The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Posted by melydia on February 19, 2013 No comment

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (unabridged audiobook read by Jeff Woodman; 7.25 hrs on 7 discs): Gen is a thief thrown in jail for stealing the King’s seal – and then bragging about it in a wine shop. His reputation precedes him, and the Magus (the king’s closest advisor) takes him out of prison and on a long journey to find an important relic long thought to be mere legend. Along the way we learn quite a lot about the Greek-like mythology of the land. It was, to be perfectly honest, kind of boring. Gen’s ceaseless complaining got old fast, the myths were okay but not especially interesting, and the journey lasted for most of the book without much actually happening. I was also unimpressed by the Surprise Ending. I understand this book won awards and is the beginning of a trilogy, but this book felt too aimless to inspire me to read more.

Random aside: I totally pictured the Magus as Jafar. I don’t know why.

A note on the audio: Woodman was good. I previously heard him read An Abundance of Katherines, so I tended to think of Gen as younger than he was supposed to be. I’m not entirely clear on how old he was meant to be, but I do know I was caught a little off guard at the mention of marriage.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Posted by melydia on February 15, 2013 No comment

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (unabridged audiobook read by Alan Cumming; 9.5 hrs on 8 discs): Deryn and Alek are in Istanbul, where they meet anarchists (who aren’t really), a perspicacious loris, and a nosy American reporter. I laughed aloud when Deryn and Alek were discussing Lilit, and there were several times when all I could think was, “How are they going to get out of this one, then?” I am thoroughly enjoying this series, which is interesting since I don’t generally consider myself to be a steampunk fan. I guess it helps that this is more alternate history and science fiction than a mere obsession with gear-and-goggle-based fashion. I can’t wait to see how the story ends.

A note on the audio: Cumming continues to dazzle. I’m almost certain that some American dude showed up, shoved Cumming out of the way just to say the American character’s lines, and then left. To my American ears, it was perhaps the best accent I’ve ever heard by a British narrator.

A Special Valentine from Batman

Posted by melydia on February 14, 2013 4 comments

My husband bought some Valentines from The Dark Knight Rises. Below is my personal favorite:

Yes, that actually says “fear is why you fail.” Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle

Posted by melydia on February 12, 2013 No comment

The Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle: This volume contains two novels, a novella, and a short story, so I’ll review them each separately.

Lila the Werewolf: A strange and somewhat sad tale of a young woman who occasionally turns into a wolf, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. A good example of “just because it’s fantasy doesn’t mean it’s for children”. It’s written well, just a little disturbing to read.

The Last Unicorn: This is a marvelous book. I’ve read it before, and did not reread it this time around, but it remains one of my favorites.

A Fine and Private Place: A tale of two ghosts, a raven, and a man who lives in a cemetery. It’s decidedly bittersweet, with a little humor here and a little tragedy there. It was very introspective and atmospheric – a “quiet” book, if you will. I liked the snarky raven – and I thought it odd how, in a cemetery where people think talking to ghosts is a little weird, no one ever mentions how unusual it is for a raven to speak. I wish there had been just a little bit more about Laura and Michael, especially there at the end, but all in all it was good.

Come Lady Death: An old woman decides to invite Death to her next party – and Death does indeed attend. The ending left me a little cold, but otherwise it was a decent story.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Devil and His Boy by Anthony Horowitz

Posted by melydia on February 8, 2013 No comment

Devil and His Boy by Anthony Horowitz: I really wanted this to be fantasy. Devil in the title, wizard in the first chapter – I wasn’t crazy for expecting fantasy, was I? But it’s really not. It’s the story of Tom, a boy in the 16th century who finds himself plucked from his crappy country existence into a only slightly less crappy life on the streets of London, where he befriends Moll Cutpurse and aspires to become an actor. The whole plot was pretty predictable and the writing only so-so. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more were I still part of the intended age group, but I suspect I’d have been searching vainly for fantasy even then.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Beyond Words: A Fantasy Author Charity Calendar Project

Posted by melydia on February 7, 2013 No comment

Lauren Zurchin, professional photographer and managing editor of the SF/F blog Lytherus, contacted me the other day about a new project. Basically, she wants to dress up fantasy authors in custom-made costumes and photograph them for a calendar. She has a decent roster of authors lined up, several of whom I’ve read or at least heard of: Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, Christopher Paolini, Gregory Maguire, Tad Williams, Patrick Rothfuss, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Lauren Kate, Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, Gail Carriger, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff.

Ms. Zurchin explains further:

This project is huge, and with the support of these authors I’ve taken to Kickstarter to raise the bare-minimum funds needed to make this project a reality. Every author involved in the project has offered limited edition exclusive items up for grabs — prizes that are only offered this one time and never again. Kickstarter contributors can find limited edition prints of their fantasy calendar photo (signed), wall posters (signed), “personalized packs” (containing prints, autographed calendar, and more — personalized and signed by the author), and calendars signed by all fourteen of the project’s participants. There are several high-end prizes up for grabs, including Skype chats with a few of the participating authors. […] The Kickstarter runs through the end of February and aims to raise $15,000.

Enough to pique your interest? Visit the Kickstarter page.

And here’s where things get interesting (aka, the “why you should care” bit): proceeds from the calendar are going to support the charities First Book (which donates books to schools and children’s programs) and WorldBuilders (which raises donations for Heifer International through auctions of author-donated goodies). Worthy causes both. Ms. Zurchin goes into more detail on her website.

I contributed. I don’t have any particular attachment to any one of the authors but I like fantasy photography and the fact that it’s of fantasy authors is a cute idea. And raising funds to make a product that will ultimately be sold for charity sits well with me.

P.S. – For those of you with an interest in seeing authors being awesome, I still have a few of these left.

P.P.S. – I have absolutely no idea how Ms. Zurchin found me. I’m just pleased she did, because otherwise this never would have appeared on my radar.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (original BBC radio broadcast)

Posted by melydia on February 5, 2013 No comment

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Original BBC Radio Broadcast): Before the movie, before the television series, and even before the book, there was the radio play. Of course, all versions and adaptations were written by Douglas Adams, so it’s hard to call any of them the Real Version, but they all follow more or less the same story. Either way, this was the First Version.

As you know if you’re at all familiar with HHGTTG, the story begins with hapless human Arthur Dent and his alien pal Ford Prefect escaping the Earth moments before it is destroyed to create an interstellar bypass. Shortly thereafter they meet up with multi-headed alien Zaphod Beeblebrox, his female companion Trillian, and depressed robot Marvin. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous and utterly marvelous. I would suggest reading the book first as a sort of warm-up, because the radio show is even more random, if you can believe it. Things just sort of happen and you have to just go with it. There are plenty of wonderfully quotable lines and if you’re already a fan of the books, this is a fun walk down memory lane. The voice actors are marvelous, though I confess there were times when I wasn’t sure whether it was Ford or Arthur speaking. Not that it mattered much. All in all, it’s a great time, and well worth it for any fan of absurdity.

Note on my version: A friend taped this off the radio when it was originally broadcast back in the late 1970s and recently digitized it. There’s a fair bit of tape hiss but I had almost no problem hearing and understanding everyone. One thing he noted, however, is that the version that was offered commercially had different sound effects and music due to copyright issues. Evidently the interstitial music played on the radio version was fair game, but all sorts of rights needed to be purchased in order to sell the recording. I have not listened to the commercial version, so I cannot comment on those differences. I linked to the remastered CD because the version I have, rather by definition, is not available for purchase.

P.S. – Happy birthday to my sweetie!

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Posted by melydia on February 1, 2013 No comment

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (unabridged audiobook read by Alan Cumming; 8.5 hrs on 7 discs): What we know as World War I is about to begin, but in this world the two factions are the Clankers and the Darwinists. The Clankers have huge mechanical contraptions, sort of a steampunk AT-AT. The Darwinist’s giant war machines are actually carefully designed animals created through grafting genes. Alek is the son of the recently assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, now on the run from his own allies; Deryn is a Scottish girl pretending to be a boy so she can join the military. It’s a fun story, but unquestionably part of a series – the ending leads into the next stage of the plot, leaving you wishing for just one more chapter. I’m so glad I’m reading it now, after the whole trilogy has been released, so I don’t have to wait. I also appreciated the “this is real and this is made up” afterword. Definitely recommended if you like steampunk or WWI alternate history.

A note on the audio: Alan Cumming is fantastic. No, seriously, amazing. To the point where I want to watch every movie he’s ever used an accent in ever.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Posted by melydia on January 29, 2013 No comment

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (unabridged audiobook read by Jesse Bernstein; 10 hrs on 8 discs): 12-year-old Percy Jackson is a troubled child. He has dyslexia and ADHD, and he’s been kicked out of six schools in six years. To make matters worse, one day during a field trip his math teacher turns into a horrible beast. It turns out Percy is a half-blood, that is, his mother is mortal and his father is a Greek god. I had a great time picking up on all the various mythological references. Though it’s a modern update – Olympus is no longer in Greece, for example – it’s still a pretty good introduction to these old stories. It is, however, definitely a children’s book. Percy meets a monster every single chapter, and much of the plot is moved forward by people withholding extremely important information for no particular reason. I don’t know if I’ll read the rest of the series, but I imagine I would have devoured these books had they been around when I was 12. I was obsessed with mythology at that age.

A note on the audio: Bernstein was fine for all the children, but for some reason all the adults – especially the gods – spoke extra slowly. It was kind of annoying, but not a huge deal. Not enough to keep me from listening on.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman

Posted by melydia on January 25, 2013 No comment

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman: In November of 1889, World journalist Nellie Bly set off for a trip around the world with the intent of beating Jules Verne’s fictional record of eighty days. On the same day, The Cosmopolitan journalist Elizabeth Bisland set off in the opposite direction, and the race was on. I find this to be a fascinating period in American history to begin with, but even more compelling were the stark differences between Bisland and Bly, one a genteel Southerner and the other a born urbanite. Their reactions to their foreign surroundings covered the ends of the spectrum of popular opinion. I especially appreciated the sheer thoroughness of the narrative: this book also covered Bly’s exposure of a local asylum by getting herself committed undercover, Joseph Pulitzer’s strange quirks, and the working conditions aboard the steamships of the time, among other things. This is truly nonfiction that reads like fiction, and I simply loved it. Definitely recommended.

A note on this edition: I read an advance reader’s copy, which is an uncorrected proof. Most of the time these books are nearly identical to the final publication, but in this case there were a number of placeholder images and the index was completely blank. I’ll have to pick up a copy when it’s released to see what that map of Ceylon at the beginning of every chapter is really supposed to be.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

© 2010-2025 kate weber All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright