Archives

All posts for the month August, 2014

Grieftime by Heather Bulpett

Posted by tjhapney on August 27, 2014
Posted in: Book Review, Romance, Science Fiction. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

grieftime Description:

In a world where life, love and even reproduction are regulated by the state, Lyn reluctantly accepts that she must marry again just weeks after her first husband’s death. Supported by her friend Judith, she acquiesces to her every movement being monitored ‘in her own best interests’.

 Into Lyn’s life comes Mikey, a younger man who was once a pupil of hers. Lyn tries to follow the rules and fit into the wifely role that has been allotted to her, learning how to cope with the exuberant, straight-talking Mikey and his large, boisterous family – something she never had as an orphan brought up in a ‘dump’ home. But a new relationship is not the only surprise Lyn has to face: she feels as if she is being stalked, and isn’t even sure if she can trust her best friend anymore.

As Lyn’s world unravels, she is comforted by her new husband and supported by her mysterious ‘counsellor’ Dylan. But who really has her best interests at heart, and can the heavy surveillance she is under ever be justified? Grieftime is an innovative novel that embraces a world shaped by technology; a world without free will that surely none of us would want to live in.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review. First of all, this story was well-written and it was easy to become invested in the main characters. In fact, the characters are the majority of the story. I remember very little of the descriptive pieces aside from a couple of walks in the park and the general layout of the character’s house. I was not thrilled by the subservient role women were given in the book and I have to say that somewhat detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Anyone who knows me would understand that since I’m about as independent and self-reliant as they come.

As a character Lyn was easy to feel for. Despite the misogynistic feeling of the story, I did find myself invested in the love story that took place between Lyn and Mike. I don’t want to give too many details lest I ruin the book, but this was the best part of the story in my opinion. I never really got the feeling of dread and fear of Lyn’s crazy ‘best’ friend from the orphanage (or dump as it’s called in this case) despite her best attempts. Once again, I’m not the cowering type so I don’t know that I found her adversary to be all that threatening for the majority of the book. That opinion changed some as things went on, but I didn’t get that ‘feeling’ of fear from her. It was obvious she was broken and was supposed to be somewhat dangerous, but perhaps if the cards had been played somewhat differently then the situation might have ended differently as well.

Mike’s family mostly seems to have Lyn’s best interests at heart as do his staff, but no one else who is supposed to be looking out for her seems to want anything but misery for her, including the government representatives that resemble the NSA being involved in your sex life. Generally, aside from Lyn, the story is full of self-serving, greedy people who only care about themselves and what they want. Lyn’s feelings and wants are an afterthought to most of the men in her life and I found that to be sad. I’m afraid if I was forced to live in this world that they would find me in a hut on an unmarked mountain to avoid the police state that is present in every aspect of the characters’ lives.

Don’t run away too fast, because the author has talent and the story moved along at a good clip. I kept returning to the story to find out what would happen next whenever I got the chance and I generally enjoyed the book. I definitely enjoyed the author’s style of storytelling and would have liked to have had the opportunity to read more from her. Unfortunately Ms. Bulpett passed away during the publishing process so I’m afraid we will not have the chance to see what else she could have produced.

The Hidden Realms of Firestone by Linda David

Posted by tjhapney on August 22, 2014
Posted in: Book Review, Fantasy, Science Fiction. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FirestoneDescription:

She may not have the sweetest of natures, being spoilt, temperamental and often downright moody, but what twelve-year-old Agathea Fulstropp (Thea to her friends), does have is a rather unusual secret – a secret shared only by herself and her grandfather.
She is Earth’s first and only pupil to be enrolled at the Firestone Academy on the faraway Planet of Aruuliah!
Preparing for a new term, packed with the excitement of making new friends, confronting old enemies and getting to grips with alien technologies, Thea is soon to discover that being from Earth has its drawbacks as she becomes the target of a sinister plot to remove her from the Academy – permanently!
Help, however, comes from the most unlikely of places and she, unwittingly encounters a hidden realm concealed within the grounds of the Academy – a world made up of pure energy, populated with mythical creatures of legend and folklore, and whose existence remains a closely guarded secret from all physical beings, whether human or alien.
Time is running out though, as Thea, along with her best friends Jojan and Annalije, desperately try to figure out who, amongst her peers, hates her enough to wish her gone.
Can they solve the mystery before it’s too late, or will Thea, having faced mortal danger once already the previous summer, be lucky enough to escape, unscathed a second time?

Review: 3 of 5 Stars

Aside from Harry Potter I haven’t read much young adult fiction for quite some time (let’s just leave it at that and not count the years). However, I was provided a copy of this story and it was written well enough that I decided to go ahead and review it.

The Hidden Realms of Firestone was an enjoyable story. The start of the book was a little too reminiscent of Harry Potter when the author was describing how the school’s various houses were set up, but once it got going it was very much a story of its own. Sometimes Thea is a bit spoiled and temperamental, but she’s also an 11-year-old girl who goes to school in outer space so there seems to be a lot going on in her life.

I very much enjoyed the creatures in the book, such as the gruzzlings, wood nymphs and Sam (I can’t remember the species name of this small character in the book). Thea spends a good bit of her time in this book trying to avoid being kidnapped and trying to solve the mystery of who is out to get her. Accompanied by her stalwart friend Jojan and roommate Annalije, Thea gets into quite a few predicaments. There is a good amount of action towards the end of the book and the book was a standalone story despite there being a previous book before this one, which I did not read. Nevertheless, I had no problem following the characters and other the author did a good job of making sure that the important elements of the previous story were clear enough that it wasn’t necessary to read the first book to keep from feeling lost.

Thea seems to need to work on her temper somewhat as it leads her into things headlong, but overall the story was pretty well-written and I enjoyed it so it gets 3 out of 5 stars. I’m always confused when people get upset with a 3-star rating and I hope this won’t be the case with this book. I enjoyed it as an adult and imagine that if I were a young girl I might have even enjoyed it a bit more. This is a well-crafted story that I would not be adverse to having a child read and I think a younger person could easily get caught up in the idea of school on planet Aruuliah.

If there’s a young person in your life who enjoys science fiction/fantasy stories this might be right up their alley.

 

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire – Book 5) by George R.R. Martin

Posted by tjhapney on August 6, 2014
Posted in: Book Review, Fantasy. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

GOT5Description:

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, Daenerys Targaryen rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way east—with new allies who may not be the ragtag band they seem. And in the frozen north, Jon Snow confronts creatures from beyond the Wall of ice and stone, and powerful foes from within the Night’s Watch. In a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics lead a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, to the greatest dance of all.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

With regard to writing ability alone, Mr. Martin weaves a good tale. However, as much as I was hoping for (and let’s not lie, kind of expecting) some plot resolution, it just didn’t happen. I’m invested in the series and if Book 6 ever comes out I’m sure I’ll read it. For the time being though I’m fairly frustrated. There is nothing wrong with writing a 1,000 page book if you have plenty to say, but a lot of this book really drug along. I don’t need to know the history of each shield on the wall, I don’t need to know the background of each person that has been knighted, etc. unless you plan on a battle at the end where all of the knights use the shields on the wall to somehow save us all from the Others.

I enjoy Mr. Martin’s characterizations and there were some parts of this book that I was really interested in. Dany seems to be floundering across the Narrow Sea, Tyrion is wandering around with another possible Targaryen heir (who would have thought so many had escaped), new and old characters seem to be taking three steps forward and two back. Some of the characters may die of old age before their stories are resolved.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the bits about Arya’s continuing training at the House of Black and White. At least there is a little resolution there. I also really enjoyed what happened to Cersei, even though it wasn’t quite enough in my opinion – guess that makes me cold. It was also nice to see what was happening in Dorne as well since Myrcella was sent there quite some time ago and I was beginning to wonder what had happened to her. Hopefully there will be more to that plot line in Book 6. Books 4 and 5 are basically the same book  split in such a way as to make the storylines seem completely disjointed from one another, but I did manage to glean some satisfaction from small advances in certain plot lines. At the same time, other lines seem to be floundering.

This is as close as I’ll get to spoilers, but I am going to talk about some of the plot lines here. So avoid this section if you haven’t yet read the book. I’ll try to keep it mostly as a summary in case you feel obligated to forge ahead. Most of my favorites are still running around. Arya is growing up to be a most formidable young woman and I can’t wait to see where that leads her. As always, I find Tyrion incredibly interesting even when he is just off wandering around aimlessly with possible heirs to the throne. He’s just a witty, smart aleck and I love him as a character. Jaime Lannister seems to have had a bit of a change of heart with regard to some of his family, but was mostly off taking care of the Lannister family business of manipulating the other houses to do as his family thinks best, though after that he kind of disappears with a not so dead friend from the previous book.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Jon Snow.  I’ve heard rumors and it seems a weird time to be done with that line so I’m hoping that we’ll see him again in the next book. Daenerys’ plot line seemed to kind of flounder in this book. I’d really like to see if it moves forward and it would be fantastic if she quit telling people she was just a young girl with no idea about whatever topic they happen to be on. Those words don’t match her actions most of the time and though they may have originally been used to throw off her enemies, it now sounds pretty contrived as she stole 8,000 Unsullied warriors from Astapor previously and surely her enemies are starting to catch on.

Okay, so with the parts I do like and the parts that I was somewhat disappointed in, this book still comes in at 4 out of 5 stars. Martin is an excellent writer and even when he’s meandering around something interesting usually happens somewhere along the line. I now join the thousands of others that are waiting impatiently for Book 6. I can’t wait to see how this series is resolved, if it ever is. Fingers crossed 🙂

A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones-Book Four) by George R.R. Martin

Posted by tjhapney on August 2, 2014
Posted in: Fantasy. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

GOT4Description:

It seems too good to be true. After centuries of bitter strife and fatal treachery, the seven powers dividing the land have decimated one another into an uneasy truce. Or so it appears. . . . With the death of the monstrous King Joffrey, Cersei is ruling as regent in King’s Landing. Robb Stark’s demise has broken the back of the Northern rebels, and his siblings are scattered throughout the kingdom like seeds on barren soil. Few legitimate claims to the once desperately sought Iron Throne still exist—or they are held in hands too weak or too distant to wield them effectively. The war, which raged out of control for so long, has burned itself out.

But as in the aftermath of any climactic struggle, it is not long before the survivors, outlaws, renegades, and carrion eaters start to gather, picking over the bones of the dead and fighting for the spoils of the soon-to-be dead. Now in the Seven Kingdoms, as the human crows assemble over a banquet of ashes, daring new plots and dangerous new alliances are formed, while surprising faces—some familiar, others only just appearing—are seen emerging from an ominous twilight of past struggles and chaos to take up the challenges ahead.

It is a time when the wise and the ambitious, the deceitful and the strong will acquire the skills, the power, and the magic to survive the stark and terrible times that lie before them. It is a time for nobles and commoners, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and sages to come together and stake their fortunes . . . and their lives. For at a feast for crows, many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors.

Review 4 of 5 Stars

I really enjoyed the portions of the story about Arya Stark and Prince Oberyn’s daughters, but I have to say that a lot of this book wasn’t very interesting to me. I also found the portions about Sam’s voyage to be somewhat interesting. However, in the end, I find that I could care less what happens in the Iron Islands. I don’t care if Theon makes it home ever and though his sister talks a good line, she seems to do more talking about fighting than actually fighting battles.

Sansa’s life in the Eyrie pretending to be Littlefinger’s bastard daughter was interesting enough and seemed necessary for moving the plot ahead in the end. We all know Littlefinger has his hands in as many pies as possible and it was interesting to see how his grand scheme was moving along. I very much enjoyed the turning of the tables on Cersei after her most recent scheme against Margaery Tyrell failed and she ended up where she would have liked to have seen Margaery. I don’t want to spoil this with details, but it’s nice to see Cersei have to deal with being treated as she likes to treat others.

Brienne has a unique encounter with Lady Stoneheart. I’ll leave you to find this one out on your own as well since I was, at least, mildly surprised. Jaime is around, but aside from maneuvering some pieces for later in the story there wasn’t a lot going on with him.

This book was a little slower for me. I’m glad I read it after Book 5 had been published as Book 4 was missing too many of the characters I’ve become invested in. It was a good read, though. As usual, Martin is a good storyteller and the quality of his tale continues. I round up for any half stars, but this one would have come in around 3 1/2 since it was pretty slow. I’ve rounded up to 4 since I’m obviously continuing to read the series. I read Book 5 immediately after, which may have helped to alleviate some of the disjointed feeling readers in the past had due to the geographical split before Book 5 was published.  All in all this has been a really good series and I’ve enjoyed visiting Mr. Martin’s world.