Review: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Initial Thoughts: The cover looks like a children's book. That was my first thought when I saw it in the library. Upon further investigation I suppose it doesn't. It looks very steampunk-y. You're going to notice that I really like Steampunk, both as a genre and as a style.

What made me think it was a children's book was the fact that it is yellow (the color of old paper) with a fair amount of red in it... And it had a horse on it that looks like a toy but if you look more carefully you'll see that it's actually a springpunk horse that is used instead of (or in addition to) car-like transportation.

Yeah, I totally misjudged the book from the title. Fortunately, I had enough sense to request this book from the publisher, even though it looked like a children's book and I am very happy I did. If I hadn't, I may never have gotten around to reading it and that would have been a crying shame. Which brings me to:

The Good!

Sanderson created an entire world, religion, and way of life. It was quite impressive, really, that he came up with so much. It may not be as thorough as a book like Game of Thrones but it was incredibly well thought out and detailed. For instance, the book takes place in the "Isles of America" where there are 60 states that are all independent island, which meant that for me, as an American, it was relatively easy to picture in my head where everything was. But, even if you're not familiar with America, there is an easy fix! Open to the cover of the book and you'll find a map of the America's Isles and the location of eight other (presumably) Rithmatist Academies. Sanderson never touched on the other schools, though, so I'm assuming that that will be addressed in his further books (can it please be 2017 yet?).

 He invented his own kind of genre--Springpunk--which is pretty much like Steampunk except with, you know, springs as the mechanism that moves their technology as opposed to the main form of power being steam. There are pieces of Steampunk involved with this book. There's an emphasis on clocks and gears, which may actually be more than what they seem.

I loved the degree of separation between the Rithmatists and the "normal" folk. It was like high school all over again and perfectly believable. Had everyone gotten along I would have been disappointed. This arrangement made it all the more plausible

The Bad:

The fact that there wasn't as much action as I would have liked. The ending is amazing, I kept tossing and turning as I read in my bed because it was giving me so much energy with all the action. But, unfortunately, there is not enough action throughout the book. For the topic to be about magical warriors there wasn't enough fighting. I really wish we had gotten to see the liveliness of Nebrask.
But, quite frankly, that's the only negative thing I could think of.

Be ye warned, spoilers ahead!

Omg, dude. Why isn't he a Rithmatist? Even with all the buildup, which, of course, made me believe that by the end of the book he would certainly become one. Whelp, that boy didn't. He's still not a Rithmatist. I suppose that could be a good thing, though, in an inspirational way. Like, you don't have to be one of the privileged (if you can call them that) to make a difference

I would have said in the first half of this book that he was certainly going to become one because he had the makings of a true Rithmatist and his fascination with them. Perhaps he would be like me, at twenty-four I still haven't gotten my letter of admission to Hogwarts but I know it'll happen someday.

I'm betting that that boy is going to get the powers of a Rithmatist and totes own the stage. But then why, at the end, did his lines not move? Sanderson is killing me, man. I need Joel to be a Rithmatist!

I absolutely love the connection that forms between Joel and Melody. It has the potential to become romantic but it wasn't even the slightest; they were just good friends who shared fun/dangerous times together. Ultimately I do think it's going to turn romantic, but we won't find out until about 2017. Ugh.

0

Why the Fudge Do I Keep Picking This Meme?

Every time I go to type "WWW" in the title I feel like I'm writing "World War" and then somehow my weird brain adds a "II" in there. I'm not writing about World War Anything, instead I'll be telling you the following:

(1) What I'm currently reading: Insurgent by Veronica Roth. I read Divergent over a year ago and I vaguely remember liking it so when I got a Barnes and Nobel gift card I logged onto their website and bought the boxed set. I'm only a few pages in (my plans to read last night until I got a headache and fell asleep went according to plan, unfortunately, and I ended up falling asleep after about ten minutes of reading. I'm looking on the bright side, though: this means that I'll have all the more energy to read late tonight!

(2) What I just finished reading: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. I had heard many great things about him so I thought I'd try him out. Tor sent him my way and a review will be coming up shortly (hint: I loved this book).

(3) What I think I'll read next: This is a terrible question to ask me. How the fudge am I supposed to know that? If I love Insurgent I'll probably move on to Allegiant; if I don't then I'll read whatever else appeals to me, probs Red Rising.


That last question always gets me, man. I try to predict what I'll read next and usually I'm very wrong; which is not the worst thing in the world, considering I'm still reading.

Review: Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to flip this image.

This all-new definitive guide to writing imaginative fiction takes a completely novel approach and fully exploits the visual nature of fantasy through original drawings, maps, renderings, and exercises to create a spectacularly beautiful and inspiring object. Employing an accessible, example-rich approach, Wonderbook energizes and motivates while also providing practical, nuts-and-bolts information needed to improve as a writer. Aimed at aspiring and intermediate-level writers, Wonderbook includes helpful sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names in fantasy today, such as George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Catherynne M. Valente, and Karen Joy Fowler, to name a few. --Goodreads

I'm going to start off by telling you that I didn't finish this book; I'm also going to ask you to read through this review because this book is so awesome, and so good at what it does, that I've had it to review for months and I'm still not done. It deserves a review, especially considering it was published somewhat recently, in 2013.

For those of you not familiar with speculative/imaginative fiction, here are some examples of genre's that all under that phrase: There's Steampunk, an alternate history type of scifi/fantasy/horror fiction like Boneshaker by Cherie Priest or Gail Carriger's Soulless series; we've got soft/hard science fiction (think: Star Wars and Arthur C. Clark, respectively); fantasy and horror. If you have any other examples, leave them in the comments below!

The Good: Pretty much everything. There are the inspiring images perfect for the speculative fiction writer; images that are educational; and they are all entertaining. From the very first page you're hit smack in the face with SO. MUCH.GOING. ON. that you can't hear a thought in your head. You're bombarded by creatures and graphs that are readable while a few aren't. But the reason this didn't deter me is because it made it fun. Like, really fun.

The author is one I'm familiar with. He's written several non-fiction/fiction-y books on Steampunk that were very fun to read. There were lots of pictures and, as you've noted up above with my CAPS on, the pictures in this book are creative and complement the book.

The craziness of the illustrations are very fitting for speculative fiction. When I read speculative fiction I expect to get carried away. I don't want to think about life, that's why I shy away from realistic fiction (I live it often enough, anyway). As much as I enjoy reading books on writing I'm often bored, or it can't keep my attention. Not so with the Wonderbook (except when I came across exercises--though that's their doing!). Reading Wonderbook was like reading science fiction, I was transported out of my world and into VanderMeer's world, where creatures had one eye, five eyes, and were the colors of the rainbow. 

This was a fun book to read. The writing exercises, craft advice, author shout-outs and the exciting way these are all delivered are reason enough to buy this book. What makes this book even better is that it can totally be of use to fiction writer's of any genre, though it caters to imaginative fiction.

I want to touch on the quality of the book. The binding is nothing special but it's sturdy. What's really cool are the pages. Each one is somewhat glossy and of a thicker material than the average $9.99 paperback book and is in full color. No, it's not $10 but the price is pretty darn good taking into consideration all the elements of the book that I just raved about. The online price for both Amazon and Barnes and Nobel is about $17. Well worth the monies, I assure you.

Why I didn't finish the book: I just haven't. I've been reading at a snail's pace. But this isn't a book that needs to be read front-to-back at all; in fact, I would recommend against it. For starters, it's incredibly detailed and includes writing exercises. Don't get caught up in reading the book, stop and actually do them, they are well thought out and tailored for the imaginative fiction writer. It was taking me three times the usual time it takes for me to read a page of a regular fiction book.

That being said, the facts are intended to make you stop and think and, most importantly, remember what was being suggested.

The Bad: If you don't like a book that is full of graphics that may be distracting, this book isn't for you. The pictures are the highlight of the book so you have to be ready for them. Unfortunately, this does mean that this will take a long, long time to read. But, as I mentioned, maybe that's not such a bad thing for you.

Quite honestly, those are the only "cons" I found with this book, and they're all subjective. To me they weren't cons but for someone else they may be.

Final Verdict: If you're an aspiring intermediate writer of (speculative) fiction, or are interested in following that path, this is the book for you. While the target audience are those who are interested in imaginative fiction--as evident from the subtitle--

The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

 it would work just fine for the general fiction writer.

Books on My Spring TBR list

Ten? I have to just pick ten? Believe me, after my birthday book haul I have plenty to read but it's so hard to single out a few. The last two books I read I read because I got one for review and the other had a pretty cover. I seem to be in the bookish mood where I pick up pretty books.

But, this is The Broke and The Bookish's meme so I shall follow their rules and *sigh* pick ten. I'm staring at my overflowing bookshelves right now trying to pick a few. I'm just going to dive right in.

1. Scintillate by Tracy Clark--I requested the "Lux" series for review but since it's been out so long the publisher suggested that I read their new book, Deviate. I didn't realize it was book two in the Light Key trilogy so I found this one on Book Outlet.

2. Deviate--I guess I'm marathoning this series!

3. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson--also a book for review that I've been eyeing for quite some time now. I'm actually about half way through as of today so a review should be going up very soon!

4. Red Rising by Pierce Brown--I saw BookTubers raving about this series so I had to gets me a copy. If they like it then it must book good! Right?

5. The Golden Son by Pierce Brown-- Book two in the Red Rising series, it was sent to me by the publishers along with the first Red Rising book. I'm so excited to read them!

6. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo-- I'm judging again--this book has an awesome cover! I flippin' love the font that they used which was artsy but still legible. I also have the next book in the series. I guess I'll be marathoning several series this Spring!

7. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff--What can I say? This one also has a pretty cover. Plus it's steampunk, that makes it a "win" in my book (see what I did there?).

8. Prudence, the first book in the Custard Protocol by Gail Carriger-- She writes awesome steampunk books for both teens and adults. This is her newest book and it's coming out sometime in 2015. I'll def be reading this as soon as humanly possible.

9. I've got to get me some zombies so the next book I'll be presenting is Rise Again by Ben Tripp. It actually got pretty darn good reviews on Goodreads, which is always a positive foreshadowing.

10. And, finally, I have to end this list with Cinder by  Marissa Meyer. I'm not super  exctied about this but it got rave reviews on Goodreads and, like, everyone who is bookish has read this.

EDIT: Of course as soon as I published this I start reading a book that isn't on the list. I'm now reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth, a book I should have read years ago but I didn't. Don't ask me why.

Free Time Friday: Lots of Bookmarks, Zombies, and Friends

I'm branching out a bit from my regular memes to write a post on "Free Time Friday." I've picked this particular meme because it's relevant to books and it tells you a little more about me. On my FTF post I'll be telling you how I spent my free time (hint: books).

This week was a craft-heavy week for me. I made monster bookmarks that look like they're eating the page which was adorable and fun. It gave me an opportunity to be social while still spending time doing something I love. Then, later in the week, I had another girl friend over and we made ribbon bookmarks with my hundreds of pendants I've been collecting over the years from Michaels. They were beautiful and funky. While crafting I listened to the soundtracks of Pirates of the Caribbean and Doctor Who. It occurred to me that it may be fun to sell some of these bookmarks on my blog if you want them but would rather not make them. Is that something my readers would be interested in?

And then, of course, I read. I finished Sea of Shadows, The Sin Eater's Daughter, and started on The Rithmatist, which I am still reading. I've been a bit of a slow reader, focusing on my writing mostly, and *sigh* homework.

When I wasn't reading I was watching The Walking Dead, my favorite comic of like all time, man. They were the first comics I read (I started when I was 22) and they have stuck with me all these years. When I first discovered them I read them on my iPad but then I wrote my thesis on zombie apocalypse literature and I had a reason to buy the physical Walking Dead: Compendium One. Over Christmas I procured Compendium Two to add to my collection. Honestly, and I'd like to hear what other people thought, I like the comics better, just as I like most books better than their movies. I like the comics better because they're gorier, scarier, and more shocking than the TV show. If you thought the TV show was terrifying, go read the comics.

REVIEW: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

I am the perfect weapon.
I kill with a single touch.

Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has it's price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla's fatal touch.

Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla's chilling role to the girls she truly is.

Yet in a court as dangerous and the queen's, some truths should not be told...                    --Goodreads on The Sin Eater's Daughter

The Good: Uh, that she's a freaking executioner that kills with a single touch. That's taking a "strong female lead" to a whole nother level (yes, that's a word now).

As the book goes on she becomes less and less of a strong lead, something the opposite of what you'd expect a main character to become. But, it's understandable, especially once the bombshell (or three) is dropped on her. She's brave, though. Really brave to go through what she has and what she will.

She's the daughter of a Sin Eater, another crazy idea by Salisbury that, outside of the novel and the world she created, would seem too far out there to believe. That's one of the "goods" part of this review. Twylla's world is crazy realistic, you live where she lives and Salisbury makes sure that you're comfortable there.

Ever since Twilight I became wary of love triangles because Bella's was so ridiculous and it was Such. A. Bad. Book. but then I read Throne of Glass and fell in love with the race to win her heart, the fictional good-looking men, and choosing a team and rooting for them, then the surprise when we find out who she picks. Whelp, folks, there's a love triangle here and it's pretty darn cool. You're thrown surprise after surprise and it just keeps getting better and better.

And oh-my-bob the ending; the epilogue, rather. It was the bomb. I would have never expected it and that's the right kind of ending.

I want to address the title of the book briefly--I thought this was a smart move on the author's part. While being the Sin Eater's daughter does have some validity to the story, it is not a major part. However, the title (and beautiful cover) drew me to the book; it was something that sounded so sketchy that I couldn't help but pick it up at Barnes and Noble and wish it was mine so I could find out who this weapon was.

The Bad: I had to think hard about this one. Actually, I'm still thinking about it as I write and I've really only come up with one complaint. I wasn't thrilled with the way the chapters ended. It was terrible! It would stop. Just... stop and you'd be like, when dafuq did this end? I was totally caught off-guard and several times I'd flip a few pages back to make sure I didn't miss a page, but I didn't.

That ends "The Bad" section of this review. Actually, it ends the whole review....

Who would like this book? Fans of Throne of Glass--because it's fantasy, takes place in a castle, and both the main characters, you know, are young women that kill people for a living.

My Rating:

REVIEW: Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever. --Goodreads on The Sea of Shadows

The Good:
The bond between the two sisters was wonderful. It was a relationship that I wish I had with my sister. I don't doubt that my sister and I would journey miles to find each other but these sisters couldn't be separated before this incident.

There was a sense of hope, even when faced with dire circumstances, which made me continue to read. On the flipside, and this is going to sound contradictory, the overwhelming sense of hopelessness also made me keep reading. It's no secret that I'm drawn to dystopian lit and book reminiscent of this genre have just under enough hope to keep you reading. If I thought the sisters had nothing to live for, there would be no sense in reading the book

There was incredible character growth--of a sort. It focused mainly on each sister's relationships with the men that accompanied them. The women were close enough to each other already that they didn't share an even closer bond than what they had before, the only change was their relationship in light of the men. This could go in the "bad" section, too. In fact, I think it will. While the main focus of the book was each sister's quest to find each other, most of the book centered around the borderline romantic relationship they had with the men who, unfortunately, saved them several times over; they were definitely strong leads, though.

I was also pleased that the book volleyed between the two 3rd person perspectives of the sisters as the book progressed. Armstrong did a tremendous job keeping each sisters stories separate from the other so every time you switched sister you were unaware of what had taken place in the time you were visiting, say, Moria and then Ashyn.

The Bad: There were not a lot of negative about this book, which is awesome because who likes to read a bad book? However, I did have some complaints. It went on and on and on and it wasn't necessary at all. We didn't need to spend half the flipping book on their journey through the desert. Because, you know, it was a desert and, after reading this book, I've discovered that there's nothing fun about deserts (except maybe giant worms that will eat you if you step wrong).

Please, sweetie, you don't need a man to protect you, not when you're one of the most powerful girls in the little nation in which you live. The sisters have powers of their own yet the men keep saving them. While this isn't a fairy tale that leaves the sisters in towers with no hope unless a man were there to rescue them, the young women were repeatedly saved when they could have easily saved themselves. That being said, there were plenty of times they were strong, they saved themselves (I'm not over using the word "save", they really were in that much danger repeatedly) but that didn't override the powerlessness they often faced with their men.

What did I really think? Read this book if you liked Throne of Glass (for the fantastical elements and strong female lead) or Rot and Ruin (for the sibling relationship that flourishes in the land of the dead).




Rating:

(For other Goodreads ratings click above. If you'd like to purchase any of these books, click the links/pictures provided. I'll get a little bit of le purchase.)

 

Wednesday Memes, WWW: Sea of Shadows and The Sin Eater's Daughter

I always look at this meme on Wednesdays and feel unprepared. There are so many books already out that I want to read that I disregard ones that will soon be coming out soon. I also don't want to get too excited, because there's no guaranteeing that I'll get a copy to review and I don't want to get my hopes down. But, this time, I actually have two books that I'm looking forward to.

I just read Sea of Shadows, a fantasy/zombie hybrid novel that features two sisters who go on a quest to find each other (to put it very simply). Along the way they encounter many, many obstacles that nearly destroy them. As soon as I finished this book I wanted more. It took a day and a half to read (as did the next book I'm going to mention) and didn't leave me satisfied at all. The second book in Kelley Armstrong's series Age of Legends, will be coming out sometime this year. Now, if only I can get an ARC copy.... *hint hint Harper Collins hint*

 

The second book I'm dying to read the next one of is The Sin Eaters Daughter. This I found out about the month it was released and I jumped at a chance to review it. I read it shortly after reading Throne of Glass so the fantasy element, and the fact it took place in a castle, is something I've been craving as of late. It fulfilled my desire and left me wanting more. It's funny, I have absolutely no clue if there will be a second. Melinda Salisbury left me wanting more and I'd better flipping get more, she can't just leave me hanging like this!