like Lewis Carroll's fictional Alice, do look for stories with plenty of pictures! It's a sign of it not being horribly dull. If you share Alice's opinion on books that is.

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Glass Sentence. S.E. Grove. 2014. Penguin. 512 pages. [Source: Library]

The Glass Sentence has an intriguing premise with incredible potential. As soon as I heard the premise, I knew I had to read it. And, in many ways, it is a premise-driven novel. And there's nothing at all wrong with that, not when the premise is so unique. What is the premise? A Great Disruption occurs (roughly 1799) which fragments time itself. Continents and countries are displaced in time, if you will. So explorers are not just traveling from place to place, but also time to time. It makes exploring even more dangerous and unpredictable. Some societies want to forbid travel between Ages, want to stop foreigners from coming to their land, want to forbid travelers from leaving.

In The Glass Sentence, readers meet Sophia Tims. Her parents are explorers that have been missing most of her life. She has been raised by her uncle Shadrack, a cartologer. He insisted that her parents leave her behind. She was just three. She loves him, she does, but she misses her parents. She holds onto the hope that they'll come back OR that she'll go off adventuring and find them. Shortly after the novel opens, he begins to teach Sophia what he knows. He begins to share his secrets with her; he tells her that there are many different types of maps. That maps can be written on things besides paper. They can be written on glass, for instance, or even water. She's looking forward to learning...

But. Just when it is getting started, Sophia returns home to learn that her uncle has been kidnapped and that his study has been destroyed. Sophia and a new friend, Theo, a former zoo exhibit, team up to save the day. Can they find her uncle? Can they rescue him? Can the bad guys be defeated?

The world building works. It's an interesting and complex world. And, as I said, the premise has great potential. It's just an exciting sounding premise with plenty of appeal.

I liked it. I did. I didn't quite love it as I was hoping. But it was well worth a read.

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Hobbit. J.R.R. Tolkien. 1937.  320 pages.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

The Hobbit is one of my favorite children's books, or, should I say one of my favorite children's books that I discovered as an adult. This was my third time to read The Hobbit, and I think I love it a little more each time. I just love the beginning. I love meeting Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf. And I love how Bilbo is tricked into hosting all those dwarfs and manipulated into joining the expedition as a professional burglar. These opening chapters are so rich!  

I love the journey, the adventures and misadventures they have along the way. They happen into one calamity after another, and that is before they even come close to the "dangerous" part of their journey: the mountain with the dragon, Smaug, and all that glorious, wonderful treasure that Thorin can't wait to claim. These calamities provide adventure and drama, of course, but they are also preparing Bilbo. These calamities are crafting Bilbo into someone the dwarfs can trust and respect. And perhaps even more importantly Bilbo is realizing things about himself that he never would have if he'd never left his comfortable home.

These calamities are separate adventures, in a way. So it makes sense that to do the book justice, there should be multiple films.

Favorite quotes:

“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?” 

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.'
I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”  

“Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.” 

“If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don’t know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise.”  

“That was Thorin's style. He was an important dwarf. If he had been allowed, he would probably have gone on like this until he was out of breath, without telling anyone there anything that was not known already. But he was rudely interrupted.”

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1) Robert Jordan. 1990. Tor. 814 pages. 

Perhaps I was just in the perfect mood for The Eye of The World, or maybe it's just that good. I do know that it was an experience. I read this one in just three days!!! I knew within a chapter or two that this one was just right for me, one that I'd really enjoy through and through. I enjoyed the world-building, the characterization, the storytelling, and, of course, the quest and adventure. If you don't like quests or journeys, or heroes-in-the-making setting out for long, uncertain journeys then perhaps this one wouldn't thrill you.

Three young men (Rand, Mat, and Perrin) are escaping danger and setting forth on a very dangerous journey with a couple of strangers (Moraine and Lan) whom they have reason both to trust and mistrust. On the one hand, Moraine has proven herself by helping to heal the wounded in Two Rivers after a devastating Trolloc attack. She saved Rand's father, Tam, when no one else would even try. So Rand, at least, owes her something. And she is trying to save all their lives--she knows all three are in great danger. On the other hand, Moraine is Aes Sedai, and Lan is her Warder. There has never been a story or tale told where Aes Sedai are good and trustworthy and safe. Also along for the journey are Egwene, a young woman who cares for Rand deeply, and Thom Merrilin, a gleeman--entertainer, storyteller, musician, etc. They are also joined by Nynaeve, a young woman, the local Wisdom, intent on one thing getting all three men back where they belong: Two Rivers.

There is definitely a good amount of uncertainty, mystery, and danger in The Eye of the World. Danger comes in many, many shapes and sizes. And there's plenty of action along the way leading up to some intense chapters at the end. I enjoyed it for the journey just as much as the end. I enjoyed the narrative style, for the most part.

I definitely LOVED it.

Read The Eye of the World

• If you enjoy fantasy
• If you really enjoy fantasy
• If you like coming-of-age, going-on-a-quest fantasy
• If you like world-building and storytelling

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Raider's Ransom. Emily Diamand. 2009. Scholastic. 368 pages.

Cat puts up his nose to sniff the breath of wind barely filling the sail, and opens his small pink mouth to speak.

Knowing that I could never quite do justice to Raider's Ransom in my review, let me encourage you to just pick up this one and give it a try. I can't promise that you'll love it. But. You just may. It's that kind of book. The kind that actually delivers what it promises.
If you like action/adventure quests, I think you'll really, really appreciate Raider's Ransom. I think you'll enjoy the world Diamand created in the novel. I think there will be scenes that stay with you. I think you'll enjoy not only her world-building but her characterization and storytelling too.

The heroine of Raider's Ransom is a young girl, Lilly. She may be young, but she's a fisherman with a small (very small) boat of her own. And to the dismay of some, she's the owner of a cat, a sea cat. Not something to be taken lightly in her community of survivors. When she's at home, on land, she stays with her grandmother. But. Readers don't get a chance to see a more relaxed Lilly. For the novel opens with Lilly discovering the tragic truth: when she was out sailing her vessel, out fishing, the raiders (or should that be Raiders?) attacked her village. They were looking for something specific, the attack wasn't just random. I don't know if that makes things better or worse for Lilly since one of the things they were looking for was her cat. The Raiders kill Lilly's grandmother, and kidnap the Prime Minister's daughter. One might think that they kidnapped her for a nice ransom, but, they had something even more in mind. They return without their sought-after object, a particular jewel. And that's only the beginning. The problem? Well, I can't talk about this one without revealing too much. I think this is one of those that is best discovered all on your own. Trust me.

So. I won't go into details. But I will say we get another narrator. And that proves most interesting indeed! For I certainly wasn't expecting it at all.

This one went above and beyond all my expectations. It really did. It surprised me in a good way.

Read Raider's Ransom

• If you like survival stories or starting over stories; 
• If you like action/adventure stories with a quest, a journey, a mission
• If you like action stories with battles and close escapes
• If you like dystopias, novels set in the future with a society quite unlike our own
• If you like good storytelling

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Princess and Curdie. George MacDonald. 1883. 272 pages.

Curdie was the son of Peter the miner. He lived with his father and mother in a cottage built on a mountain, and he worked with his father inside the mountain.

The Princess and Curdie is the sequel to George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin. It is set several years after the events of the first book. And those are years that Curdie has spent away from Princess Irene--the young princess and the great-great-great-great-grandmother Irene. He hasn't completely forgotten the Princess and her father, the King. But he's a growing boy, a busy boy, and well, he needs a bit of a wake up call perhaps.

He has his own encounter with the old woman--the grandmother Irene. And it changes EVERYTHING. For she gives him a very unique gift--with the touch of his hand, he can know what a man or woman truly is: if they are truly human, or if there is a "beast" inside. If it sounds confusing, well, it is in a way. It definitely requires you to suspend your disbelief, to fully engage in this FANTASY world. This one excerpt will do a better job than I ever could in describing what this book is like, and what to expect from this adventure-fantasy-quest.

'Curdie,' she said in answer to his eyes, 'you have stood more than one trial already, and have stood them well: now I am going to put you to a harder. Do you think you are prepared for it?'
'How can I tell, ma'am,' he returned, 'seeing I do not know what it is, or what preparation it needs? Judge me yourself, ma'am.'
'It needs only trust and obedience,' answered the lady.
'I dare not say anything, ma'am. If you think me fit, command me.'
'It will hurt you terribly, Curdie, but that will be all; no real hurt but much good will come to you from it.'
Curdie made no answer but stood gazing with parted lips in the lady's face.
'Go and thrust both your hands into that fire,' she said quickly, almost hurriedly.
Curdie dared not stop to think. It was much too terrible to think about. He rushed to the fire, and thrust both of his hands right into the middle of the heap of flaming roses, and his arms halfway up to the elbows. And it did hurt! But he did not draw them back. He held the pain as if it were a thing that would kill him if he let it go—as indeed it would have done. He was in terrible fear lest it should conquer him.
But when it had risen to the pitch that he thought he could bear it no longer, it began to fall again, and went on growing less and less until by contrast with its former severity it had become rather pleasant. At last it ceased altogether, and Curdie thought his hands must be burned to cinders if not ashes, for he did not feel them at all. The princess told him to take them out and look at them. He did so, and found that all that was gone of them was the rough, hard skin; they were white and smooth like the princess's.
'Come to me,' she said.
He obeyed and saw, to his surprise, that her face looked as if she had been weeping.
'Oh, Princess! What is the matter?' he cried. 'Did I make a noise and vex you?'
'No, Curdie, she answered; 'but it was very bad.'
'Did you feel it too then?'
'Of course I did. But now it is over, and all is well. Would you like to know why I made You put your hands in the fire?' Curdie looked at them again—then said:
'To take the marks of the work off them and make them fit for the king's court, I suppose.'
'No, Curdie,' answered the princess, shaking

2 Comments on The Princess and Curdie (MG), last added: 7/5/2012

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Chris said, on 7/4/2012 8:46:00 PM

Oh I really do have to read these! MacDonald has been a great discovery!!

Chris Thompson said, on 7/5/2012 7:18:00 AM

These books sound like something I would enjoy. How many others are there?

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Using the 3-Act Structure: Adjusting Expectations

Most writers use a 3-act structure and for good reason. It works.

• Act 1:
  25% of the length, sets up the story conflict and ends when the main character (MC) commits to doing something about the conflict.
• Act 2:
  50% of the length, develops and deepens the conflict and ends when the main character begins to make a last, heroic effort to solve the problem.
• Act 3:
  25% of length, is the last attempt to solve the problem and eventually ends in either success or failure (tragedy).

Looking at my WIP, I had structured it as a quest, which meant that Act 2 should begin at the point where MC crosses over into a new fantasy world. But that point was coming MUCH later, maybe half-way through the novel.

Somehow, in all the revisions, the structure has become top-heavy. Skimming those chapters or laying them out in a shrunken manuscript revealed that several scenes repeated; there was escalation with each repetition, so it wasn’t all bad. Still, I wondered if I could cut a considerable chunk from the first section.

Today, I cut 2000 words! Hurrah!

But, with a sinking feeling, I realized that it is still top-heavy. Could I stand to cut another 8000 words? Probably not. That would gut too much of the emotion and story.

Restructure the 3 Acts

The only answer then, is that I must restructure the story, must think about it differently, set it up differently. Fortunately, there are 29 plot variations or plot templates and at least three types of character arcs. Will one of those work?

As is, it’s set up as a quest: now in a quest, there should be character growth and often what the character sets out to discover is not what they need, not what they find. But it’s that definitely stepping into a “new world” that is bothering me in this story. The new world can’t be the fantasy world they find in the story because that now comes at about halfway through the story.

IF I consider this a story about maturation, and not a quest, then the current structure is very close. At page 21, out of 80 (single spaced, small font—just the way I like to work; I will reformat before I send it out), there is a first step of defiance of Father, a step into the world of adulthood, if you will. That’s about the 25% point and works perfectly. Likewise, the rest of the plot points fall into line.

Making this type shift is subtle: it’s not about the plot or actions, per se. Instead, it’s about setting up expectations in a reader’s mind. They intuitively understand this deep structure of dividing a story into acts, and subconsciously expect it to happen. If I set up the story, with subtle word changes, as a story of maturation, I think it will work. That crucial transition from Act 1 to Act 2 will be the move into the world of adulthood, of bei

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The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 477 pages. 

Eva Nine was dying. The tiny scarlet dots on her hand mirrored the glowering eyes of the snake that had just bitten her.

I didn't love The Search for Wondla. I'm not even sure I liked it. One of the reasons it didn't quite work for me was that the ending left me unsatisfied. I wanted to shout at the book, "That's not an ending!" Then again, maybe it's not fair to judge a first book in a series by the ending.

Eva Nine, our heroine, may just be the last human on the planet. She has spent her whole life underground in Sanctuary. She was raised by a robot--albeit a robot with a mothering program built right in. (Muthr is always, always nagging Eva Nine to do this or that. Little things like picking up her room, etc.) When the novel opens, Eva Nine is in the middle of a test to determine if she's ready to live Sanctuary and venture into the real world above ground. Her muthr isn't convinced that she is ready. But she's going to give her one more chance, if Eva Nine doesn't improve, well, they may just have to go back to the basics.

Six Basic Survival Skills for Humans
1. Trust technology
2. Signal others
3. Find shelter
4. Create fire
5. Procure food and water
6. Know first aid

But ready or not, Eva Nine may be forced into the cruel, ugly world of unknowns. When someone breaks into sanctuary--destroying it in the process--Eva Nine is forced to flee the only home she's ever known. She is taking a few technological items with her, like her Omnipod, but what she soon discovers is that NO technology can protect her now, keep her safe, or guide her. The whole world--the whole planet--is unknown.

But Eva Nine won't be on her own for long, though her companions are not human--not even close.

The Search for Wondla is a blending of so many genres and subgenres. It's both science fiction and fantasy, in my opinion. It's an adventure story--a survival story. And of course it's one big mystery. Where is Eva Nine? What planet is she on? How did she get there? Is she really, truly the last human? Where did all these species come from?

The world Tony DiTerlizzi created is interesting. At times I found it confusing, I had to keep telling myself to keep reading and that it would start making sense eventually if I just read long enough. And that worked, for the most part. It helped when I decided the confusion might just be intentional. Eva Nine, our heroine, is thrust into a world that is completely foreign to her. She doesn't recognize any of the trees or plants. She doesn't recognize any of the life forms. These creatures--animals--speak in their own languages. She doesn't know what's dangerous and what's safe. She's completely out of her element.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Red Pyramid. (Kane Chronicles #1) Rick Riordan. 2010. May 2010. Hyperion. 528 pages.

We only have a few hours, so listen carefully.
If you're hearing this story, you're already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance.
Go to the school. Find the locker. I won't tell you which school or which locker, because if you're the right person, you'll find it. The combination is 13/32/33. By the time you finish listening, you'll know what those numbers mean. Just remember the story we're about to tell you isn't complete yet. How it ends will depend on you.
The most important thing: when you open the package and find what's inside, don't keep it longer than a week. Sure it'll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on. Hide it for the next person, the way Sadie and I did for you. Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.

The Red Pyramid is narrated by Carter and Sadie, a brother-sister team who hold the fate of the world in their hands. Carter has spent most of his life traveling the world with his father, Dr. Julius Kane, an archaeologist who specializes in Ancient Egypt. Sadie, his sister, has spent most of her life living in England with her grandparents--the Fausts. She only sees her dad and her brother a couple of times a year. (It's been like that since their mother's tragic death). But one Christmas Eve, everything changes. Because that is when Dr. Kane accidentally-on-purpose explodes the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum. And life is never the same for these two after that.

Carter and Sadie discover many things in The Red Pyramid. For starters that Egyptian gods and goddesses are very real. And that they can be unleashed in the modern world with great big consequences. Sometimes for good, sometimes for evil. One god, Set, is out to destroy the world. And it falls to these two kids to stop him. Of course, they aren't working all on their own. But just who is helping, well, I'll let you discover that on your own! Then there are the family secrets--details about just who these two children really are...and their connection with the House of Life, a secret order of magicians.

If you're a fan of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, chances are you'll pick this one up no matter what I say, no matter what any reviewer says. How do I think these two compared? Well, that's tough.

I think The Red Pyramid is a bit longer than The Lightning Thief. I felt it to be a bit weightier as well. So much time is spent setting everything up. The little details here and there that give a richness, a depth, to this fantasy world, but at the same time slow it down just a bit. (Not enough that I would ever stop reading, stop caring. Just that I wasn't able to speed through this one.)

I think it's an interesting choice to have two narrators with different strengths and weaknesses. Interesting to have biracial narrators facing their own challenges--you know in addition to facing the powers of evil. (Carter is darker than his sister, and sometimes people don't realize that these two are brother-and-sister. Especially since their mom's death. And he has faced some discrimination in his life. And Sadie, well, Sadie has some issues with her dad's lack of involvement in her life.)

I can't say I feel as connected with either Sadie or Carter as I did with Percy Jackson upon first reading it. That's not to say that these two may not grow on me with further reading. (Bast just isn't

3 Comments on The Red Pyramid (MG), last added: 5/15/2010

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Julie P said, on 5/15/2010 10:42:00 AM

I just stole The Lightning Thief off of my son's bookshelf. If I enjoy that series (which I probably will looking at all of the reviews out there), then maybe I will give this one a try. Thanks!

JAG Book Reviews said, on 5/15/2010 2:51:00 PM

This sounds like a good book. If you are interested I just started doing what you do (write reviews about books) and I don't have many readers yet so go check it out http://jagteenbookreview.blogspot.com/

Christina T said, on 5/15/2010 7:35:00 PM

I am looking forward to reading this one. I like Egyptian mythology so I'm sure it will hold my interest. I did wonder if maybe this one would skew a little younger than the Percy Jackson series but I've read so many positive reviews (including your own) that I think I should enjoy it. Great review!

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The Runaway Dragon by Kate Coombs. 2009. FSG. 304 pages.

At first Meg visited Laddy a lot, riding her horse from the castle through the Witch's Wood to Hookhorn Farm, where her friend Cam's sister lived. Meg would sit by the fire in the big farmhouse kitchen and talk with Janna, scratching Laddy behind his ears and then along his little scarlet-and-amber dragon back. Not that Laddy was so little anymore. He was growing quickly, feasting on sausages and stew chickens at Hookhorn Farm. If Meg's father, King Stromgard, hadn't made provision for Laddy's keep, the baby dragon would have eaten Janna out of house and home.

Runaway Dragon is the sequel to Runaway Princess. Our heroine, Meg, is back for another quest. Her baby dragon, Laddy, is all grown up. And he's escaped! He has been seen here and there. And the villagers are not happy about that! No, not at all. Even if this dragon prefers sausages to humans. Meg is determined to find her dragon, give him a proper grown-up name, and get to the bottom of why her dragon is so restless. But her father, the King, and her mother, the Queen, won't let their daughter go adventuring on her own. No, she'll need companions. Proper companions. And while a few of these are of her own choosing, her own liking--like Cam, Lex, and Dilly--there are plenty of people she'd just as soon lose in the Enchanted Forest. She is not happy that her father insisted on ten accompanying guards! This quest won't be easy, but it will be fun in a dangerous, thrilling sort of way.

There is much adventure to be had in The Runaway Dragon. And I loved it. I did. I think Coombs did a great job. I was happy to return to this fantasy world she's created. Loved the richness of it. The humor in it. Characters like Quorlock and Malison. And Spinach! (How could I forget about her!) Oh how I loved meeting these characters! I definitely recommend these two books!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Tiger Moon. Antonia Michaelis. 2008. [November 2008]. Harry N. Abrams. 384 pages. (Translated into English by Anthea Bell.)

Of course this is a completely outlandish story. In India, all stories are outlandish, though only a few are completely outlandish.

Wow, wow, wow. I just loved this one! I did! Anyone who loves a good story, appreciates good storytelling, where telling the story is half the fun, should consider this one a must! Safia is the eighth wife of Ahmed Mudhi, an extremely wealthy merchant. Because he's been sick, he hasn't discovered that his new-wife "Safia" does not live up to her name, "Virtue." Safia knows that when he finds out that his new wife was not a virgin, that it will mean death for her. What can she do in the meantime? She can tell a story! A story to one of the servants of the harem, a young man named Lalit. (Though his name is Lagan, "The Right Time.") Do words have power? Can a story change someone's life?

The story Safia tells is a fantastic one. About a young man, Farhad, called by a god (Krishna) to take on a dangerous journey, a quest. He's called to be a hero. To save a princess from the demon king. Farhad isn't a hero. He doesn't feel like he's one at any rate. And the idea of him undertaking such a long, dangerous journey, well, it's unthinkable. But he accepts this journey, takes on this task. Can he with the help of the white tiger (a sacred tiger) named Nitish, rescue the princess in time?

What did I love about this one? The story. The characters. The writing. The pacing of it all. Michaelis has really told quite an incredible story. I found it hard to put down and easy to recommend.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Timekeeper's Moon by Joni Sensel. 2010 (March 2010). Bloomsbury USA. 352 pages.

The moon refused to hush or come down, so Ariel Farwalker was forced to climb up.

The Timekeeper's Moon is sequel to Farwalker's Quest, a book I just loved last year. Ariel and her friends have found the Vault and answered a few of the questions, but the adventure, the quest, is far from over! More adventures await this Farwalker. What kind of dangerous adventure will her feet lead her on this time around?

Ariel is a Farwalker. That's her "calling" if you will. Her gift, her power, (everyone has one) is to follow where her feet lead her. Lately, Ariel has been haunted by the moon, she hears it calling for her, taunting her, daring her almost. Her dreams have been upsetting as well. She feels this urgency to go, and quickly. But this time Zeke won't be along on the journey. She'll be meeting new people along the way: an older-but-not-particularly wiser, girl, Sienna, and a mute-but-oh-so-cute young boy, Nace. (And Scarl, of course, will be by her side to protect and encourage her as well.)

I'm not quite sure how to classify The Timekeeper's Moon. It's a mostly technological-free future-world that Sensel has created. But it is the future. There are glimpses of a world-gone-wrong, a world-gone-mad, traces of what led to the downfall of society. The people we meet, the villages we encounter, are proof that life continues, that you can emerge from the darkest 'dark ages' if you will. So that speaks of science fiction, in a way. Future worlds. The building and rebuilding of societies. As far as the 'gifts' people have, well, that's a bit of fantasy, very light fantasy though. No matter what category (and why does it have to be in a category to begin with?) you put this one in, it is good and satisfying just like the first. Joni Sensel knows how to tell a good story.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Marco, John. 2009. Starfinder. Daw Books. 326 pages.

Moth was flying his kite near the aerodrome when he heard the dragonfly crash.

Starfinder is a fantasy novel for young adults. It's a typical fantasy in many ways. It stars a young boy--an orphan of course--who is thrust into a mysterious quest which ends up changing his destiny. Full of adventure and fantastical creatures--centaurs, dragons, mermaids, etc., the novel picks up pace after Moth, our narrator, loses his caregiver (grandfather-figure) Leroux. Soon Moth and his best friend, a young girl named Fiona, are off on a quest to fulfill an old man's dying wish. A wish that they can't quite wrap their minds around, but a promise is a promise is a promise. So off they go into the unknown and along the way they may just discover the unknown about themselves.

I'll be honest, the first few chapters dragged for me. I wasn't particularly inspired to keep reading. But once the quest had begun, once the adventure started, once they met the dragon, it began to pick up for me. I actually became connected with the story. (Or at least better connected with the story.) Though it got off to a rough start--for me--it did improve enough for me to be thankful that I stuck with it. And I think that now the world and characters have been created--have been set up--it will only get better from here.

John Marco’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Wednesday, May 20th: Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ News & Reviews

Saturday, May 23rd: Fantasy Book Critic

Tuesday, May 26th: Steph Su Reads

Wednesday, May 27th: Shooting Stars Mag

Thursday, May 28th: Becky’s Book Reviews

Monday, June 1st: Stuff as Dreams are Made On

Wednesday, June 3rd: Juiciliciousss Reviews

Friday, June 5th: Beth Fish Reads

Monday, June 8th: Books By Their Cover

Wednesday, June 10th: In Search of Giants

Friday, June 12th: The Tome Traveller

Monday, June 15th: At Home With Books

Wednesday, June 17th: The Written World

Friday, June 19th: Medieval Bookworm

Tuesday, June 23rd: The Magic of Ink

Thursday, June 25th: Reader’s Respite

Monday, June 29th: Drey’s Library

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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Mebus, Scott. 2008. Gods of Manhattan.

The 'gods' in question in Scott Mebus' Gods of Manhattan are not Greek gods. Just so you know. They are men and women immortalized by legend and fame and success. The mayor of the gods, of Manhatta a world that is invisible to most mortals, is Alexander Hamilton. (All of the gods started out as mortals, but their fame, their success, their ingenuity made them be reborn as immortal gods in this spirit world residing side by side with modern Manhattan.) It's a rather fun premise, for the most part. The gods, these immortal gods, are in danger--real danger. Though immortal, a way has been discovered to kill them, murder them. A special knife that threatens to end everything...unless they get some help from a rather extraordinary mortal, a young boy, Rory.

Rory is your typical hero. He doesn't want to be a hero. He doesn't want the responsibility of saving the world. But with the proper motivation, he may prove to be hero material after all. Like quite a few heroes, he has a younger sister. And this sister plays quite an important role. This butt-kicking heroine loves to be strong and brave. The idea thrills her. She carries around a sword called 'Butt-kicker' for example. Definitely spunky.

I won't get into the particulars now. But fans of Percy Jackson and Fablehaven might enjoy this one. It has history and fantasy colliding...and the result is mostly fun and entertaining. It is the first in a series, and I would imagine that the second one will be even better.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Okorafor-Mbachu, Nnedi. 2007. The Shadow Speaker.

I've held off on reviewing this one for a few days now. This is one I'm on the fence about. Part of me really likes it. Thinks of it as good-and-pleasant weird. The kind of weird that is fun and enjoyable. Part of me, however, thinks it's just weird weird. Not good, not bad, just weird. (For the record, the two sides of the fence are not like and dislike. Rather, they are like and love.) The Shadow Speaker has an interesting premise. A fun premise. It's a futuristic world. Set in Africa in 2070. It's been quite a few (maybe a decade but not quite two decades) years since the world has been forever changed by nuclear war. But the changes aren't all bad. Around the time the nuclear bombs went off, someone invented a "peace" bomb that was made to counter-act the effects. It was made to create or recreate out of chaos, out of mess. It was meant to make the world beautiful and life-giving again. In a way, it worked, and worked well. It has transformed the world in some wonderful ways. But there were some consequences. Magic. Magic entering the world from other worlds, other dimensions. Magic effecting humans, effecting genetics, creating special powers. Magical animals and magical objects and magical creatures as well. There are now holes, gaps, entrances between several different worlds. Some of the beings entering earth are nice and pleasant enough. Others aren't. Others are more bent on evil; set on going to war with humans. Our main narrator, our heroine, is a *special* human with special powers that set her apart, make her different. These differences make some fear her, some respect her, some hate her. She's a girl with possibilities and potential. If she can survive til adulthood that is. Her name is Ejii and this is her story.

The Shadow Speaker has all the traditional wrappings (or is it trappings???) of your classic adventure quest. It has one main character seemingly going off to do the impossible. The goal--like so many others before it--is to save the world. Along the way, she meets friends, gathers a team together, gets in and out of trouble countless times, and along the way becomes a wiser and better person. So if you like adventure-quests with a strong magical theme, The Shadow Speaker may just work well for you. It's not that I don't like adventure quests. I do. They're not my favorite, favorite, favorite narrative type. But I like them well enough. I guess I just had a hard time fully suspending my disbelief when it came to loving this world, this setting. Not the Africa part, but the magical fantasy worlds.

Still, I mainly only have positive things to say about The Shadow Speaker.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Gracie Gillypot's life is terrible. Living with her stepfather, Mange Undershaft and his daughter Foyce, is close to unbearable. Her existence is very Cinderella. After Mange locks her down in the cellar again for being cheerful while making water soup to feed the family, a bat swoops in and starts talking to her. He takes in Gracie's situation, and promises to return with something to eat, and an offer to improve her situation. When Gracie pours the bag that the bat gives her into the water soup something amazing happens. All of a sudden the kitchen is filled with the smell of rich and meaty stew. Chunks of beef and potato and onion appear. Mange eats greedily, and although Foyce is a bit cautious, she too partakes in this rare meal. Trueheart Stew, it's called. A powerful sleeping potion for some, and a delicious meal for the true of heart. Can you imagine who does not fall asleep?

Soon Gracie and her bat companion Marlon are on a quest. Mange and Foyce aren't the only baddies afoot. The sorceress Lady Lamorna, and her sidekick troll Grubble, are on the hunt for gold with which to pay the Ancient Crones who are constructing her new gown...her robe of skulls, which she ordered before realizing that her treasure chest was empty. She is off to turn princes into frogs for ransom. What she doesn't count on is the beautiful and sneaky Foyce hijacking her plans.

Vivian French has written an adventurous story chock full of action, magic, evil step-sisters, and even a bit of romance. The illustrations by Ross Collins compliment the story perfectly, and lend to the mood considerably.

This is a perfect book for the fans of the fractured fairytale, Roald Dahl, or tweens just beginning to indulge in the spooky! On the shelves in July!

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Mull, Brandon. 2008. Fablehaven: Grip Of the Shadow Plague.

On a muggy August day, Seth hurried along a faint path, eyes scanning the lush foliage to his left. Tall, mossy trees overshadowed a verdant sea of bushes and ferns.

The third in the series, Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague continues the story of Kendra and Seth Sorenson, an unforgettable brother-sister team that (along with several 'responsible' adults including their grandparents) enjoys spending their summer vacations fighting in the ultimate battle between good and evil. If you haven't read the first two in the series, you should definitely do so. (That is if you love fantasy.) I enjoyed the first two. I really did. But this third one is even better--if that's possible. Every page was a pleasure. I didn't want to put it down.

For those that are familiar with the series, expect more of the same. But for those unfamiliar with Brandon Mull's fabulous series here's what you can expect. Adventure. More adventure. Danger. Action. Even more adventure. Some mystery. Some intrigue. Some surprises. If you love action, adventure, and mystery, then Fablehaven is definitely for you!

What's the third one about? Well the subtitle of "Grip of the Shadow Plague" says it all. Book 2 closes with the family securing--saving--Fablehaven, doesn't it? Does it? The traitor, Vanessa, has been captured and imprisoned in the Quiet Box. The Sphinx has taken away the other prisoner--the one who was released from the Quiet Box--and all seems to be well. But then if you remember Kendra discovers a note implying or suggesting that the Sphinx is not who he appears. That he is in fact the bad guy though he's been masquerading as one of the good guys--one of the top good guys--for decades and decades. The third book explores that claim and seeks to solve that mystery once and for all. But that doesn't even begin to capture what the third book is about. It is exciting. It is intense. It is good.

471 pages

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Some great book covers in the Dick Bruna Flickr group.

(image via onno de wit)

1960s, book covers, BOOKS, graphic design, illustration, Mid century, netherlands, out of print books

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Hello all my loyal followers out there in Blog Land, it is I Darth Bill once again!!!!! Wait a minute was that a bunny I just saw????? No, thank badness, it was just a rabid squirrel. Just get yourself together and repeat three times: "There is no such thing as a Lagomorph." Yes I feel much better now.

Geezzz, now I got an angry squirrel after me!!!! What the heck did I do?????????

Now, really, on to buisness as unusual. Check out these photographs from the Beowulf Program we had just the other day, it was really alot of fun (and if you get the chance maybe pick up one of the books I recommended from my 1/18/08 posting)!!!

Some of the gang making paper bag Grendel puppets. Scarry stuff I tell ya!!!!!!!!

Darth Bill demonstrating to the gang that running with Sciccors is cool!!!!!! (um, don't tell your parents I said that, okay)

Beowulf and a Coke. It just doesn't get better than that!!!!(and if your thinking the Coke Company paid me to say that, well I just wish!!!!!)

And now ladies and gentlemen, Grendel versus Beowulf!!!!! (Gee, I always thought Beowulf would be alot taller?????)

And now for something completly different, Book Reviews:

Wild Ride: A Graphic Guide Adventure by Liam O’Donnell and Mike Deas – This is a very cool graphic novel about several strangers who are on their way into the deep wilderness of British Columbia to join an environmental assessment team. The group consists of Devlin (10 years old) and his older sister Nadia who are on their way to join their mother who is in charge of the team; teenager Marcus whose father is a famous environmentalist working with the siblings’ mom; and government official Gerald Wiley who is going to determine if the area being assessed is of such a nature to exclude it from being cleared by lumbering and paper company K&N. Things go bad real fast for the group when the plane they are flying in goes off course and crashes in a part of the enormous British Columbia wilderness. The really cool part about this graphic novel is that not only is it a survival story, it actually demonstrates real ways you could survive if you found yourself in such a situation. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys the great outdoors.

The World of Quest: Volume 1 by Jason Kruse – Welcome to the whacked out, dangerous, and just plain strange land of Odyssia. This fun graphic novel starts out with 11 year old Prince Nestor seeking out the aid of the fabled great warrior Quest!!!!! Quest, a former member of the famed Rousters, has been living alone after being banished by Nestor’s parents some 20 years beforehand for unknown reasons. The only problem is that Quest has no interest whatsoever in leaving his home and aiding anyone! In quick succession Nestor finds Quest, Quest ignores Nestor; they are attacked by the Katastrophe Brothers (Khaos, who looks like a bull, Konfusion, who resembles a lizard, and Kalamity, who resembles a vulture) who work for the evil Lord Spite and lots more happens. Got it? No matter, give this graphic novel a whirl, which comes with Bill’s Seal of Approval, for guaranteed laughter and adventure. Nuff Said!!!!!!!

Oh, parting is such sweet sorrow! Until we blog again peace all,

Bill

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