A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

Second in the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings picks up right after A Game of Thrones. Martin continues to throw surprise after surprise at the reader and I fully admit that this book was the first one that I peeked ahead to see if a certain character was going to show up again.
I like that Martin gives the reader the feeling that certain characters are destined for greater things, I like that he writes characters the reader can hate so violently as well as characters it is very easy to become attached to, plus characters one isn't entirely certain what to make of.
It's been 2 and a half books since I finished Clash of Kings, so forgive the poor review. It's fantastic, spares nothing, gets into the grittiness of war, and made me desperate for A Storm of Swords, which only recently was returned to the library (which is the only reason 2.5 books have been read since finishing Clash of Kings), and I look forward to starting it.
Wonderful, engrossing, and these books really need to be read in quick succession. I can't imagine how fans have waited so long between books!

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

The first book in the Song of Fire and Ice series is an engaging historical fantasy. Admittedly I am a fantasy fan and historical fiction fan, and Martin does such a remarkable job of integrating the history of Westeros, the different highborn families, all while dropping tantalizing hints of what will (hopefully) be revealed later.
Like most good fantasy I read, it was a bit slow going to begin with; I seem to take longer to get a handle on the people and the places, but eventual I was enthralled with (enraged by, beguiled by) the different characters in the book that I did not want to put it down.
The book is told from the point of view of a handful of characters, and while we get slightly into their heads, we're not entirely wrapped up in them, which is nice. Martin does a fabulous job of ending a chapter about one character at a point where I wish he would continue with that character but by the time I get to the next character's part of the story I don't find myself wanting to skip ahead. Martin has such richly drawn characters, so well fleshed out that a reader gets a feel for all the characters, not just the ones telling the story.
I am not a particularly astute reader--I prefer to be swept up by the story, thinking more about what has been revealed, what's currently being revealed, not worrying too much about what's going to happen--so certain aspects of the book came as a surprise to me. It becomes obvious that war is brewing in the Seven Kingdoms, I just did not think it would begin in the first book (knowing this is a series, I figured the action would take place later). I am glad it did though, because now I'm mulling on (when I'm not reading) what's going to happen in the rest of the books (and I really don't have a clue, except for one event that's pretty inevitable). A Game of Thrones is an engaging story, especially if you a fan of history. It's fictional history of course, but it gives the feel of medieval Europe, with warring families and usurpers and tentative alliances. There is enough familiar in the fantasy aspects to prevent Martin from slowing down the story by explaining every detail of the fantasy and writes (much like what I've read of Scott Westerfeld) with an assumption that the reader will pick up what the author is talking about. And the reader does.
I'm excited to read this series and before I even finished the first book, I checked out the second from the library (and even debated purchasing it for my Kindle, and seeing as the vast majority of books on my Kindle I've acquired for free, that's saying a great deal). I'm completely lost in the wonderful storytelling of this series and join the legions of fans in July eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris is a rich, well-plotted, wonderful fantasy. The characters are well-developed, the history of the nations and religions and characters are revealed in piecemeal throughout the book, encouraging the reader to keep reading! Like most good fantasy, it is not a fast read (at least it wasn't for me) but it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Sarene is a princess from across the sea, sent to marry the prince of Arelon, Raoden. She is 25 and edging on spinsterhood in her own country and in her own mind and feels the marriage with Raoden will not only do good for her country of Teod, but is her last chance at marriage. She arrives unexpectedly a week before the wedding in order to finally meet her future husband in person only to discover on arrival that he has died. The marriage contract was written in such a way, however, that even if one of the parites died before the wedding, the pair is considered married. So Sarene is now a widow without actually having gone through a wedding. Fortunately her uncle Kiin, his wife and children are in Kae, so she has the comfort of some family, since King Iaoden (Raoden's father) has so little patience with women in general.
Raoden is not actually dead, but has suffered the Shaod, or has been cursed with a disease that strikes the Arelish people--their hearts have stopped beating but their minds won't die. Like all people who have the Shaod, Raoden has been thrown into Elantris, the once great city that was the center of Arelon. Elantris once housed what the people called gods, people who could do magic, feed people without growing food, could heal with magic. Mysteriously 10 years ago the Elantrians began to be cursed and with the faltering of the gods of Elantris, Ioaden and the merchants seized control of Arelon.
Third in our story is Hrathen, a Derethi priest who has been sent to convert the people of Arelon to the Derethi religion within three months or Wyrn (head of the Derethi religion and king of the Derethi empire) will simply send armies to Arelon to take it by force. Hrathen is a very logical and practical man, not above bribing to get what he wants.
These three characters (and so many more!) challenge each other, make discoveries about themselves, and fight to save (in each person's opinion) Arelon and Elantris. A rich rewarding read, Elantris is a fantastic story with excellent world building, and wonderfully created characters.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

I re-read HP7 because the film came out in November and the only time I read HP7 was the day it came out (14 hours of reading). So needless to say there were a great many details I had forgotten.
As with Persuasion (and really more so, as I'm sure a number of people have read this book already), I am not certain how to review this. I took my time reading the book, which was very nice. Every time I felt myself getting sucked into the story (which really isn't not too difficult) I made myself finish the chapter and put the book down. It was great to savor the story and think about everything that got revealed (the whole Dumbledore-Grindelwald thing I had forgotten about, as well as the Deathly Hallows) and understand how everything fell into place over seven books. A fantastic re-read. Still love the epilogue and still want more. Next step: see the movie!

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Let me begin by saying I love the Feegles and Tiffany Aching, so when an ARC of Pratchett's I Shall Wear Midnight came my way, I had to read it.
Tiffany is the witch of the Chalk and being worn down a bit by it. When we first come upon her, she hasn't had a decent night's sleep in days. And of course, matters are about to get worse.
Suspicion begins to spread about Tiffany and witches in general, that they are no good, but Tiffany is confused by this since everyone knows who she is and the entire village is pretty much family. Tiffany has awoken the Cunning Man, who desires to rid the world of witches. He appears every few hundred years or so and Tiff's last encounter with the Wintersmith kind of brought him out. Tiffany, once she discovers what the Cunning Man is about, doesn't want to ask the other witches for help. Advice, certainly, but as it's been explained that Tiffany must find her own way to defeat the Cunning Man, she feels on her own. She doesn't want to be the witch who couldn't quite cut it, the one who all the other witches wonder if she's really capable of being a witch. That's something I love about this book: there's the magical element of the Cunning Man and also Tiffany struggling with her own confidence and whether or not she's grown up enough to be the Chalk's witch. As Tiffany is only sixteen, she is struggling a great deal with how she fits into the Chalk as the witch and how people she's known practically her entire life will take her seriously. By the end of the book, Tiffany has grown into her own and knows she has the support (and confidence!) of her fellow witches.
Being the last of the Tiffany Aching books (or so it is advertised on the back of the ARC) I Shall Wear Midnight ties up the relationships between Tiffany and other people we have met throughout the books very well. Roland plays heavily in the novel as does Letitia, his intended bride. Tiff's father is around for a bit of advice, as are some of the witches we've met in the past. There are also the Feegles, who will always be rather entertaining wherever they may pop up. I was very pleased with how the book ended and know Tiffany will always be one of my favorite characters.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

So I'm probably one of the last people to read this book, but better late to it than never. Clary Fray lives with her mom in New York City; her father died before she was born. Being almost 16, Clary and her friend Simon go out to a club one night and Clary gets caught in the midst of a very strange interaction--four people her age go off into a storage room of the club and three kill the fourth one. Clary is surprised by this but even more surprised when the dead one disappears!

It turns out Clary has met Shadowhunters--warriors whose purpose it is to rid the earth of demons. And the fourth person? That was a demon. Clary gets sucked further and further into this world as first her mother goes missing, her mother's oldest friend refuses to talk to or help Clary, and she finds out stuff about her past that Clary never could have imagined would be true.

There's fantastic action in the book, there's battles with demons and vampires and werewolves and creatures who were once human and a lot of leg work trying to figure out if one of the most dangerous Shadowhunters is indeed still alive and if he is, where he is. Clary becomes torn between the thrilling world of the Shadowhunters and the life she's always known, including her best friend and "mundane", Simon.

I really enjoyed the different relationships portrayed in the book amongst the teenage characters, I felt that was pretty accurate. It was nice to see some presence of adults in the book, though I would have liked to see more with Clary's mom (though I understand her missing mom is pretty key to the plot; I just hope there's more of her mom in the next couple of books). I'd also like to see more of Alec and Isabelle, and see Clary come into her own and become more confident. It was really those last 50 pages that got me hooked. Now I have to wait for one of the library copies to be checked in again so I can read City of Ashes.

There are surprises in every chapter and the reader is usually just a tiny bit ahead of Clary--but not very much. The book really picked up in the last 50 pages and that was the point that I couldn't put the book down and am very pleased to know there are two more books after this one. I was thinking as I read most of the book that I wouldn't be interested in finding out what happens in City of Ashes and City of Glass, but the last few chapters (the last part of the book, I think) really brought me into the world and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.

The Widow and the King by John Dickinson

Ten years after Phaedra escaped to the mountains with her young son Ambrose at the end of The Cup of the World, we find Ambrose a twelve year old, with little idea of the world beyond the mountains and the pool.
A stranger comes unexpectedly; Ambrose is fascinated by the young man and even watches entranced as he shaves. Raymonde has discovered the Book that has been in his father's possession since the downfall of Tarceny ten years before, the Book with all of Tarceny's discoveries about witchcraft. Raymonde has come to set the Prince Under the Sky free.
Phaedra discovers what he's up to and tells Ambrose to run, to run to her friends Evalia and Adam diManey at Chatterfall. Ambrose starts to run, but doubles back to watch the confrontation between Raymonde and his mother. He sees Raymonde push his mother and she ends up in the Pool where the Prince Under the Sky lives. He also does not see his mother emerge from the pool.
Ambrose makes it to Chatterfall, but has to leave and travels with Baron Lackmere to the Court of Develin, where he lives in secret for the next six months. He feels awkward and constantly watched and followed by the Prince Under the Sky, and is visited by Raymonde, who continually tells Ambrose that he doesn't want to kill him, but he will. It's uncomfortable for Ambrose and not a happy time for him.
Of course, things can't stay as they are, and the Prince Under the Sky has Develin attacked. Ambrose flees and finds Baron Lackmere and they travel to Tarceny, where Ambrose tries to decide who and what he is.
Like The Cup of the World, The Widow and the King is a thick, rich fantasy that moves at a steady pace but keeps you drawn in. Though there is lots of action and battles and chases, the important part of the book is the development of the characters and the changes that Ambrose goes through. Dickinson does a great job at making each book appear finished, but knowing there's one more book I'm curious as to what will happen with Ambrose next. I look forward to the final book in the trilogy, The Fatal Child.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Claudia lives a privileged life as the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, the great prison that keeps all the criminals and the poor out of the perfect kingdom. She chafes at her chains, at her expectations, at the frustrations of being stuck in a world where nothing ever changes--one of the kings decreed that the world be frozen in time (I think the late 18Th century), that inventions and science and art and literature be hindered, that nothing move out of the time frame of the acceptable, of the Era.

Finn is a prisoner in Incarceron, who can't remember anything before three years ago, but he is insistent that he is not one of the cell-born, one of the creatures born within Incarceron fully formed. When Finn comes into possession of a crystal Key he thinks he can use it to escape the hard dirty life of Incarceron. He is surprised when the Key begins to speak to him and he sees Claudia, who has a key of her own.

The Sapienti, the Wise Ones who entered Incarceron intent on watching over it, live both in Incarceron and Outside it. Jared is Claudia's tutor and a Sapient and Gildas is a Sapient who is determined that Finn is his way out of Incarceron, a Starseer, the one who can follow the path of Sapphique, the only person known to escape Incarceron.

So Finn, Gildas, Finn's oathbrother, and Attia a slave girl leave their Wing of the prison to find Escape. Once Claudia & Jared discover they can speak to Finn through their Key, Claudia promises to do all she can to help them escape. Claudia's chances begin to run out when she is forced to the palace to participate in her wedding to the Heir to the throne--a young man who cares more for horses and games than Claudia, but she is not enamored of him either, having once been engaged to his half-brother, the true prince who died three years earlier.

As in most courts, there's intrigue and plotting and scheming and Claudia does not want to be any part of it at all. She's willful, headstrong and independent and does not want to be Queen, which is what the plot is between her father and the current Queen. Claudia tries to find privacy in the court, where everyone is watching her, is trying to stay out of the vast divisions within the court, and trying to help Finn and his friends escape.

Incarceron is a tale of danger, adventure, and suspense that keeps you guessing as to what surprise comes next. The characters are intriguing (I find the Sapienti the most interesting and the legend of Sapphique), the action is continual, the multiple plots are woven toghet well and if parts of the story are a little predictable, there's a great deal of the story that is not. There's a second book that will be released in December, and as Incarceron ends on a very uncertain note, it will be exciting to see what happens next.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Scarlett and Rosie March live in our world, but they know something we do not know: Fenris are real and very very dangerous. What are Fenris? They are werewolves, the Big Bad Wolf, the men who turn into wolves and chase pretty young women, only to kill them. And because Scarlett and Rosie know this, they know they are the only ones who can battle the Fenris and make the world a little more normal for the rest of us.

Their tiny Georgia town of Ellison has the occasional Fenris, but when more and more show up, Scarlett and Rosie and Silas (one of the Woodsman's sons, and Scarlett's hunting partner) determine they need to move to Atlanta to perhaps help prevent the Potential from being turned.

Silas, who has left Ellison (and Scarlett & hunting), tells Rosie there is more than hunting in the world, there is more to life and shows her some of it while they are in Atlanta. Scarlett becomes ever more frustrated because she can't gain the attention of the Fenris--they are attracted to young, pretty girls, and Scarlett--covered in scars & missing an eye from an early Fenris attack--is not what they're looking for. But Rosie is.

Rosie becomes more the bait than the hunter and only when she is taken and held as bait by the Fenris to lure the Potential does the story really pick up the pace. Scarlett & Silas become desperate to rescue Rosie, and make a risky plan to save her.

Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red is an interesting and unexpected retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (both Scarlett & Rosie hunt with red cloaks); it moves at a decent pace, but doesn't entirely draw you in. There's a bit of a love story, a bit of angry, and a whole lot more fighting than you would originally think. Pearce makes the fights real (people get hurt) without being too gory and the love story is not too romantic for those who aren't into that (love is a motivation more than much else).

The Cup of the World by John Dickinson

Phaedra is just 15 when she witnesses the court trial of a woman for witchcraft; she and the other young ladies of the court are not supposed to be there, but they see the proceedings nonetheless. The woman is spared and the young ladies are shooed out of the court. The young ladies are presented to the king by their fathers, officially marking their transition to womanhood. Phaedra then goes home with her father to Trant and the courting begins. For two years Phaedra is courted and refuses the young men of the Kingdom; she does not want to marry, she does not plan to marry.

Since she was a young girl, she has dreamt of a man and the two of them talk and have developed a friendship almost. When Phaedra discovers that her ability to refuse may soon run out, she speaks with the man in her dreams and he tells her to wait at a certain place. The man is real and takes her to his part of the Kingdom, against the wishes of Phaedra’s father, but she is happy and in love.

War breaks out in the Kingdom and Phaedra’s husband is gone for long periods of time, in which Phaedra is left alone in a castle that she is not familiar with. She makes discoveries about magic, about witchcraft, about her husband, her father, the King and herself that startle her, and Phaedra must keep going to understand her world and her place in it.

The Cup of the World is an intelligent, thick read. As most epic fantasies, it takes a little bit of reading to get into, but once the story picks up it does not let the reader go. Dickinson does not give anything away to the reader; much of what occurs the reader must puzzle together herself, and this is a rewarding read. This book is the first in a trilogy and is followed by The Widow and the King and The Fatal Child.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Yes, yes, everyone has read and reviewed Graceling, but I finally got around to it. And enjoyed it! Though am looking more forward to the book about Bitterblue than I am Fire.

Graceling is set in a world where some people are born with Graces, or a natural ability to do something uncommonly well. Some people are born with the Grace of cooking, or swimming, or fighting, or singing. Katsa, niece to the King of Middluns, one of the Seven Countries, is born with the Grace of killing.

This Grace weighs heavily on the 16 year old girl, whose main purpose is to injure, maim, and kill at her uncle’s command. Katsa does not take easily to this and so has started a Council to help innocent and wronged people. While on a mission for the Council, Katsa meets a man with a fighting Grace and from their tentative friendship, she begins to discover more about herself.

Graceling is an excellent fantasy novel, filled with adventure, action, a quest, and a little bit of romance. Cashore has created memorable characters (especially, in my opinion, in Bitterblue, who is star of Cashore’s third book, yet to be released) and in interesting world. In our world we like to think our differences are celebrated, but in Katsa’s world people with Graces are seen as freaks and meant to be used by the kings of their countries.

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Finnikin of the Rock is a great fantasy quest novel. Finnikin is the son of the King’s Guard, friend to the heir to the kingdom and his cousin (and also the youngest princess, but she just tags along). When Finnikin is 9, he and his friends make a pledge to protect the kingdom, a pledge sealed by the blood the three boys draw from their legs. Only days later, the unspeakable happens: the entire royal family is slaughtered, an impostor king and his army invade (taking Finnikin’s father prisoner), and the Forest Dwellers (those with a bit of magic) are burned at the stake, and as the head of the Forest Dwellers dies, she spits a curse out on the kingdom. The ground shakes and splits open, and the land is covered with a strange, dark mist. About half of the people in the land make it outside of the kingdom’s walls, but the rest are trapped inside.

Ten years pass; Finnikin has been traveling the different countries surrounding his home, learning the languages, the cultures of the other countries, finding his people in refugee camps, writing their stories and the names of their dead. He’s called to a cloister of nuns (novices), and there Finnikin and the King’s First Man, Sir Topher, pick up Evanjalin, who keeps secrets of her own. She has seen the return to their kingdom, and Finnikin has been trying these 10 years to carve out a piece of land for his people to call home, a new home. Evanjalin, stubborn and quiet, sees things much differently.

Similar to Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Finnikin of the Rock is a darker fantasy with a male protagonist. Evanjalin is very much a part of the story, too, but most of it centers on Finnikin. An excellent read. Definitely intended for older audiences; there's a little swearing, sex, and an attempted rape scene.

A Fantasy Nerd

I've most definitely come into my affection for fantasy at a late age. I'm reading fantasy books. I'm writing fantasy books. And yes, nerdiest of nerdiest, I've been watching Star Trek. I do lean more towards fantasy than sci-fi, though I won't turn down a well told (and admittedly not very complicated) sci-fi story. Suggestions are always welcome.
Abhorsen by Garth Nix ends the story (for now?) of Lirael, Sam, Sabriel, and Touchstone. Wow. It opened well, with an attack on Sabriel and Touchstone and then you don't hear anything about them for 100 pages or so. But it's not as if you're waiting for that to come because so much else is happening with Sam and Lirael that Sabriel and Touchstone are just in the background. How do they get out of the House with Chlorr and the Dead surrounding them? How do they find Nick? Can they stop Hedge and Whatever It Is He's Setting Free? Intense, definitely intense, fast paced and well written. You keep going and feel as if you've barely turned the pages. Lirael remains proud of her librarian-ness and Clayr heritage, even though she has become the Abhorsen. And what of Sam? Who was to be the Abhorsen? Sure there is relief he is no longer the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, but is his destiny just to fall to the wayside, to live in the wakes of Lirarel and his sister, Ellimere, who will be Queen? A son of Sabriel, destined for nothing? No. And what exactly are Mogget and the Disreputable Dog? Many questions, and many answers. Fantastic read. I might be interested in reading more books by Nix. In the meantime, I've got to get through the pile I have accumulating from the library (not to mention Rumors, the next Luxe novel, which I already bought. My kingdom to be paid to read!), the first of which is The Scandal Plan: or, How to Win the Presidency by Cheating on Your Wife by Bill Folman. About 100 pages in so far--let me just say that the candidate's advisors determine they have to create a scandal to make the candidate seem more human. The plan is about to go into action, so I'm curious to see how and if it will go wrong or actually work. I like election stories too (so long as they're funny or history) and love election movies. (Bob Roberts with Tim Robbins! Hilarious!)
Unless I see anything in the next few days, you won't hear from me until I finish Scandal Plan, I remain, however, your Savage Librarian.