Book Review: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

On February 18, 2015February 15, 2015 By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, ReviewsLeave a comment

I’m closing in on my 30th Discworld read! I just finished my 29th, Raising Steam, also the most recent in the series. After 29 books, I can say with confidence that Discworld books are amazing, hilarious and brilliant–except unfortunately, this particular one wasn’t. Still a decent read, but not quite on the level I look for from Discworld.

I’ve really fought not to admit that Discworld may be going downhill…and it’s because I know Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and that makes me so sad, and I’m so impressed that he’s still bringing out new books. I Shall Wear Midnight and Snuff both featured…some choices I probably wouldn’t have made, but they were choices, it’s a preference thing, and they were still very good books. Raising Steam, however, has some real problems. It’s not a bad book–but the past 28 set the bar very high, and this book didn’t manage to scramble over it.

As you might guess from the title, in this installment steam power comes to Discworld. Specifically, an engineer from the hinterlands of Stolat has invented a steam-powered locomotive, and brought her (always “her”) to the big city of Ankh-Morpork. He lines up an investor, and both the world and city tyrant Lord Vetinari begin to take notice. Vetinari summons up Moist von Lipwig, one-time conman and current Chairman of the Royal Bank, and sends him as a government representative to grease wheels as-needed. Continue reading “Book Review: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett” →

Book Review: Snow in Summer

On January 7, 2015January 9, 2015 By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, Reviews4 Comments

Despite mixed feelings about Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, I decided to give another Jane Yolen fairy tale retelling a try: Snow in Summer, a retelling of Snow White. And…I have mixed feelings! But in a very different way.

Snow in Summer (called Summer for day to day) lives in the Appalachians in the 1930s. Her mother dies when she is young, and her father retreats into himself, with little regard for his daughter or anything else. But at least Summer has Cousin Nancy, her godmother who looks after her in her father’s distraction. Until one day Summer’s father meets a mysterious woman and falls under her spell. Summer wants to love her new Stepmama, even if she calls her Snow, assigns chores, and bans Cousin Nancy from the house. But Summer’s father grows ever more listless, and Stepmama has plans for her stepdaughter.

There’s a lot that’s really intriguing here. Yolen played with the elements of the original fairy tale to create something that’s familiar and new. She weaves in the Appalachian setting and culture, while somehow making it work seamlessly with the presence of a magic mirror. Snow White’s father has always been strangely absent in the original, and Yolen builds that into a tragedy of a father who is physically present but emotionally inaccessible to his daughter. Continue reading “Book Review: Snow in Summer” →

Book Reviews: Wolfskin and Foxmask

On December 29, 2014December 8, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews1 Comment

I first read Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier in 2009–and even though it was excellent, it took me five years to finally get to the sequel. Partially that’s because, in the intervening time, I also read Marillier’s six-book Sevenwaters series, and her Bridei Chronicles trilogy. It wasn’t until I reread Wolfskin that I also realized another possible reason. Marillier writes amazing, powerful, emotionally-intense books…and they’re kind of exhausting! I highly recommend everything she writes, but I also highly recommend blocking off substantial time for reading–and you probably want to bring tissues.

On the other hand, after reading 13 of Marillier’s books, I can promise you that (so far) she always delivers a happy ending! Even though, very often, it seems impossible…

Since I often review YA, I think I better note that, despite having young characters, these books are definitely for older readers, due to both specific content and “adult themes,” as they say.

Wolfskin begins in Norway around 1000 AD, or maybe earlier (I can’t find the time nailed down anywhere!) Eyvind dreams of growing up to be a Wolfskin, powerful Viking warriors who care for nothing but the call of Thor leading them into battle. Eyvind befriends Somerled, a solemn, scholarly boy who dreams of becoming king, and they make a vow of loyalty as blood brothers. As adults, Eyvind becomes the warrior he wished to be–and his vow draws him with Somerled on an expedition to the Light Isles. Here Eyvind (and the reader) meet Nessa, princess of the Folk and priestess of ancient mysteries. Her people are threatened by these new arrivals, and Eyvind finds himself torn between loyalty and conscience.

Marillier brings us into a fascinating and very grim world of the Vikings, where honor and loyalty are powerful forces, and vowing allegiance to the death is not in the slightest bit metaphorical. Continue reading “Book Reviews: Wolfskin and Foxmask” →

Book Review: Hogfather

On December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews3 Comments

Here on this planet, Christmas will soon be upon us, and you can hardly miss seeing the image of jolly old Santa Claus. But on Discworld (a flat disc on the back of four elephants, on the back of a turtle), the end of the year is celebrated with Hogswatch, and children put out meat pies and turnips for the jolly Hogfather, who delivers presents in his sled pulled by four enormous boars. So I decided that Christmas time was the perfect time for a reread of Hogfather by Terry Pratchett.

Hogfather centers on Susan, who is trying very hard to be normal, even though she happens to be Death’s granddaughter (by adoption). She even got a job as a governess, and is determinedly proper and refined, although she does have a poker ready to hand to bash bogeyman and other monsters of childhood. But then on Hogswatch Eve, the Hogfather comes down the chimney…and despite the false beard, Susan promptly recognizes Death, who has inexplicably taken on the job. Has the old skeleton finally lost it, or is something more going on? Meanwhile, the Guild of Assassins has received a very mysterious contract, and assigned it out to Teatime (pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh, though no one gets it right), a problematic student who makes assassins nervous. Continue reading “Book Review: Hogfather” →

Book Review: Curse of the Thirteenth Fey by Jane Yolen

On December 8, 2014October 27, 2014 By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews, Young Adult2 Comments

I grabbed two fairy tale retellings close together recently, and read two very different versions of Sleeping Beauty. I reviewed Sleeping Beauty’s Daughters last week, and today I’m looking at Curse of the Thirteenth Fey by Jane Yolen.

Gorse is the thirteenth fey of the title, the youngest in her large family of Shouting Feys. She grows up in a clannish circle, in an idyllic valley—and even if the folly and belvedere and other buildings the family lives in are a little run-down, Gorse loves her home. But she also loves reading about other places in her father’s library, and is horrified to learn her family is under a Vow to never leave their home. When the king Bids the Shouting Feys to come to his daughter’s christening, thirteen-year-old Gorse sets off late—and meets an accident along the way that traps her with two fairy princes who need her help to escape.

I think Jane Yolen is one of those authors people know, right? Wizard’s Hall is what comes to mind for me, but I suspect she’s known for lots of other books too. And that’s one reason I really wish I had liked this more than I did—and I really think I should have liked it more than I did! The problem was the subtitle, describing this as “The True Tale of Sleeping Beauty.” Any story claiming to be the “true” version of any fairy tale can smack a bit of arrogance…but the real trouble here is that most of the story wasn’t about Sleeping Beauty.

I liked the first hundred pages or so quite a lot. Yolen set up an interesting world, I enjoyed Gorse and her family, and there was enough mix of world-building and obstacles to keep me engaged. And then we got to the part about the christening, with the delightful additional note that this particular baby princess is known for her unceasing crying. But Gorse gets interrupted en route to the christening, and while her resulting adventure is interesting too…it took far too long for me to realize that this wasn’t a delay or distraction from the main plot, but actually was the main plot.

Most of the novel is spent with the two princes belowground, as Gorse figures out their history, and realizes that neither prince was what he seemed to be on first impressions. I liked the character development here, of the princes and of Gorse, as she learns about the limits (and opportunities) of her abilities, and the importance of her own confidence.

I think if I had come into this looking for simply a fantasy story, I would have liked all of it just fine. Except…it was supposed to be Sleeping Beauty! And we didn’t even get to the christening until nearly the end of the book. Which left me spending too much time wondering when we were going to get on to what was (theoretically) the main event.

I have to cautiously recommend this one. It’s a genuinely good fantasy! It’s just not a very good version of Sleeping Beauty, considering that story became little more than an epilogue. So don’t go in expecting more than that on the fairy tale, and you will probably like this just fine—maybe more than I did!

Author’s Site: http://janeyolen.com/

Other reviews:
Charlotte’s Library
Quixotic Magpie
The Book Brownie
Anyone else?

Buy it here: Curse of the Thirteenth Fey