I’m not a cartography nerd but I do appreciate a well-crafted map. Nell Young, the heroine of this book, is an extremely Nancy Drew type who can’t leave well enough alone; her discovery of a seemingly worthless old map upends her life and suddenly she’s running from a shadowy cabal of creepy map enthusiasts. Her investigations uncover deep secrets in her parents’ past, and uses the idea of copyright traps as a jumping-off point. I thought the plot got a little forced here and there, and the writing was a little amateurish in places, but I loved the ideas.
Tag: genre-fantasy
The Immortal Heights, by Sherry Thomas
Book 3 and conclusion of the Elemental Trilogy. This was a perfectly fine read and there were a few gotcha moments in the plot, but in general it felt like a neverending chase between the ubervillain and the plucky heroes, in which things were barrelling so inevitably towards the conclusion that you wished they would just get on with it already. All in all, there were enough plot twists and emotional highs to make it a satisfying ending to the series.
The Hanged Man, by K.D. Edwards
This is #2 of Edwards’ Tarot Sequence. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the fact that it came to an end and I was still on the waitlist for #3. (Not a cliffhanger ending, just one that raised more questions.) This series is addictive, mixing deadly politics, crazy magic, psychopathic villains, and a really sweet found family, whose members consciously try to bring out the best in one another. The mutual loyalty between Rune and Brant, Addam’s love bound up with respect, the way the introduction of the children brings the characters towards a more responsible version of themselves, the snappy repartee and one-liners that make you whisper them again to yourself as if you were also that cool… it’s all super enjoyable. If I were a teen, I would probably have reread these books until the covers fell off.
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
Middle-grade fantasy, because my kids said it was cool (and they were right!). Great beginning, in which young Morrigan is attempting to write apology letters to members of the community; it turned out she is a “cursed child,” cause of bad luck to anyone she encounters, and doomed to die on her eleventh birthday. However, at the last moment, she is whisked away to a magical city called Nevermoor, under the wing of a whimsical and secretive man named Jupiter North. In Nevermoor, Morrigan undergoes trial after trial to try to win a place in the magical city, while making friends and enemies, and getting ever closer to the truth of her “curse” and why Jupiter wanted her so badly. Very satisfying adventure fantasy, and Morrigan’s character strikes the right balance of respect, curiosity, and mischief.
Paladin’s Hope, by T. Kingfisher
Third in the Saint of Steel series, in which traumatized paladins find love with unlikely partners while investigating murder mysteries. (It actually works really well.) The paladin at the center of this book is Galen, who jokes around by day and screams through nightmares in his sleep; the person he grows close to is Piper, a lich-doctor (basically an investigative coroner) with a fierce sense of justice and secrets of his own; the murder mystery involves corpses turning up in rivers with mysterious and varied death-wounds. Nice societal commentary on the role of the gnoles in human society, as well. As with other Kingfisher characters, Galen and Piper are attracted to each other not just because they’re handsome, but because of one another’s competence; as a reader, it’s one of my favorite tropes.
The Tower at the Edge of the World, by Victoria Goddard
Prequel of sorts to The Hands of the Emperor, though it makes more sense if you read Hands first. This novella details Artorin’s time as the Marwn, the “spare” heir to the throne, and how he dealt with the mental and magical burden of that enforced loneliness. It’s an challenging viewpoint from which to write, since as the Marwn he is robbed of anything like a personal identity; however, it’s neat to watch as his essential mischief and curiosity manages to penetrate the smothering magic around him.
The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, by Victoria Goddard
This novella takes place between The Hands of the Emperor and At the Feet of the Sun, and I wish I’d read it before the latter, since it does a lot to establish the character of Artorin. He does experience a significant change at the end of the first book, and the contrast that it created in his character between the first and second books was quite jarring to me as a reader. This novella is written from his point of view and details his immediate experiences after the conclusion of the first book, and sets him on the path to becoming who he is in the second; he also meets up with a few of the Red Company. It honestly felt a bit unfinished, as there were more of the Red Company left to meet, and more stories of their meetings yet to tell; however, Artorin does make enough of a peace with his new self to make the ending acceptable. Certain chapters will make a ton more sense to anyone who’s also read Goddard’s Greenwing & Dart series.
The Perilous Sea, by Sherry Thomas
This sequel to The Burning Sky opens with both protagonists awakening in the middle of the desert, without memories. They come together and cooperate for survival, their impromptu alliance helped by the fact that an entire army seems to be after them. The narration then swings back and forth between past and present, as events catch up to how they got there. Although the desert interludes were thrilling, I don’t think they added much to the story; most of the meat of the book were the “past” bits, which were tense and engaging enough on their own. The second book does a little more interrogation of the logic behind Titus’ unswerving dedication to his mother’s book of prophecies, and the pitfalls therein, which I particularly enjoyed.
Paladin’s Strength, by T. Kingfisher
Second in the Saint of Steel trilogy, this one follows good-natured Istvhan as he is forced to detour from his investigation of supernatural killings to aid Clara, a nun, in her rescue of her sisters from slavers. Antics ensue! As befits Kingfisher heroes, both paladin Istvhan and secretive nun Clara are both terrifyingly practical but also terrible at talking about their feelings for one another, leading to much hilarious self-flagellation and misunderstanding before they get it together and pursue both Istvhan’s murderer and Clara’s kidnappers. Super cute romance, engaging adventure story.
The Warrior of the Third Veil, by Victoria Goddard
This novella, book 2 of the Sisters Avramapul, is about the return home of the warrior Pali Avramapul and her sister Sardeet, the widow of a god. It details with their unorthodox return to their roots and how they must define their new roles, having left under different circumstances and as very different people. Not actually a lot of action compared to the prequel, but plenty of soul-searching, character growth, and consequential decisions. I didn’t actually much like Pali from her appearances in the other books, and this account warmed me to her.