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alexwearspantsHeee! It's been stinking hot here the past few days, but I (finally) remembered that I have ice packs in the freezer! No more depending only on the fan, which I love (don't leave me bb), but which at times feels like it is only moving the hot air around. Alex vs. Nature = 1 for the mad guys!
I'm especially pleased with the look of the new book I bought yesterday, which is called Graceling. It's part of my new (until now sooper sekrit) initiative, which goes like this: 1 pay, 1 book. Which means one new book a fortnight! Yessss!
Last pay's book was a YA little gem called Fireworks and Darkness by Natalie Jane Prior. It had three things going for it from the beginning; Australian author, cover boy who looks a little like Peter, and as my sister delighted in pointing out 'Daddy Issues!' Or as the blurb would put it,
"Simeon Runciman is a firework maker who used to be a dark magician; a difficult man with a dangerous past. His son, Casimir, has always known a part of the truth about him. But when Simeon's enemy, the sinister magician, Circastes, reappears in their lives intent on revenge, Casimir is caught in a web of murder, deceit and magic. Forced to fight for his own survival, Casimir must also confront the harsh truth of who his father is and what he has done, as well of the real nature of the magic that he wields."
The book has a lot to recommend it. It's fast-paced, dreadfully realistic at times, and makes interesting something I'd never really thought much about before, firework making. I won't ever use 'gritty' to describe a book if I can avoid it, but I will say one of the draws of this book was that NJP is not afraid to follow through on the consequences of her character's actions. At one point it is mentioned that Simeon has raised Casimir in the fireworks trade so that if everything falls apart he has a useful way to get into the army for a living, in another the captured rebels, instead of escaping or being nobly rescued, are tortured and then killed. Not, it should be mentioned, for Evol or Dark purposes, but merely for political expediency.
In fact the only Dark people in the novella are magicians, including Casimir's father, which again brings in those ever popular Daddy Issues. This is due to the way magic is set up in Casimir's world, where nothing can ever be created, only traded or changed. And so when Simeon at the very beginning of the story is forced to use magic for the first time in years to save Casimir's life, he has to kill another boy to do so. This is explained quite coldly to Casimir when Simeon tells him, "'...when you fell from that machine last night and I caught you, somewhere in the world, a boy your own age had to die. I don't know who he was, or where he lived, but his death was necessary to balance out the power I used to pervert the laws of nature and save you.' " Magic here is not a get out of gaol free card. And just because someone loves you doesn't mean they won't do terrible things, in fact sometimes they will do the most terrible of things because they love you.
The complexity of the relationships (Casimir's ever-changing and childish and very, very real take on Ruth, his father's lover, is a favourite) and the quality of the writing (the smell of magic is compared to gunpowder, spiky and dangerous, and I love it when people bring in other senses than sight and sound) in F&D are definite bonuses as well. It sometimes lacked narrative flow, and occaisionally I wanted to smack Casimir upside the head, and a little part of me craved my happy ending, but the only real problem I had with this book was that it was so short, more a mouthful than a meal. I probably won't read again soon, but I will be recommending to everyone under the age of 16 that I know.
Coming off that does remind me. I mentioned I liked the cover of Fireworks and Darkness, and I have to admit a good cover is a great draw. My 1 Book Per Pay deal doesn't work in the way that I buy Discworld or Gaiman books, for example. It's as much to get me out of my reading rut as anything else, and so rather than shop around for the best deal or bulk buy off Amazon for the things I already know I like, I just walk into the store and wander around until I find the book that I like the look of best. This generally involves three to four steps, which are
1. Cover or title to get me picking it up
2. Blurb to see if it's the kind of story I like, and
3. If it gets that far reading the first sentence/paragraph to see how the writing and set-up pulls me in. Sometimes I flick to a middle page and see how the writing holds up there as well. If I've found more than one that suits all those criteria we then will sometimes get to
4. Ask the advice of the person I've dragged along with me.
It's wrong and unfair almost to have cover art as the first step, or even as any step, but that's why there are others to make sure (as much as possible without reading) that it's also a readable book. I've read plenty of good books with crap covers, and vice versa, and I will pick up a book whose cover doesn't look promising, but it's an immediate advantage to have a cover such as Graceling's, the cover of which is dark and striking and immediately draws the eye. Covers are, of course, a personal thing too - Fireworks and Darkness does not, I believe, have the best layout as a cover, but the fact that the cover model looks like someone I like hits a personal kink, much as b&w plus pretty girl pulls at my subconscious on Graceling. (Also for some reason oversized swords - suck on that Freud!)
So. I try not to judge a book by it's cover. But a good cover does help put you in the race to be judged.
Anyway, having finally gotten that giant post out of my system, I'm off to read my shiny new book and wait upon a call from Mother. Just to highlight the other two steps, by the way, I should tell you that Graceling's blurb is
"In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.
As a Graced killer who has been able to kill a man with her bare hands from the age of eight, she's forced to work as the king's thug. Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa's life.
Yet Katsa remains defiant, and when the King of Liend's father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?
The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue surrounding the kidnapping offers her a way out - and little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery, something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one eyed king..."
And the first two sentences, to whet the appetite.
"In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind. One that had so far proven correct, as Oll's maps tended to do."
Killing as a gift and political intrigue? Why, give me a side of strong female character and I'm in!
This has been going around the internet like whoah, but I think everyone should see it who hasn't. Because some things are so angry-making the only way to stop the frustration is to send them up.
I'm especially pleased with the look of the new book I bought yesterday, which is called Graceling. It's part of my new (until now sooper sekrit) initiative, which goes like this: 1 pay, 1 book. Which means one new book a fortnight! Yessss!
Last pay's book was a YA little gem called Fireworks and Darkness by Natalie Jane Prior. It had three things going for it from the beginning; Australian author, cover boy who looks a little like Peter, and as my sister delighted in pointing out 'Daddy Issues!' Or as the blurb would put it,
"Simeon Runciman is a firework maker who used to be a dark magician; a difficult man with a dangerous past. His son, Casimir, has always known a part of the truth about him. But when Simeon's enemy, the sinister magician, Circastes, reappears in their lives intent on revenge, Casimir is caught in a web of murder, deceit and magic. Forced to fight for his own survival, Casimir must also confront the harsh truth of who his father is and what he has done, as well of the real nature of the magic that he wields."
The book has a lot to recommend it. It's fast-paced, dreadfully realistic at times, and makes interesting something I'd never really thought much about before, firework making. I won't ever use 'gritty' to describe a book if I can avoid it, but I will say one of the draws of this book was that NJP is not afraid to follow through on the consequences of her character's actions. At one point it is mentioned that Simeon has raised Casimir in the fireworks trade so that if everything falls apart he has a useful way to get into the army for a living, in another the captured rebels, instead of escaping or being nobly rescued, are tortured and then killed. Not, it should be mentioned, for Evol or Dark purposes, but merely for political expediency.
In fact the only Dark people in the novella are magicians, including Casimir's father, which again brings in those ever popular Daddy Issues. This is due to the way magic is set up in Casimir's world, where nothing can ever be created, only traded or changed. And so when Simeon at the very beginning of the story is forced to use magic for the first time in years to save Casimir's life, he has to kill another boy to do so. This is explained quite coldly to Casimir when Simeon tells him, "'...when you fell from that machine last night and I caught you, somewhere in the world, a boy your own age had to die. I don't know who he was, or where he lived, but his death was necessary to balance out the power I used to pervert the laws of nature and save you.' " Magic here is not a get out of gaol free card. And just because someone loves you doesn't mean they won't do terrible things, in fact sometimes they will do the most terrible of things because they love you.
The complexity of the relationships (Casimir's ever-changing and childish and very, very real take on Ruth, his father's lover, is a favourite) and the quality of the writing (the smell of magic is compared to gunpowder, spiky and dangerous, and I love it when people bring in other senses than sight and sound) in F&D are definite bonuses as well. It sometimes lacked narrative flow, and occaisionally I wanted to smack Casimir upside the head, and a little part of me craved my happy ending, but the only real problem I had with this book was that it was so short, more a mouthful than a meal. I probably won't read again soon, but I will be recommending to everyone under the age of 16 that I know.
Coming off that does remind me. I mentioned I liked the cover of Fireworks and Darkness, and I have to admit a good cover is a great draw. My 1 Book Per Pay deal doesn't work in the way that I buy Discworld or Gaiman books, for example. It's as much to get me out of my reading rut as anything else, and so rather than shop around for the best deal or bulk buy off Amazon for the things I already know I like, I just walk into the store and wander around until I find the book that I like the look of best. This generally involves three to four steps, which are
1. Cover or title to get me picking it up
2. Blurb to see if it's the kind of story I like, and
3. If it gets that far reading the first sentence/paragraph to see how the writing and set-up pulls me in. Sometimes I flick to a middle page and see how the writing holds up there as well. If I've found more than one that suits all those criteria we then will sometimes get to
4. Ask the advice of the person I've dragged along with me.
It's wrong and unfair almost to have cover art as the first step, or even as any step, but that's why there are others to make sure (as much as possible without reading) that it's also a readable book. I've read plenty of good books with crap covers, and vice versa, and I will pick up a book whose cover doesn't look promising, but it's an immediate advantage to have a cover such as Graceling's, the cover of which is dark and striking and immediately draws the eye. Covers are, of course, a personal thing too - Fireworks and Darkness does not, I believe, have the best layout as a cover, but the fact that the cover model looks like someone I like hits a personal kink, much as b&w plus pretty girl pulls at my subconscious on Graceling. (Also for some reason oversized swords - suck on that Freud!)
So. I try not to judge a book by it's cover. But a good cover does help put you in the race to be judged.
Anyway, having finally gotten that giant post out of my system, I'm off to read my shiny new book and wait upon a call from Mother. Just to highlight the other two steps, by the way, I should tell you that Graceling's blurb is
"In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.
As a Graced killer who has been able to kill a man with her bare hands from the age of eight, she's forced to work as the king's thug. Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa's life.
Yet Katsa remains defiant, and when the King of Liend's father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?
The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue surrounding the kidnapping offers her a way out - and little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery, something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one eyed king..."
And the first two sentences, to whet the appetite.
"In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind. One that had so far proven correct, as Oll's maps tended to do."
Killing as a gift and political intrigue? Why, give me a side of strong female character and I'm in!
This has been going around the internet like whoah, but I think everyone should see it who hasn't. Because some things are so angry-making the only way to stop the frustration is to send them up.
