Goblin Secrets

by William Alexander

Randomly came across this book while browsing the library shelves, and thoroughly glad I did.  The National Book Award Winner sticker on the cover caught my eye.  This book is all about masks, and how they change people.  In this book, that is taken in a literal sense.  Rownie is a young boy who serves a witch who sounds a lot like the "Baba Yaga" from old fairy tales.  He wants to find his brother who has disappeared so he escapes from the witch, but runs into trouble with the "law" when he gets involved with a traveling troupe of goblins who put on plays with masks, even though it is against the law.  Rownie then discovers the masks are much more than just make-believe and he has an important part to play.

The atmosphere of this book was mysterious, intriguing, and beautiful.  The landscape set by the words was mesmerizing and really drew me into the town.  The "scary" element was indeed scary, especially with the masks, and it really kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen, and it was all very mysterious until the end.  I liked the juxtaposition of an "old world" feel of witches and magic, with the "new world" feel of mechanisms and motors.  I'm hoping there are sequels to this book, because the end leaves a little mystery still to be told.  This book feels very much like sitting down to watch a play in a dark and magical theater, with musical and strange colors all around you.

The Way of Kings

by Brandon Sanderson

I am really obsessed with this author right now, as you might notice from the many books I've read of his lately.  It has been so long since I've really found a good set of fantasy books, and Mistborn fulfilled that longing.  Then I voraciously read a few of his other single books like Elantris and Warbreaker and like them, though not on the epic scale of the others.  Then I discovered a 10 book series called the Stormlight Archive, the first book of which is The Way of Kings and I quickly ordered it from the library.  A large volume, in both a physical and a written way, but well worth the time.  Then I excitedly went to order the 2nd book, only to find it was not available.  Why?  Because it hasn't been published yet!  I didn't realize that this is a "projected" 10 book series, meaning that Sanderson has only finished and published the first one, and now I have to wait for 9 more books, which will probably mean the next 10 years of my life will be spent waiting to know what happens at the end!  But if the first book shows anything of that ending, it will be well worth the wait.

So, as I read The Way of Kings I felt like the book did two things.  It told a great story.  Actually it tells a number of great stories about great characters.  But it also felt like a huge introduction to the even larger series.  What I'm saying is, it covers a lot of territory, sets up a lot of stuff for future reference, and leaves a lot of parts hanging with no definite answers, because there are many more stories to come that will flesh it all out.  As long as I go into the book understanding this, I love it because it builds and builds the suspense.  And yet, it is amazing to me that an author can do all that, yet still work in some really amazing stories and characters as well.

And as you can imagine, its not easy to really sum up.  This first book tells the beginning stories of a few different characters.  First, a man who goes from healer, to soldier, to slave, to leader.  The details of his slavery on the "bridge crew" are fabulous and the setting and characters are well thought out and presented.  Another character is a mysterious assassin, one who loathes his job but is for some reason compelled into it.  There is also a female character who becomes the apprentice of a wise woman, only in hopes of stealing her most precious possession, but instead finds herself learning more than she thought.  And finally, another character is a chivalrous military leader who is turning away from way and trying to find the way of peace.  All these characters are set amid a world that is plagued by great storms, so much that the world has adapted, with descriptions of plants and animals and people that are suited for weathering great tempests. A truly epic landscape and story.

And just like another great series, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, its killing me to have to wait for the next installment!  Its going to be a long 10+ years.

The Hero of Ages

by Brandon Sanderson

I just read one of the best fantasy trilogies I've read in a long time!  I actually already reviewed the first book in the series, Mistborn, if you want to get some idea of where I started.  However, I just HAD to write about the third book of the series, which I just finished yesterday.  It was so good.  It made me want to re-read it all again.  And it made me want to re-read my Lord of the Rings trilogy as well.  Two very good signs.

Most of the fantasy series I have ready of late have started off with a pretty good first book, but then die off from there.  As much as I enjoyed Hunger Games, the 2nd and 3rd books weren't quite as good as the first in my opinion.  The Mistborn Trilogy however defied my expectations.  I enjoy the first book and appreciated its complexity, its basis in some kind of physical/scientific type "magic" that is somewhat believable, and I appreciated the depths of the characters.  Little did I know what all that would become.

In similar fashion to The Lord of the Rings by the great J.R.R. Tolkien, the first book is simpler than the others, does a lot of set up, and gets you involved in the characters themselves.  The second book, The Well of Ascension, is the transition story, where everything feels like its all going to fall apart and you're not sure they're really going to ever make it.  But you can't quite beat the final third book, The Hero of Ages, which brings it all together.  Not in a neat little "happily ever after" package, but in a complex coming together of all the things the author has been setting up over the course of the series.  I liked that I guessed a few key happenings before they occurred, but others threw me completely for a loop and literally made me gasp.  I think I may have actually talked out loud to a few of the characters.

For all the violence in this series (and it is fairly violent), I most appreciated the concepts of leadership, faith, what is "right", and good vs. evil that the author really delves into.  He leaves moments of time within the book where the characters really think about what the believe and what they believe in, instead of just going from battle to battle.  It gave me much to think about, and I don't often find that in modern day fantasy novels.  Again, a reminder of Tolkien.  Don't get me wrong, I can't say that is on the level of Tolkien writing for the writing itself, but the overall scope of the story is beautiful, terrifying, intriguing, and refreshing.

I love the feeling of finishing an excellent book.  But I hate the feeling of now having to go find another book that I can only hope will be as good.  Wish me luck!

Mistborn: The Final Empire

by Brandon Sanderson

I love me a good fantasy novel, but I am more and more picky about which ones I spend time reading.  Lately, the ones that have intrigued me the most are those which have magic that is based on some kind of more "scientific" or tangible aspect.  I don't know if that makes sense, but I like the idea of magic coming from some sort of source other than just your mind, or a "magic" wand.  I like to know why the magic works the way it does, even if I know that its not really real.  Its fascinating for me to imagine an author than can make up these ways of looking at magic that are based in some sort of a realistic concept, its an amazing skill.  One of my past reviews of "The Name of the Wind" is one of these kind of books.

I found the book Mistborn similar in that manner, although its not as big a book, and its probably more appropriate for a young audience than the other.  It however is probably not meant for a young audience as it still has a fair amount of violence in it.

The story is about a young girl named Vin who survives in a street thief gang that works in the capitol city of a land that is plagued with continuous ash falling, and a great disparity between classes.  It is ruled over by the Lord Ruler, a man who "saved" the world and is thought to be immortal, but who has turned his world into a dark and evil place.  Vin has a type of magic she calls "Luck" which allows her to alter people's emotions.  She eventually meets up with a man named Kelsier who wants to lead a revolt against the Lord Ruler.  He teaches Vin more about her magic, which is based on the "burning" of different types of metals that are swallowed into the body.  The group eventually uses Vin to infiltrate the nobility to be a spy.  Things are complicated (as always) when Vin meets a young nobleman who isn't what she expected.  Much of Vin's dilemmas center around trust and friendship.  And there is always the mysteries lying behind the story that make you wonder - Who is the Lord Ruler?  Is he immortal?  How did he save the world?  And why is there the constant ashfall?

I suspected a few different versions of how the story would end, but didn't get close to guessing until the very end, and even then there were some great and unexpected surprises.  The characters are realistic to me, and I like the philosophy of how religion and belief work in this book.  It doesn't give you a nice, neatly wrapped ending or even answers, but I'm very much looking forward to reading the next in the series to find out!

Peter and the Starcatchers

by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Yet another take on the story of Peter Pan?  Why yes.  I was a little skeptical to start, and at first the book seemed to confirm my doubt.  The beginning of the book really seemed to drag for me.  I couldn't really get into it.  I almost even gave up finishing it.  But curiosity made me keep reading, wondering how all this would tie in to the well-known story of Peter Pan.  And finally it all came together and I was hooked. 

The authors impressed me with their ability to weave a lot of little details into the story that would later all come together in clever ways.  Each time a new yet familiar character was introduced (the crocodile, mermaids, Tinkerbell, etc.) it made me smile.  But they did each in fascinating and imaginative ways that I am now very interested in reading the next in the series.  You could almost consider this a "prequel" to the Peter Pan story we know.

It begins with a boy named Peter who is an orphan.  He and the other "lost boys" from the orphanage are sent by ship to be slaves.  On board is a mysterious trunk and strange things happen when people get near it.  There is also a girl named Molly on board.  They are stranded on an island after being chased by pirates.  I'll let you read the rest...

So, I think this is a good book and would be especially enjoyable for a young adult audience.  For adults, it might be a little slow at the beginning, but I think that can be somewhat explained by the fact that there is a lot of setup needed at the beginning, and I think the reader is naturally more impatient to get to the action because they already think they know the story that is coming.  But it will surprise and delight you.  I also found the explanation of how the "Starcatchers" play into the story slightly cheesy, but necessary to put a little more background and serious nature into the fanciful tale we all know and love.  I like the slightly darker undertones that this story adds.

Have you read this book?  What do you think?  Are the other books in the series worth a read?

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle

A classic science fantasy novel about Meg, a young girl who goes on an adventure to solve the mystery of her father's sudden disappearance.  He vanishes while working on a government project called a tesseract.  She travels with her little brother Charles,  and a friend from school named Calvin.  They also meet three old ladies who help them on their journey - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.

Eventually they travel to Camazotz where they find Meg's father trapped in a society which is controlled by a single mind that doesn't allow anyone to think for themselves.  To rescue their father, the children must fight against the powerful controlling mind and discover the one that cannot be controlled - love.

This is a lovely story about a family that is a little different than most (both parents are scientists and Charles is a super-genius) but who love and take care of each other.  It incorporates simple ideas of science and dimension easily, allowing even young children to understand the concept of a "wrinkle in time."  It has a little touch of romance, and fun realistic characters who are far from perfect and make decisions based on pride, flattery, and jealousy.  But ultimately it is a wonderful story of how good virtues can overrule the bad. 

This book has two others that follow it, A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, but I found that I did not enjoy them nearly as much as this first book.  It has been some time since I read them, but it is not usually a good sign when I cannot remember a thing about them.  This book however is one that you will remember for a long time, and enjoy reading again and again.

The Hero and the Crown

by Robin McKinley

My sister called today wanting to know if I remembered a book we read when we were younger, specifically with a girl and a dragon.  That rather broad topic could have covered a lot, but as soon as she said the author's name might have been Robin I knew she was talking about The Hero and the Crown, a Newbery Medal Award winner.

Robin McKinley is a favorite author of mine because she tells stories (I believe they are considered young adult genre) that are full of fantasy and fun, but yet have a very firm grounding on reality.  The romances she portrays aren't story book romances where the perfect man and perfect woman fall madly in love and live happily ever after.  Her stories don't always have easily wrapped-up happy endings.  So they feel real and let me (especially as a young girl) dream of something beyond where I was at the time.

This specific book is about a girl named Aerin who is royalty, but doesn't fit in.  She is loved by her father and by her friend Tor, but other hate her.  She becomes a dragon slayer which is not considered proper work for a princess.  She eventually saves a village from the dragon Maur but at much cost to her own well-being, and is saved by a mysterious man who is not quite mortal, named Luthe.  He gives her further information about the real problem behind the evil happening in her land, and she then goes off to again save the kingdom.  You'll enjoy this book at any age, but teenage girls who like a little fantasy will especially appreciate this one.

The Original Oz Books

by L. Frank Baum

We've all seen the classic Wizard of Oz movie, perhaps even read the book.  But not too many people realize that L. Frank Baum wrote a total of 14 Oz books, all of which I recommend today, both for you and your kids.  The original favorite characters of the Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Dorothy, and Toto are in all the subsequent books, but many new and fantastical friends join the journey.  Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, Tik-Tok the Mechanical Man, and the Nome King are just a few of my favorites.  These books, more than any others, take me straight back to my childhood because they tell stories that come directly from childhood imagination, unfettered by something so boring as reality.  Baum tells good stories that are easy and fun to read, and will make you smile.  If only I could own a tree that grew lunch boxes and dinner pails, then I would be a happy girl!

The 14 books in order (which is how one should always read series) are:

-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

-The Marvelous Land of Oz

-Ozma of Oz

-Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

-The Road to Oz

-The Emerald City of Oz

-The Patchwork Girl of Oz

-Tik-Tok of Oz

-The Scarecrow of Oz

-Rinkitink In Oz

-The Lost Princess Of Oz

-The Tin Woodman Of Oz

-The Magic of Oz

-Glinda Of Oz

Many other authors since L. Frank Baum have tried writing Oz books and I have read some of them, but none are as good as the originals.  I highly recommend reading these to or with your kids, just as my mom did with me.  Leave your boring Kansas lives for a moment each day and go visit the wonderful world of Oz.