The TSR Wordery Book Club - Reviews!
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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
For the first half of Carry On I could not stop seeing parallels with Harry Potter. I mean, Simon is the Chosen One? Penny=Hermione, Ebb=Hagrid, Baz=Draco, Fiona=Bellatrix, Watford=Hogwarts, Premal=Percy-- honestly it is a long list, let me know if you want the whole thing. To be honest, I don't know whether this is a weakness of mine, and that as a reader I should be able to look past a few similarities between books of (nearly) the same genre, whether Rainbow Rowell should have been more creative with the whole world building, or whether Watford is a satirical look at all those fantasy magical schools/camps/etc. that we are so fond of. The second half, meanwhile, was quite original, with multiple storylines tying very well into each other.
My hats go off to Rowell's British-ifier. Considering just how American Rowell and her other works are, I was definitely confused about how she was getting the lingo right, but she nailed the whole thing, so congrats where that is due.
It is quite rare for me to to be so satisfied by the variety of characters in a book, but I was honestly interested by most of them (except Agatha. She can go die in a corner). Simon was the most realistic, down to earth protagonist, and I'm glad that for once the chosen one was really ill-fitting for the job of The Chosen One. One complaint I do have, however is the fact that the villainy was quite poor. Judge me all you want, but I love a good villain. And Carry On didn't give me that. Whether it be Baz as a short term villain, or the Humdrum, or even the plot-twist-surprise-villain at the end, the villains just don't seem that...evil. Their acts seem quite tame for people seeking murder or world domination. Even a convenient "emotional" death at the end didn't really tug at my heartstrings despite having full potential to. I'm blaming all of this on the fact that Rowell was trying to cram a 10-or-so book series into Carry On, and it just didn't allow for me to establish emotional connection.
However, in all honesty, I could forgive the book of anything because of its romance. The couple (I won't name names) had me melting like a marshmallow over fire, and I was just so happy that my ship sailed. Rainbow, you own romance. Just don't ever let it die.
Overall, a decent book, very enjoyable, especially in the second half, but only if you can look past it being a discount-Harry Potter.
For the first half of Carry On I could not stop seeing parallels with Harry Potter. I mean, Simon is the Chosen One? Penny=Hermione, Ebb=Hagrid, Baz=Draco, Fiona=Bellatrix, Watford=Hogwarts, Premal=Percy-- honestly it is a long list, let me know if you want the whole thing. To be honest, I don't know whether this is a weakness of mine, and that as a reader I should be able to look past a few similarities between books of (nearly) the same genre, whether Rainbow Rowell should have been more creative with the whole world building, or whether Watford is a satirical look at all those fantasy magical schools/camps/etc. that we are so fond of. The second half, meanwhile, was quite original, with multiple storylines tying very well into each other.
My hats go off to Rowell's British-ifier. Considering just how American Rowell and her other works are, I was definitely confused about how she was getting the lingo right, but she nailed the whole thing, so congrats where that is due.
It is quite rare for me to to be so satisfied by the variety of characters in a book, but I was honestly interested by most of them (except Agatha. She can go die in a corner). Simon was the most realistic, down to earth protagonist, and I'm glad that for once the chosen one was really ill-fitting for the job of The Chosen One. One complaint I do have, however is the fact that the villainy was quite poor. Judge me all you want, but I love a good villain. And Carry On didn't give me that. Whether it be Baz as a short term villain, or the Humdrum, or even the plot-twist-surprise-villain at the end, the villains just don't seem that...evil. Their acts seem quite tame for people seeking murder or world domination. Even a convenient "emotional" death at the end didn't really tug at my heartstrings despite having full potential to. I'm blaming all of this on the fact that Rowell was trying to cram a 10-or-so book series into Carry On, and it just didn't allow for me to establish emotional connection.
However, in all honesty, I could forgive the book of anything because of its romance. The couple (I won't name names) had me melting like a marshmallow over fire, and I was just so happy that my ship sailed. Rainbow, you own romance. Just don't ever let it die.
Overall, a decent book, very enjoyable, especially in the second half, but only if you can look past it being a discount-Harry Potter.
Review of "Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell.
I finally got the book a couple days ago, and I read through it as quickly as possible because I didn't want to miss the review deadline. I haven't included any spoilers here because I don't want someone to read my review before the book and potentially find out how it ends. If this review isn't what you're looking for, let me know and I'll submit a better one. These are just my first impressions without spoilers.
In my opinion, the book started off strong, but became less interesting near the middle. As much as I hate to review a book by comparing it to other books, I can't help but get the sense that the author must be a serious fan of Harry Potter and Twilight. I detect hints of the Earthsea series as well, although much more faintly. If you haven't read those series, this book might seem very novel and exciting, but if you have, then it feels a bit too familiar.
It's definitely not a bad book. There's plenty of action, a decent amount of mystery, and familiar themes explored with just enough role reversals and new archetypes to make it interesting. I would say that the author didn't take too many risks aside from potentially offending conservative audiences with occasional homoerotic scenes. It feels like they are sticking to working YA fantasy formulas closely. It's the kind of book no one would regret buying because it gives the reader exactly what they're looking for.
All of that said, I appreciated the author's decision to use common English phrases and catchphrases for magic rather than something more arcane and mysterious. It subliminally encourages the reader to ponder the power of words used in memes and popular media on the minds of the people exposed to them often enough. I also like how the story is told from more than one perspective. You see how each character sees all the others, rather than simply seeing the entire book from the view of a single protagonist. This could easily be turned into a lesson on the power of perspective, and illustrating how the exact same situation can be interpreted in very different ways by people with different backgrounds and experiences.
On that note, I think that the conflict between the Mage and the older families in the book could be characterized as symbolic of left-wing vs. right-wing politics, and in some cases there are fairly blatant fantasy allusions to debates about taxation and the rich financing education for the poor. It's an interesting way of talking about political issues without directly mentioning them, although it seems that the book also avoids coming down strongly on one side of the fence or the other. The weaknesses and potential extremes of both sides are shown.
I think they did a good job of building a world and using flashbacks to explain information at key points. However, I would also say that the book compromised on characterisation for the sake of a plot with a lot of twists and turns. The only character that consistently does what you'd expect is Agatha, who (perhaps ironically) subverts this by always being a fairly straightforward character and thus the least involved with the story. By the end of the book, everyone ends up doing the last thing you would have expected them to do after reading the first half of the book. To use an oxymoron, it was predictably unpredictable, as if an editor told the author to make sure to include more plot twists, and then she got a little carried away with it.
I'm inclined to be forgiving towards the author for the flaws the book has in my eyes, however, because she's probably writing Young Adult/Teen fiction, and the sort of things I tend to take issue with would be less noticeable to young readers who are less critical and more in need of something draw an emotional response and hold their interest.
I finally got the book a couple days ago, and I read through it as quickly as possible because I didn't want to miss the review deadline. I haven't included any spoilers here because I don't want someone to read my review before the book and potentially find out how it ends. If this review isn't what you're looking for, let me know and I'll submit a better one. These are just my first impressions without spoilers.
In my opinion, the book started off strong, but became less interesting near the middle. As much as I hate to review a book by comparing it to other books, I can't help but get the sense that the author must be a serious fan of Harry Potter and Twilight. I detect hints of the Earthsea series as well, although much more faintly. If you haven't read those series, this book might seem very novel and exciting, but if you have, then it feels a bit too familiar.
It's definitely not a bad book. There's plenty of action, a decent amount of mystery, and familiar themes explored with just enough role reversals and new archetypes to make it interesting. I would say that the author didn't take too many risks aside from potentially offending conservative audiences with occasional homoerotic scenes. It feels like they are sticking to working YA fantasy formulas closely. It's the kind of book no one would regret buying because it gives the reader exactly what they're looking for.
All of that said, I appreciated the author's decision to use common English phrases and catchphrases for magic rather than something more arcane and mysterious. It subliminally encourages the reader to ponder the power of words used in memes and popular media on the minds of the people exposed to them often enough. I also like how the story is told from more than one perspective. You see how each character sees all the others, rather than simply seeing the entire book from the view of a single protagonist. This could easily be turned into a lesson on the power of perspective, and illustrating how the exact same situation can be interpreted in very different ways by people with different backgrounds and experiences.
On that note, I think that the conflict between the Mage and the older families in the book could be characterized as symbolic of left-wing vs. right-wing politics, and in some cases there are fairly blatant fantasy allusions to debates about taxation and the rich financing education for the poor. It's an interesting way of talking about political issues without directly mentioning them, although it seems that the book also avoids coming down strongly on one side of the fence or the other. The weaknesses and potential extremes of both sides are shown.
I think they did a good job of building a world and using flashbacks to explain information at key points. However, I would also say that the book compromised on characterisation for the sake of a plot with a lot of twists and turns. The only character that consistently does what you'd expect is Agatha, who (perhaps ironically) subverts this by always being a fairly straightforward character and thus the least involved with the story. By the end of the book, everyone ends up doing the last thing you would have expected them to do after reading the first half of the book. To use an oxymoron, it was predictably unpredictable, as if an editor told the author to make sure to include more plot twists, and then she got a little carried away with it.
I'm inclined to be forgiving towards the author for the flaws the book has in my eyes, however, because she's probably writing Young Adult/Teen fiction, and the sort of things I tend to take issue with would be less noticeable to young readers who are less critical and more in need of something draw an emotional response and hold their interest.
(edited 8 years ago)
Carry On
Rainbow Rowell
At a first glance Rainbow Rowell's Carry on seems to be a twin of the Harry Potter series. An alternative universe Harry Potter if you will. But at a closer inspection I found that it is identical but at the same time not at all. Simon Snow has identical circumstances to Harry Potter but at the same time he's cynical and realistic enough to live in the world we live in. He lacks the dreamy quality of the aforementioned series. His world is astoundingly human that the casual mentions of magic and magical creature has the ability to occasionally stun the reader into thinking 'just what am I reading?' It is refreshing to read a book that isn't trying hard to fit in a specific genre.
Right from the beginning the characters shows an all too familiar characteristic. One that isn't afraid to swear or be rude. It is raw and gritty. It is real. Real enough that it might allow any readers to think they can live in Simon's world too.
Carry On fills a magic-shaped void left by a certain series but it also illustrates the power of fan fiction and how one's own interpretation and imagination could be another's world of perfection.
As a side note and maybe as a result of Carry On I have now been encouraged to read other works of Rainbow Rowell. If Carry On is anything to go by then I'm in for a fabulously interesting time.
Rainbow Rowell
At a first glance Rainbow Rowell's Carry on seems to be a twin of the Harry Potter series. An alternative universe Harry Potter if you will. But at a closer inspection I found that it is identical but at the same time not at all. Simon Snow has identical circumstances to Harry Potter but at the same time he's cynical and realistic enough to live in the world we live in. He lacks the dreamy quality of the aforementioned series. His world is astoundingly human that the casual mentions of magic and magical creature has the ability to occasionally stun the reader into thinking 'just what am I reading?' It is refreshing to read a book that isn't trying hard to fit in a specific genre.
Right from the beginning the characters shows an all too familiar characteristic. One that isn't afraid to swear or be rude. It is raw and gritty. It is real. Real enough that it might allow any readers to think they can live in Simon's world too.
Carry On fills a magic-shaped void left by a certain series but it also illustrates the power of fan fiction and how one's own interpretation and imagination could be another's world of perfection.
As a side note and maybe as a result of Carry On I have now been encouraged to read other works of Rainbow Rowell. If Carry On is anything to go by then I'm in for a fabulously interesting time.
The book here is
Karen Joy Fowlers , "
We are all completely besides ourselves
BOOK REVIEW
Karen Joy Fowler has a winner in “We are all completely besides ourselves" and she being the almost perfect story-teller manages to bring all emotions (particularly pathos) to the story. The story is a winner because of its originality.
I have come across the human-primate relationship before in only two novels; ‘Congo’ and ‘Next’ both by Michael Crichton. The first chapters are a reader’s delight but later on the story somewhat loses direction or at least it appears that way to me. It becomes a sort of us versus them story. The later chapters put too much emphasis on altruism. I wish that Fowler had made the ending a regular one instead of making it politically correct.
The jarring question is that the scientists must have known about the dangerous streaks in chimps. So-why continue the experiment till that state is reached? The last few chapters have horrendous cliches, the climax is very weak when you compare it with could have been but with all these, it’s still one hell of a good read anyway.If someone has read this book and also ‘Next’, would love to discuss the difference between the two.
Karen Joy Fowlers , "
We are all completely besides ourselves
BOOK REVIEW
Karen Joy Fowler has a winner in “We are all completely besides ourselves" and she being the almost perfect story-teller manages to bring all emotions (particularly pathos) to the story. The story is a winner because of its originality.
I have come across the human-primate relationship before in only two novels; ‘Congo’ and ‘Next’ both by Michael Crichton. The first chapters are a reader’s delight but later on the story somewhat loses direction or at least it appears that way to me. It becomes a sort of us versus them story. The later chapters put too much emphasis on altruism. I wish that Fowler had made the ending a regular one instead of making it politically correct.
The jarring question is that the scientists must have known about the dangerous streaks in chimps. So-why continue the experiment till that state is reached? The last few chapters have horrendous cliches, the climax is very weak when you compare it with could have been but with all these, it’s still one hell of a good read anyway.If someone has read this book and also ‘Next’, would love to discuss the difference between the two.
Review of: Winter, by Marissa Meyer
Having loved the first three books in Marissa Meyers Lunar Chronicles series, I was extremely excited to be sent Winter, the latest and (unfortunately) final book in the series to review for Wordery.
Winter’s publication was hard to miss, with its whopping 832 pages, its unarguably beautiful cover and its huge internet following. One of the first things that I want to credit Meyer for is her ability to draw her readers back into the story almost instantly – I am not one of those people who re-read a whole series in order to remind themselves of what has happened before the next book comes out, instead I hope that the author is a good enough writer to write the first books well enough that I would remember the major plot points and the next book well enough that I am reminded of the important things that didn’t remember. Meyer was more than a good enough writer. It took me only a couple of chapters before I was right back in the world of the series, rooting for Cinder in the war against the Lunar Queen, despite having read the previous book, Cress, almost two years beforehand.
I loved the way that having focused on introducing and developing the relationships of a different couple in each book (as well as of each character’s personalities in their own right), Meyer was able to have four separate couples interacting over the course of Winter without it becoming overly confusing. Even without the romance and the wider plot, I think that successfully writing eight different protagonists was an impressive feat. However, the balance between characters wasn’t perfect, with some of the eight disappearing completely at points. Some new characters introduced in Winter were also a little hard to place at times, with a few who-is-that-again moments during the middle of the book.
Of course the book wasn’t perfect - there were moments that were extremely predictable, there were frustrating times where a member of the group went missing or was kidnapped only for someone else to get into trouble as soon as the first person was saved, and there was, for a novel in which a war takes place, an unrealistically small amount of loss. However, none of these things outweigh the sheer tension, excitement and enjoyment that Winter creates. Therefore, though the sheer size of the book prevented me from my normal routine of ploughing through the whole thing in one or two sittings, each time I returned to Winter I was excited to see what was going to happen next and each time I had to stop reading, I forcde myself to put the book down. So if you haven’t yet read Winter (or even Cinder, the first book in the series), go out and find a copy and you will not be disappointed.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Having loved the first three books in Marissa Meyers Lunar Chronicles series, I was extremely excited to be sent Winter, the latest and (unfortunately) final book in the series to review for Wordery.
Winter’s publication was hard to miss, with its whopping 832 pages, its unarguably beautiful cover and its huge internet following. One of the first things that I want to credit Meyer for is her ability to draw her readers back into the story almost instantly – I am not one of those people who re-read a whole series in order to remind themselves of what has happened before the next book comes out, instead I hope that the author is a good enough writer to write the first books well enough that I would remember the major plot points and the next book well enough that I am reminded of the important things that didn’t remember. Meyer was more than a good enough writer. It took me only a couple of chapters before I was right back in the world of the series, rooting for Cinder in the war against the Lunar Queen, despite having read the previous book, Cress, almost two years beforehand.
I loved the way that having focused on introducing and developing the relationships of a different couple in each book (as well as of each character’s personalities in their own right), Meyer was able to have four separate couples interacting over the course of Winter without it becoming overly confusing. Even without the romance and the wider plot, I think that successfully writing eight different protagonists was an impressive feat. However, the balance between characters wasn’t perfect, with some of the eight disappearing completely at points. Some new characters introduced in Winter were also a little hard to place at times, with a few who-is-that-again moments during the middle of the book.
Of course the book wasn’t perfect - there were moments that were extremely predictable, there were frustrating times where a member of the group went missing or was kidnapped only for someone else to get into trouble as soon as the first person was saved, and there was, for a novel in which a war takes place, an unrealistically small amount of loss. However, none of these things outweigh the sheer tension, excitement and enjoyment that Winter creates. Therefore, though the sheer size of the book prevented me from my normal routine of ploughing through the whole thing in one or two sittings, each time I returned to Winter I was excited to see what was going to happen next and each time I had to stop reading, I forcde myself to put the book down. So if you haven’t yet read Winter (or even Cinder, the first book in the series), go out and find a copy and you will not be disappointed.
Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 8 years ago)
A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson
I receivedthis novel free from Wordery.com in exchange for an honest review, so heregoes. Kate Atkinson has truly succeeded in bring us another brilliant novel; itis a tale of bravery in war, the complex nature of the family unit and a taleof legacies being forgotten. In a way we are able to relate to Teddy’s daughterViola, despite her complete lack of maternal feelings towards her children andher selfishness. There is a little bit of Viola in all of us; the need to feelloved yet pushing those who could love you away. Teddy himself is portrayed asa God, but not your sitting on mount Olympus raining down thunder type of God.He is our common man who embodies good virtues but yet spends his lifesearching for something and never quite feeling fulfilled. However he is also aGod in the sense that Teddy had fought in World War 2 to provide a betterfuture for the next generation. But Teddy is definitely a God in Ruins asAtkinson shows us, how many around him discredit the sacrifices he made. Hisdaughter simply finds him annoying for refusing to use certain German products. Violaherself is a very interesting character to say the least, I don’t want to spoilit for anyone but at the end the reader is given a glimpse into her mind, whichpartly explains why, she did the things she did. Viola is portrayed as anoverly political character that feigns knowledge whilst at the same time,severely lacking in it; this unfortunately includes common sense in manyinstances. She seems to want to help people if she is able to be detached fromthem e.g. by helping charities or protesting. This may explain her behaviorwith her own children. Ultimately Viola probably suffers from a victimmentality as she continually seems to ask; ‘But what about me?’ I wouldrecommend this novel to all avid readers despite your preferred genre, as A Godin Ruins transcends many assumptions one may have when thinking of a war novel.In truth (I know this sounds a little bit cheesy) this novel has changed theway I look at the world around me and has further cemented in me a deep respectfor all those who fought and continue to fight in wars. My Great-grandfatherfought in World War 2 and for that reason it is even closer to my heart. I urgeanyone considering buying this book to DO IT NOW! You won’t regret it.
I receivedthis novel free from Wordery.com in exchange for an honest review, so heregoes. Kate Atkinson has truly succeeded in bring us another brilliant novel; itis a tale of bravery in war, the complex nature of the family unit and a taleof legacies being forgotten. In a way we are able to relate to Teddy’s daughterViola, despite her complete lack of maternal feelings towards her children andher selfishness. There is a little bit of Viola in all of us; the need to feelloved yet pushing those who could love you away. Teddy himself is portrayed asa God, but not your sitting on mount Olympus raining down thunder type of God.He is our common man who embodies good virtues but yet spends his lifesearching for something and never quite feeling fulfilled. However he is also aGod in the sense that Teddy had fought in World War 2 to provide a betterfuture for the next generation. But Teddy is definitely a God in Ruins asAtkinson shows us, how many around him discredit the sacrifices he made. Hisdaughter simply finds him annoying for refusing to use certain German products. Violaherself is a very interesting character to say the least, I don’t want to spoilit for anyone but at the end the reader is given a glimpse into her mind, whichpartly explains why, she did the things she did. Viola is portrayed as anoverly political character that feigns knowledge whilst at the same time,severely lacking in it; this unfortunately includes common sense in manyinstances. She seems to want to help people if she is able to be detached fromthem e.g. by helping charities or protesting. This may explain her behaviorwith her own children. Ultimately Viola probably suffers from a victimmentality as she continually seems to ask; ‘But what about me?’ I wouldrecommend this novel to all avid readers despite your preferred genre, as A Godin Ruins transcends many assumptions one may have when thinking of a war novel.In truth (I know this sounds a little bit cheesy) this novel has changed theway I look at the world around me and has further cemented in me a deep respectfor all those who fought and continue to fight in wars. My Great-grandfatherfought in World War 2 and for that reason it is even closer to my heart. I urgeanyone considering buying this book to DO IT NOW! You won’t regret it.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
I have to admit that, to begin with, I did not want to read Rainbow Rowell’s “Carry On”. Normally, I like to read profound drama or crime fiction novels; gritty books with a thought-provoking subject matter, and so this blend of comedy, romance and fantasy did not appeal to me at all. However, after being outvoted by the other reviewers that month and encouraged by Sarah to try something different, I decided to take the plunge and read the book.
At first, I was disappointed, it felt like a pseudo-Harry Potter, with too many parallel characters to be a coincidence, I also felt out of the loop and disconnected from the story line, as I had not read Rowell’s previous novel “Fangirl”. Nevertheless, I persevered and to my surprise, it got slightly better. Unexpectedly, I was engaged by the ever-twisting plot and interesting character development. I think that the depth of some of the characters went a long way in helping me to finally become invested in the book, and my particular favourites were Baz and Simon, with the realistic and down-to-earth portrayal of Simon helping me to identify somewhat with him as the book went on. It was really nice to read about a hero who felt like he actually deserved to be the hero, and watching the development of Baz and Simon’s relationship was probably one of my favourite parts of the whole book. However, I do still feel that some of the book was too general, and that maybe slightly more attention to detail could have brought it out of its shell. Some of the characters seemed to simply exist as plot devices and whilst I really enjoyed reading about Baz and Simon, I thought that the female characters Agatha and Penny could have been defined beyond their roles as a “love interest” and “brainy friend”.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed the book more than I could ever have thought I would have done, but there are still some issues that I’m not sure about. If you want to read this book, I think you need to be able to look beyond the obvious parallels with other publications to appreciate it fully. That being said, in a weird and not quite explainable way, I did really enjoy this book and would maybe recommend it as good lighter reading! Thanks to Wordery and Sarah for giving me the chance to read and review it, and I am so sorry that this review is really late!
I have to admit that, to begin with, I did not want to read Rainbow Rowell’s “Carry On”. Normally, I like to read profound drama or crime fiction novels; gritty books with a thought-provoking subject matter, and so this blend of comedy, romance and fantasy did not appeal to me at all. However, after being outvoted by the other reviewers that month and encouraged by Sarah to try something different, I decided to take the plunge and read the book.
At first, I was disappointed, it felt like a pseudo-Harry Potter, with too many parallel characters to be a coincidence, I also felt out of the loop and disconnected from the story line, as I had not read Rowell’s previous novel “Fangirl”. Nevertheless, I persevered and to my surprise, it got slightly better. Unexpectedly, I was engaged by the ever-twisting plot and interesting character development. I think that the depth of some of the characters went a long way in helping me to finally become invested in the book, and my particular favourites were Baz and Simon, with the realistic and down-to-earth portrayal of Simon helping me to identify somewhat with him as the book went on. It was really nice to read about a hero who felt like he actually deserved to be the hero, and watching the development of Baz and Simon’s relationship was probably one of my favourite parts of the whole book. However, I do still feel that some of the book was too general, and that maybe slightly more attention to detail could have brought it out of its shell. Some of the characters seemed to simply exist as plot devices and whilst I really enjoyed reading about Baz and Simon, I thought that the female characters Agatha and Penny could have been defined beyond their roles as a “love interest” and “brainy friend”.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed the book more than I could ever have thought I would have done, but there are still some issues that I’m not sure about. If you want to read this book, I think you need to be able to look beyond the obvious parallels with other publications to appreciate it fully. That being said, in a weird and not quite explainable way, I did really enjoy this book and would maybe recommend it as good lighter reading! Thanks to Wordery and Sarah for giving me the chance to read and review it, and I am so sorry that this review is really late!
Review of 'Winter' by Marissa Meyer
I was at a distinct disadvantage when asked to review this book, as I had never read, never mind heard of the previous books in this series, with 'Winter' being the last of four books. It is also quite a mammoth task to face, with over 800 pages, and split into 5 books as well. Because of the size of it, it took me a while to read because a significant proportion of my reading is done on a train, and this book does not easily fit into a bag to go away for the weekend along with everything else.
Now though, onto the book! As previously mentioned, this is the final book in 'The Lunar Chronicles'. From what I can gather, each of the books focuses on one main character's story (and all female). 'Winter' is set almost entirely on Lunar, a civilisation based on the moon, with the characters trying to overthrow the evil queen (Queen Levana) and put Princess Selene (Cinder) on the thrown as the true heir.
Not having read the previous books, it took a while to get my head around the characters and their relationships, as well as pick up the workings of the world created in the books. It definitely felt like I was jumping into the middle of a story, and although some things were explained in some detail, I feel that I would have benefited reading the other books first to truly understand what happened. I still have some unanswered questions, like 'how did the Lunar people develop their powers in the first place?' and 'why does not using Lunar powers cause you to be ill?' (when you would think normally using powers would cause difficulty.
The actual storyline is quite predictable, although not entirely, with some unexpected events. There were some things that seemed to go a bit too well for the protagonists as well, and therefore was not always realistic of a war situation. It was relatively enjoyable, but I feel that it could have been shorter and still not lost anything.
I imagine that people familiar with the previous books are more likely to appreciate it than someone like me who did not have a clue. Therefore, I recommend this book to people who have read the previous books in the series, but suggest to others to read the other books first rather than start a series at the end! I imagine that people who generally like fantasy books would like to give this a go. Overall I give it 3/5.
I was at a distinct disadvantage when asked to review this book, as I had never read, never mind heard of the previous books in this series, with 'Winter' being the last of four books. It is also quite a mammoth task to face, with over 800 pages, and split into 5 books as well. Because of the size of it, it took me a while to read because a significant proportion of my reading is done on a train, and this book does not easily fit into a bag to go away for the weekend along with everything else.
Now though, onto the book! As previously mentioned, this is the final book in 'The Lunar Chronicles'. From what I can gather, each of the books focuses on one main character's story (and all female). 'Winter' is set almost entirely on Lunar, a civilisation based on the moon, with the characters trying to overthrow the evil queen (Queen Levana) and put Princess Selene (Cinder) on the thrown as the true heir.
Not having read the previous books, it took a while to get my head around the characters and their relationships, as well as pick up the workings of the world created in the books. It definitely felt like I was jumping into the middle of a story, and although some things were explained in some detail, I feel that I would have benefited reading the other books first to truly understand what happened. I still have some unanswered questions, like 'how did the Lunar people develop their powers in the first place?' and 'why does not using Lunar powers cause you to be ill?' (when you would think normally using powers would cause difficulty.
The actual storyline is quite predictable, although not entirely, with some unexpected events. There were some things that seemed to go a bit too well for the protagonists as well, and therefore was not always realistic of a war situation. It was relatively enjoyable, but I feel that it could have been shorter and still not lost anything.
I imagine that people familiar with the previous books are more likely to appreciate it than someone like me who did not have a clue. Therefore, I recommend this book to people who have read the previous books in the series, but suggest to others to read the other books first rather than start a series at the end! I imagine that people who generally like fantasy books would like to give this a go. Overall I give it 3/5.
Original post by Sarah at Wordery
Hey everyone,
As you may have seen we (Wordery) have teamed up with TSR and are running a book club. Each month five students receive a book for free, read it then write a review. For more information visit the thread here.
This thread is purely for sharing all the book reviews we've received but please feel free to comment and share your thoughts on the reviews and books
As you may have seen we (Wordery) have teamed up with TSR and are running a book club. Each month five students receive a book for free, read it then write a review. For more information visit the thread here.
This thread is purely for sharing all the book reviews we've received but please feel free to comment and share your thoughts on the reviews and books
Review of Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - 4.5 Stars
After my read-a-thon of Shadowhunter novels I was immersed in the Shadowhunter world pretty heavily by the time I got to Lady Midnight. Though I think that Clare does a good job of introducing everything in a way that you could read Lady Midnight without reading the rest, Lady Midnight does contain major spoilers for both of the previous series, so I would definitely recommend reading the others first. Before reading I was aware that everyone seemed to love LM and hoped I would to - it had such an amazing and memorable cover, but would it have a plot and characters to match? In terms of the characters the answer is yes. With so many characters, both the character s key to this book and the characters that are briefly mentioned, who we met in previous books, it is amazing that Cassandra Clare is still able to make every character distinct and 3-dimensional. Even the four other Blackthorn children (not including Helen, who was away, Julian, who was a main character and Mark, due to his fey features setting him obviously apart), didn't fade into the background as secondary characters or merge into a singular 'the siblings', they each had a voice and a presence.One of the only characters that I felt lacked this sense of real personality was, to be as vague as I can, the turned-out-to-be-evil character. The character featured in very few scenes before the reveal and practically disappeared for a whole portion of the book in a way that made it seem as if they were't really someone important and meaning that I didn't really pay them much attention to them. It is possible that this is what CC intended, but the lack of information and interaction that we are given resulted in me being kind of indifferent about what should have been a big reveal and particularly shocking reveal. I wasn't unsurprised in that I had guessed what would happen, I was unsurprised in that I just didn't feel much emotion at the reveal at all. I'm going to have to assume that we will find out more about them later in the series.Another thing that I loved about Lady Midnight was that as much information as CC has already given us about the Shadowhunter world in the ten previous Shadowhunter books (11 if you count Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy), as well as in the extra short stories and extended scenes on her tumblr, Lady Midnight still, after all that, manages to give us lots and lots of new insights into and information about the Shadowhunter world. In particular their opinion and treatment of people with mental health issues and developmental issues like autism that we had not previously seen. Overall, I loved the book - yes, it had it's problems and no, I didn't have a sudden, instant urge to re-read that I normally do for books that I would give those full 5 stars, but it is certainly fast-paced, enjoyable, exciting and hard to put down. So if this sound like something you might like definitely give it a read - but ONLY after you've read the earlier series.
More detailed version at: https://girlofbooksandtorchlight.wordpress.com/category/book-and-book-related-posts/book-reviews/
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