Hall of Records

Whispers Underground

After reading Moon Over Soho, I wasn’t too sure where this series was going and I started this with some trepidation. Luckily, there is so much for me to love in Whispers Underground. Peter Grant is really starting to grow on me. Ben Aaronovitch has a way with words, which he aptly puts into Peter’s mouth as exemplified on page 41 when Peter “instructs” another driver after that one had collided with a car while overtaking Peter’s in the first heavy snowfall that winter (this sentence sounds awkward, but I can’t be bothered to try again just now):

Despite the cold, I lowered the window as I drove carefully past and explained that the superior handling characteristics of a four-wheel-drive vehicle were as naught if one were deficient in basic driving skills.

There were so many references to popular culture, British and other, I delighted in and probably twice as many I didn’t even catch. Pratchett, Tolkien, Lovecraft, Blackadder, Doctor Who, The Last Airbender, Dungeons & Dragons, Conan The Barbarian, Star Trek, The Hulk, etc.

There’s action and suspense and Grant’s dynamic with the supporting characters is always fun and getting better and better. Everyone Peter deals with has a distinctive voice, is funny and witty and adorable in his or her own right. Oh, London would be the place to be if people really were as depicted in Aaronovitch’s novels. Alas, it’s fiction, fantasy even. :) Even tough I’m sure that the percentage of agreeable people is higher in the UK I’m sure they have their fare share of jerks as well. Still, Whispers Underground offers a great escapism fantasy. I want to be in that place and hang around with those people.

Whispers Underground is gripping fun. The main character seems less self-possessed than in the first two books. He might be a bit more humble, but he’s still quite cocky in the face of authority.

I would have loved to have a bit more interaction with Nightingale, but the few mentions there were, were quite gratifying. When Peter finds himself in hospital after being buried alive, this little conversation between him and Leslie ensues:

“Has anyone else visited?” I asked. […]
“Nightingale turned up,” she said. “He was hoping to shout at you a bit to show his affection in a gruff manly and safely nongay way but you were asleep so he just sort of milled around for a while and then off he went.”

Since I still seem to be holding a grudge because of the negligent copy editing of the previous novel, I kept an eye out for avoidable typographical errors. There were nowhere near as many as in the book that disgruntled me so much because of them. So while knowing I’m anal I’m also appeased.

I would recommend Whispers Underground to everyone looking for a quick fun read with a bit of geek cred.

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland

Meh, I don’t know, I don’t know… Bigby is usually one of my favourite characters, but in this story that so very much centres around him, he came across a bit bland and boring. Neither story nor artwork quite worked for me. Probably because I couldn’t relate AT ALL to Bigby’s war buddy’s decision to hook up with the Nazi scientist. Even if they were the only two of their kind and even if animal attraction had taken over, I found his explanations and reasoning tedious. Well, it’s probably a mirror-to-society thing. Bigots and hypocrites, one and all! I really didn’t care for any of the characters, neither the villains or the heroes or the “regular” people. They lacked depth and substance, in my opinion. I wouldn’t have minded the whole damn village being burnt to the ground – as long as it gets Bigby back to his family and Fables duties.

And I don’t understand what kind of atmosphere the artwork was supposed to create either. Some 1930s flair? Didn’t work for me at all. Some 1960s perfect-world-from-the-outside scenario? Nah. Even the fights were rendered less harrowing by this rose-coloured blood and intestines. But there was some fighting at least! And the cover looked so very promising! Well, never judge a ...

I don’t graciously accept any fictionalisation of anything including Nazis for fear that history might be distorted and the very real atrocities committed by the Nazis be made light of. It’s probably because I couldn’t detach myself from this rame of mind that I didn’t appreciate this issue.

Primordia

I don’t really know how to rate this. I was, at first, delighted by the artwork, mostly because I like things being pretty and colourful. I was delighted, but not impressed. Does that make sense? There was a child-like quality to the drawing and colouring, but I like that. I don’t need my graphic novels to be overly realistic or artistic.

I wasn’t that impressed with the story, though. The preface promises an original re-invention of myths, but it didn’t strike me as all that special. The author’s examples of his draft version and his admission that he is not much of an artist, struck me as unnecessarily humble. I was wondering how much time he must have spent drawing these first eight pages. I wished I had an ounce of his talent.

So, I’m giving this an undecided three-star rating. It probably deserves more, but it didn’t blow me away as I had hoped it would. The curse of unattainable expectations!

Gloom Cookie II

A deeper exploration into the history behind the stories of Lex and Damian and Sebastian and Chrys. Also, Vermillion. Yuck.  I’m looking forward to reading more about the Gloom Cookie world.

Gloom Cookie

I liked this one. The characters were cute and interesting and the drawing was excellent. A truly charming read.

Unspoken

Finally a YA story not told from first person POV! I have learnt to be grateful for little reliefs like this when it comes to YA literature these days. And then Unspoken went on to surprise me by being a very entertaining read with a cast of great, really lovable characters. There were some flaws that dampened my enthusiasm a little (but not much) and prevented me from giving this the full five-star rating.

My main issues are with the whole sorcerer aspect of the plot, the ending, and the ever impending love triangle of Doom, but the narrative is really character-driven and I couldn’t help but fall in love with every single one of them (with the exception of Ash, who is mostly meh but still gets a few nice lines in). Every single one of them seems to have a secret or two of their own and I was constantly wondering about the underlying motivations for their actions. Quite riveting!

There’s great dialogue between Kami (my hero!), Angela (my other hero!), Jared, Ash, Holly (well, not so much), Rusty (another one of my favourites). The characterisation of Kami’s parents and her two little brothers is wonderful. I have to admit that I didn’t care much for Kami’s mother once it became apparent hat her past actions seriously affected Kami’s life and she still tried to keep them secret from her daughter. Apart from the secrets, the family dynamic is just as adorable as that between Kami andher friends.

The villains are sinister and one is kept in suspense until the very end as to who the real villains and what their motive are. I’m still not sure that I have quite figured it out since the protagonists’ loyalties seem to constantly change and rearrange themselves.

The first real-life meeting between Kami and Jared is electrifying. Even if not totally surprising, the scene is very well done. Ash and Jared causing a diversion so that Kami can sneak into the lawyer’s office. Pure comic genius!

Yes, I enjoyed this book quite a lot, but I’m also terribly worried about all the things that might go wrong with the next one in the series. It might get terribly downhill from here. I hope that Brennan will pull it off and show me that all my doubts and worries are completely unjustified, because I really grew quite fond of all the characters, especially the female ones, and I don’t want to start disliking them any time soon. I hope to see more of Angela and Rusty in Book 2 since they seem to have an as yet undisclosed guardian role to fulfil. They are kick-ass and super-protective of Kami but never smothering. Kami is the glue that holds together the group of teenagers and if she fails to remain as charming and quirky everything might come apart rather quickly. Of course, there will be tension, but please, please, please don’t let a stupid love triangle be the reason for it.

Boyfriend from Hell

Even though I didn’t quite figure out the actual layout of the Baltimore area in relation to the Zone most of the action takes place in, I really liked the world building.

The whole “Saturn’s daughter” business seemed a bit unnecessary to me as I would have been totally happy with explaining mutations due to chemical (or whatever!) spills.

I guess that Tina would be walking a thin line between being pleasantly sassy and annoyingly obnoxious for some people, I was lucky enough to enjoy her tone most of the time. She needn’t have repeated quite as often that she didn’t want to rely on or be indebted to other people, but in the end her acceptance of their support firmly grounded her in the secret community and she accepted and embraced her part in it, even though she (like the reader) did not quite understand what being a daughter of Saturn entails. We’ll have to wait for the next part in the series, I presume.

Stories, regardless of whether told in novels or TV shows, mostly work through their character dynamics, Boyfriend from Hell has a great cast of supporting and minor characters who make this a truly entertaining read.

Stormdancer - Jay Kristoff 

I didn’t manage to keep my expectations in check while reading this book and see what good it did me. Thanks to all the pre-publication buzz, my expectations were incredibly high. But the book and I didn’t quite click. I agree with other readers that Stormdancer might be considered smarter than your average YA novel in terms of thematic approach and style. However, so many pitfalls should have been avoided instead of taken full in the face. I sort of liked Yukiko and Buruu. I appreciated Yukiko’s dad and his associates. I found the world-building all right, even though it took forever and still remained rather vague in parts. The intrigue was not uninteresting. The style was more elaborate than usual, but still did not quite manage to grab my attention. I’m struggling to come up with nice things to say about the book, even though I did not hate it.

Legend

Somehow all the YA novels I read in autumn 2012, when I had decided that I needed (an overdose of) brain candy, tend to blend together in my memory. I guess that I seriously overindulged and as a consequence all of these novels seemed a bit bland and repetitive with only one or two of them standing out – a bit. Then again, there really is an abundance of YA novels out there that deal with very similar topics, employing similar (dystopian) settings and story-telling devices that I can hardly tell them apart anymore and am having a tough time remembering protagonists’ names and idiosyncrasies.

The recipe seems to go something like this: Throw together an “unlikely pair” of teenagers from different social backgrounds, one sheltered and blind to what is going on around them, one hardened by life and circumstances and aware of glimpses of “The Truth”, isolate them in their flight from or fight against evil superpowers/corrupt government/ societal restrictions/supernatural adversaries/etc., have them overcome a number of obstacles and weather dangerous situations in their lonely fight for freedom/truth/peace/love so they grow dependent on one another and learn to appreciate the assets each of them brings to the partnership. Having them fall madly in love with one another but be restrained by doubts and trust issues is an integral and mandatory part of the mix. Occasionally season with a sprinkle of betrayal, real or perceived, to add spice and heartbreak. Finish with a forced cliff hanger. There. Done.

Well, it’s not fair of me to take out my boredom with the repetitiveness of the genre on this particular novel. Legend at the very least attempts to be different by telling the story from the perspective of both male and female protagonist alternately – in present tense even – with different and differently coloured fonts and all. Actually, I quite enjoyed reading this. June and Day develop a nice dynamic and they grow into strong and independent characters before they team up. They do start out as enemies fighting each other after all. Both protagonists’ family background is truly heartbreaking. Poor June! Poor Day! There’s a big conspiracy afoot and a lot of action and unanswered questions to keep me interested. I’m pretty sure that I will pick up the second part of the series once I have sufficiently recovered from this recent YA overdose.

Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson 

This is one of the books I wished I’d had a chance to read when I was a child. I’m sure that it might have been one of my favourites then, exposed to constant re-reading with the never-changing outcome of my sitting in my reading nook a sobbing wreck. As a callous and disillusioned grown-up I wasn’t as gripped as I undoubtedly would have been as a child. The book probably deserves an objective 4-5 stars rating (it’s a Newbery award winner, isn’t it?), but since my ratings are supposed to reflect my very personal reading pleasure I’ll give it a generous 3-3.5 rating. I’m old. I’m a cynic. I saw these things coming, even if I wanted to be proven wrong.

Delirium (Delirium Series #1) - Lauren Oliver 

I had read some less than glowing reviews of this one but didn’t pay them any heed because I loved Liesl and Po and Before I Fall and was sure that Oliver’s superb writing skills would enchant me once again. Unfortunately, the main protagonists Lena and Alex were not that interesting to me. I found Hana, Lena’s best friend, and Grace, Lena’s cousin, far more engaging and there was too little of them.

Oliver tries to tackle a lot of topics in this book and does so rather convincingly, but maybe less would have been to succeed in satisfying this reader. Topical themes: choice, freedom, oppression, propaganda, manipulation of power, totalitarian regimes.

The Fall

For some reason, it took me forever to finish this book. Weirdly enough, Horror seems to make me very sleepy.

The combination of scientists, exterminators, and opposing gangbangers establishing a truce to go vampire hunting should have kept me on my toes at all times. I was never even bored. The storytelling is interspersed with snippets from Fet’s blog, Eph’s diary, and anecdotes from Setrakian’s past, which really make for swift reading. Maybe I could blame the middle-book syndrome, which made it clear from the onset that the conflict could not be solved in it, that my attention wavered and I was carried over into the land of dreams more than once. Or maybe I was just exhausted and tired from this thing called life.

I had a hard time suspending my disbelief near the end, though, because the reaction to nuclear catastrophe seemed a bit too level-headed and not evoking the amount of terror it warrants in my opinion. Yes, an infestation of an evil, all-powerful vampire plague is horrific, but nuclear power plants blowing up right around the corner seems far more frightening to me.

I wish we would have learned more about what the book, Occido Lumen reveals, but I guess that is something we have to watch the characters figure out themselves in the third instalment.

I also assume that a few new players will be added to the game in book 3. I’m especially curious to find out what will happen to Zack and what role he’s going to play in the final showdown – if there will be a final showdown and if he will survive that long. I fear the worst but secretly hope for a happy family reunion.

Moon Over Soho

I thought that I had already reviewed this months ago, but it seems that I hadn’t, probably because I was so disgruntled about things that have nothing to do with the author’s writing and I wanted to give my annoyance a chance to simmer down and not get in the way of a fair rating. Thing is, the copy editing in the edition I read was quite negligent – scratch that - atrocious to non-existent and it really throws a monkey wrench into my reading pleasure when I have to read a sentence several times for fear that I’m missing something important only to realize that no one bothered to correct the typos, repeated and omitted words and wrong prepositions and such. Yes, I have a mean and petty cast of mind. I know.

What I enjoyed most in the novel were Peter Grant’s fun observations and remarks about London, his fellow Londoners, the MET, Nightingale, etc. I love the continuous banter between the characters. Plot development and solving the mystery took second place to the joyful dynamic between Peter and everyone he encounters.

I have to admit to having had a bit of a problem with the narrative from a very honest male point of view. In Rivers of London, Peter repeatedly made reference to the massive crush he had on Lesley. Being a man, he took the chance to get laid by someone else whenever it presented itself, but I had somehow expected Lesley to remain his number one (if unattainable) fantasy. Sure, I’ve heard before that a man can profess to be deeply in love with one woman yet sleep with every other woman who shows an interest and even have a relationship with a woman other than the one he proclaimed his love for. Well, I guess so can women. :) If a friend talked to me about similar love related issues I wouldn’t hesitate to call them out on such double standards whether they likes it or not. Since I cannot talk to Peter (I could try but I’m not sure he can hear me) and tell him what I think of his behaviour I was always slightly annoyed when his narrative turned to his sexual exploits while Lesley might be in great need of a friend. Granted, Peter tried to reconnect with Lesley and she was the one who tried to shut him out. And peter will never abandon Lesley, even if his former love for her might turn into a deep friendship. Also, since there always seems to be magic involved in his sexual endeavours, I should probably cut him some slack. And he is a man and can’t help himself. So, yes he’s forgiven.

I really hope that Lesley will get to play a bigger role again in future instalments in the series and that she and Peter will get to work as a team again. The ending of Moon Over Soho certainly seems to indicate a development in that direction.

Dodger

Strangely enough, it always takes me a while to get into Pratchett’s books for younger readers. They appear more sombre and the message seems to be hammered into the reader’s mind from the onset. I don’t like being lectured and I struggle to see past the didactic purposes and actually enjoy a story as it unfolds.

That being said, the novel is populated with some fascinating protagonists and the characterisation is as great as usual. I think I loved Solomon most of all. Charlie Dickens not so much, but that might have less to do with Pratchett’s depicting him as an upper-class snob than with my lack of appreciation for the actual Dicken’s oeuvre. Dodger is a likeable hero, someone who uses his street smarts and survival skills for the benefit of those less lucky and resilient than himself. He might be calle a little dim at times, but he tries to remedy his lack of education at every opportunity he gets and we see that he would have to be considered a genius if upbringing had placed him on another rung of the social ladder. But he’ll get there…
There was quite a bit of name dropping and I had been hoping for an appearance, however brief, of “young Karl” until the very end.

This will not make it to the top of my list of books to re-read time an again, but it will most certainly make it on my list of gifts for younger readers.

Cinderella- Fables are Forever

A spy action story with Cinderella and Dorothy as biter opponents. Fun.