Category: Fantasy

51miBYV+mkL

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Posted on by Michelle Huss
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4 Stars (4 / 5)

Three Dark Crowns #1
I liken the plot of Three Dark Crowns to spinning plates. As more and more plates are added, you becoming fascinated by the spinning, mesmerized by the swirling and constant momentum. And then there is a sudden crash breaking the silence, and you gasp as you see one of the plates smashed on the ground. You cringe expecting more to follow. But that’s it, there are no more casualties, except they are adding more plates. But everything is fine, and you start to relax, until another plate falls again. And everything continues in this manner, and every once in a while a plate breaks, but it’s okay because the overall spectacle continues as planned. And then suddenly, there is a cacophonous explosion as plate upon plate smashes to the ground, and it’s over before you even realize what has happened. But for one plate. One plate still spinning. And despite the fact that the show should be over, you can’t stop watching that one plate…to see what will happen.

Sorry for that rambling analogy, but that’s the best way that I can describe the pacing and flow of this delicious little novel. Kendare crafts a wonderfully tangled web of relationships between three sisters, three schools of magic, and the entities all struggling for power. It takes a little while to get into the story, as you’re introduced to the personality of each sister and the culture and customs of each society. But I soon found myself fascinated, glued to the page as I devoured this book in short order.

I can’t figure out which of the queens I like best, and so I still have no one to root for. At first I was drawn to Katherine, with her dark training and fierce resolve. Then I came to admire Arsinoe, her steadfast independence and unwavering loyalty. And then there is Mirabella; Mirabella who doesn’t have a cruel bone in her body and loves her sisters despite knowing what she is intended to do. There are wonderful side characters in here too: Jules, Billy, Pietyr, Elizabeth, and even Natalia (Joseph I just want to punch in the face).

My one complaint would be that the book ends just as the plot is really beginning to unfold. It is definitely not a book that would stand well on its own; you have to continue reading to get the whole story. But it was super engaging and interesting enough that I think that most people will be as eager to pick up the sequel as I am.

51miBYV+mkL

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

Posted on by Michelle Huss
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3.5 Stars (3.5 / 5)

DC Icons #2
This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I can’t say that I was disappointed. Having watched the batman cartoons growing up, and having seen every Batman movie of the last 30 years, I was expecting the caped crusader running around and beating up bad guys. What I got from Lu was much more cerebral. Much more about the psychology of reading people and understanding who they are. About digging deeper than what you see on the surface, and finding out what lies underneath.

If I were to have a complaint about Nightwalker, it’s that the pacing is a little slow for the “superhero” genre. Though it was there, I felt that there wasn’t quite enough ass kicking for it to feel like a superhero book. Also, I don’t feel like it took Bruce’s character quite far enough to give me the “Batman” feel. Where I was expecting a Batman origin story, I instead feel like we just got a snapshot of the journey…and I didn’t get the journey’s end that I was looking for.

But the characters and the plot were great. I was surprised by how much I came to enjoy the interactions between Bruce and Madeleine, even as I knew he was playing with fire. And seeing other cannon characters, such as Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent, was great. Overall, a fun read.

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Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Posted on by Michelle Huss
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4 Stars (4 / 5)

Magonia #1

What a strange, but moving story. What is ultimately a fantasy tale starts out as a story of love and loss so profound that it made me tear up a little (and I can count on one hand the number of books that have done that to me). The fantasy elements of the novel are unique and different, about a whole world of beings that live in the sky. While exploring this new world from Aza’s point of view, we deal with the emotional turmoil of her “death” from Jason’s point of view. And I have to say, that despite the strange and beautiful world the Aza introduces to us, I was most drawn in by Jason’s journey: of love, loss, desperation, and discovery.

It takes a little bit of time to get used to Aza’s rambling style of narration, though it allows us to get a great snapshot of her history and character in just a few short chapters. Though the fantasy potion of the story was new and different, I didn’t feel like it was developed as well as it could have been. Our view of this new world was limited to the happenings of one airship, but there are mentions of huge sky cities to explore. Hopefully the next novel in the series will broaden its scope a bit.

The audio performance of this novel is phenomenal! The two narrators, Therese Plumber and Michael Crouch, alternate reading chapters from Aza and Jason’s POV respectively. There is so much heart and feeling put into the narration, that I really believed in their characters. I’m not sure that I would have enjoyed the book as much if I’d read it on my own.

51miBYV+mkL

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Posted on by Michelle Huss
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4 Stars (4 / 5)

DC Icons #1
While I am a big fan of the superhero genre (in movies and cartoons), this is my first time reading it. I really enjoyed Bardugo’s take on Wonder Woman and her first foray into modern society. Diana was just what you would expect from a budding superhero: hungry to prove herself, yet still unsure of her abilities. The cast of support characters was great: Alia, Jason, Nim, and Theo all had their little quirks and idiosyncrasies, which made them unique and believable. The concept of the Warbringer was interesting, weaving moments of true history into the supernatural tale. The pacing was quick and fun, a great action-adventure read. As a stand alone, the plot is simple enough to be well-contained to this book, but still touched on some broader topics to give the book depth and character. There were a few things that I didn’t love about the ending, but I can’t speak much to them without major spoilers. Overall, a great read.

Spoiler
While I didn’t love Jason’s double cross at the end, I think that had a lot more to do with the fact that Bardugo did such a good job of making him a likeable character that I didn’t “want” him to be evil. What I “want” isn’t exactly what’s best for the story and it made the villain into someone more human, so it’s forgivable. What did bother me, however, is Diana’s death and subsequent rebirth as a “true” amazon. I just felt disappointed that she died at all. She should have been better than that! She should have been able to persevere without the gods intervention! I just felt like that cheapened her character and she would have come out as a stronger heroine without the “oops, do-over.”
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Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

Posted on by Michelle Huss
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3 Stars (3 / 5)

Shadowshaper #1
There are some things are really loved about Shadowshaper: the fact that the heroine and supporting character’s were persons of color, the whole spirit and shadowshaping mythology, and art’s connection to the spirits. Unfortunately, there was just nothing unique about the story arc to draw me in. The details were different, but the overall story followed the same path as many others that I’ve read: girl discovers supernatural world running alongside her own, girl discovers big bad guy out to do evil things, girl discovers great power within herself and defeats big baddie. It’s a story I’ve read many times in many different iterations, and I just didn’t feel that there wasn’t anything new or innovative about Older’s story.

But I am happy that this book exists. I found the idea of Shadowshaping interesting and I feel like there is a lot more that could be explored. I’m curious to see where the story goes from here. I also have to give a cheer for having a heroine of color, we need more of them. This leads to some great social commentary about racial profiling and inequality. It’s introduced subtly so as not so smack you in the face with it, but is present just enough to make the reader think and start the conversation.

I hope that in the next book, Older stretches the boundaries of the plotline a little bit, and gives us something we aren’t expecting. I’m looking for a plot with a few more twists, turns, and surprises, and not one that just follows a standard formula.