REVIEW: The Inheritance Cycle

Also known as "The-Lord-of-the-Rings-Star-Wars-Belgariad-Doctor-Who-If-It's-Fantasy-And-Published-It's-In-Here-Somewhere" Book

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away my Little Brother told me about a book called Eragon. Staring a farm boy named Eragon who found a magical dragon egg and became a Dragon Rider. Of course Eragon lives in a fantasy world ruled by an Evil Dark Lord and only Eragon can defeat him. You know, the usual stuff.

I've been trying to write this Review for a while now, but it's been difficult. I think the major problem is that I have been trying to write a spoiler free review, like I usually write. Given the nature of these books I think I'm going to have to give up on my usual format.

From here on, there will be spoilers:

When I finished reading the third book in the Inheritance Cycle, I vowed to myself that I would finish this series even if it killed me. My logic was that I had already fought my way through 1,934 pages... I might as well see this to the very bitter end. I might as well find out how the story ended... maybe this was going to be that one series where the author pulls a fast one and the villain will win. Honestly, if that was how it ended this series would have been worth the uphill climb. But Paolini isn't one to break tradition.

I have a few theories why this book didn't work out so well.

THE LENGTH
Sitting at a whopping 849 pages, Inheritance is one of the larger books that I have ever read.. but it doesn't really need to be. Lets take for example, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Each of the books in that series is around 600-800 pages long, yet the length works. Something is always happening. There are no tangents, every sentence is part of a well oiled machine that serves a purpose. In the case of Inheritance, the novel goes off on tangents that aren't vital at all. They could be completely cut out and it wouldn't even be noticeable that they were missing. If you were to take Brisingr for example, stuff happens at the beginning, then there are 600 pages of padding then something at the end. In the case of Inheritance, the book meanders around for a while eventually leading to Eragon to face off with Galbitorax in one of the most anti-climactic endings ever.

Looking back at Eragon and Eldest, I'm not sure if they suffered from the same problem as the last two. It's been years since I read them and I really have no interest to go back and try them again. Maybe I'm being a little too hard here. The thing is I just don't care.

LETS TALK ABOUT ERAGON AS A CHARACTER
The biggest question that needs to be asked is what makes a likeable character? For me I would say it is complexity. When I think of the books I love with a passion, the characters who inhabit them are mutli-dimensional. They're more than a stereotype, you can believe that they could exist in the real world (personality-wise). Not to say there are certain books that I love where the characters are stereotypes, but that's a topic for another day. When you break down Eragon's character he is lacking flaws. He suffers from the Richard Cypher Syndrome. Since he is the Protagonist, he has to be awesome. He just works so hard to be so awesome you just have to love him. But you don't. Eragon is completely unrelate-able to his readers. He goes through NO CHARACTER development in THE ENTIRE NOVEL. You just don't care what he does. The weight of the entire world is supposed to be on this boy's shoulders, but that stress and (I can just hear the fangirls screaming and sharpening the pitchforks) the pressure doesn't seem to effect him at all, other than him mentioning once in while that the job seems so hard. He doesn't suffer though, in fact he leaves the army and his advisors behind to go and do other stuff. I mean REALLY?

THREE GOOD CHAPTERS? 
Surprisingly yes, there were three good chapters. About one third into the book, Eragon and friends are captured by a religious cult that worships the Raz'ac. I guess it's my fascination with cults and black magic portrayed in books... but these chapters were actually interesting. Or maybe it was because Eragon did seem like he was actually in a bit of trouble during these sequences. As I mentioned in the character section, you get so used to Eragon being awesome and always able to save himself... and here he is... screwed. Of course Eragon is able to escape. But you just kind of hope he doesn't.

FUTURISTIC STUFF EXPLAINED IN MAGICAL TERMS (LIKE BOMBS)
So, I think this was what my biggest issue was. Eragorn, Saphira and Glaedr travel to Vroengard Island where the Dragon Riders used to reside. Unbeknowest to them it is now a severely dangerous place. During the battle with the Foresworn, one of the elves cast a spell that caused him to explode. But wait, there is more this explosion caused a sickness to spread across the land... for things to change... to mutate.. for people to get sick... and it left a crater.

Yes.

Yes.

Are you catching my drift? The Elf went nuclear and there was RADIATION. But because this is a fantasy book... that can't be said. This just bugged me to no end. I don't really know exactly why. It felt to forced? It seemed like a cop-out? I'm not exactly sure.

But this ties into the ending.

KILLING WITH LOVE: MAKE YOUR EVIL OVERLORD GO NUCLEAR IN TEN EASY STEPS!
So, we have all been waiting for this moment. Eragon and Galbatorix have to have their epic face off. This is it, the most epic battle of the century and Galibatorix pretty much wipes the group out with one foul swoop. You see, our Evil Overlord has figured out the name of the Ancient Language, none of Eragorn and Co.'s magic can touch him. At this point it feels like the book has hit a wall. How can Eragon get around this one? Well somehow Murtaugh has found out the name too and he saves everyone. The Eragon is able to cast a spell to make Galbatorix feel EVERY EMOTION EVER. But mainly love.

Yes. It's happened. This is a book that kills the villain with love. I'm seriously having flashbacks to my childhood and the Care Bears.

So poor Galbatorix can't handle ALL OF THE FEELINGS and goes nuclear... just like that poor Elf at Vroengard. BAM. His castle explodes, nuclear radiation floods the city. But Eragon saves them all. Because he's Eragon and that's just what he does.

OVERALL THOUGHTS AND ANGRY RANTING
As you can tell from this review... I hated this book and I hated this series. What the book really needed was someone to help cut down on the useless information and keep the story on a straightforward path, not let it wander off in random directions.

The internet seems to love these books and I can't really understand why. But I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

I would like to hear other people's thoughts and opinions on this one.

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

I've heard mixed things about the cover
I actually really like it.... but then again I am
a sucker for minimalist things.

Like a lot of people I was waiting for The Fault in Our Stars with baited breath. So when I finally got my hands on my copy I dropped my life (school and everything) and read the book in under four hours. And it was beautiful.

There were certain points in the novel that were hard to read, but I pushed forth because I was in love with the characters. Even though everything looked grim and I thought there was no way Hazel Grace was going to get her happy ending, I pushed through because I loved her. I loved her and I loved Augustus Waters and I didn't want to leave them behind. I needed to see the story through.

The novel follows Hazel Grace, a sixteen year old girl who also happens to be a cancer patient. Her parents force her to go to support group where she meets Augustus Waters. The rest of the book follows their story together and how they support each other and just how deeply Augustus affects Hazel's life. Saying anymore would be to spoil the book, which I don't want to do (I mean look at my summary of the book, it leaves so much out), because I want you to read it. This book is not a Twilight book, yes, there is a romantic element, and yes Augustus does change Hazel's life, but the love story in this novel is just right. Hazel is not cured because he loves her, Hazel grows from her experiences and meeting Augustus just happens to be one of them.

John's writing style is hard to describe. Read, when she finished the book described it as "the writing of that kid in school who managed to absorb everything that they ever taught you." This is pretty true. John references philosophy, literature, religion and many others. You would think that this would sound pretentious, but it does not. John Green's voice (and that of Hazel's) has this extremely human quality to it.

John Green manages to write a story about cancer, where cancer is not the central character, central plot point and it does not invoke emotions because it's expected to. This book feels real, like it could have happened or one day might.

Thank you John, thank you for writing this.

Getting The Fault in Our Stars

The following video tells the story of my adventure to get my copy of John Green's new book The Fault in Our Stars. In the end it was totally worth it but at the time there were moments that seemed kind of hopeless.

   

But surprise surprise the story continued after that!

I posted a picture of the actual signature on tumblr, and to my ultimate surprise John Green commented on it! I was lucky enough to get a copy of the book with a Hanklerfish in it, but underneath the Hanklerfish Hank had scrawled a word so I posted the picture so I could ask other Nerdfighters what they thought. I thought it just said "Hanklerfish" but some people on tumblr thought maybe it said "Ducklerfish" or just "Anglerfish". But yes, as I was saying, John Green commented on my picture saying he thought that my copy may have been one of the first three that Hank drew in... which is so friggin' cool! I've been really excited to read this book and I expect that's what my afternoon is going to be!

Here it is in all it's glory!

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I love this cover... I think it's the colours

The best way I can describe Daughter of Smoke and Bone is that it's refreshing.

The book follows Karou, a young woman going to art school in Prague. There is much more to her then one would guess, her blue hair isn't dyed, but actually is "naturally" blue, and the fantastical sketches in her notebook might not actually be fantastical. Oh, and she can speak a ridiculous amount of languages... more than any normal seventeen year old would have learned... and can I point out that not all of them are human.

Karou's family is made up of Chimera, creatures that appear to be animal/human hybrids. Her father figure is Brimstone, a creature known as the Wishmonger, who trades wishes for teeth (human and animal). Karou has no idea why Brimstone collects teeth, but shrugs it off as a weird hobby. Karou's world shatters when one night, the secret door to Brimstone's world is destroyed in a fiery inferno.

Laini Taylor spins a fantastic tale, creating a believable world filled to the brim with interesting mythology. She goes about this in a rather effective way giving her reader just enough of the background to make them feel like they are in a world that does exist... that has some history to it, and that drives the reader to keep reading to find out more because they truly want to learn. What we find out is that there is another world where the Angels and the Chimera have battled for as long as either side can remember. Karou has no idea about what her family comes from and what is happening in their world even though she runs errands for Brimstone.

Taylor takes the idea of magic and creates an interesting spin on how it works. From what I have seen and read there has been a movement away from the Disney-ifed concept of magic and a spike in the idea that magic will have a price. This book is no exception. The magical system in this book is clever and works in the world of the story adding to the feeling that this is one compact functioning world.

The other thing that was really done well was the portrayal of love, relationships and sex. I find that in a lot of teen literature sex tends to be portrayed in a couple of reoccurring fashions: 

1. Sex either DOES NOT exist, is never mentioned or alluded to. The culmination of the character's romantic experiences end with a kiss or an embrace. 

2. The other route teen novels tend to follow is mentioning sex just to mention sex. Sexuality becomes a shock factor. The equivalent of "Hey Mom look what I'm reading!" 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone mentions sex, and it does so rather early in the book. But it works. It's part of the character, used to add another layer to her. The same can be said for relationships. Karou has a love interest, but she NEVER drops the ball to run off and be with him. At one point she tells him that she will choose her family over him if the decision ever came down to it. I was blown away.

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down. Taylor shows herself to be a strong writer and manages to tell a story full of love and heartbreak in one of the most believable fashions that I've seen in a while. If you love your paranormal romances, your urban fantasy or your regular fantasy or maybe are just looking for an enjoyable read that breaks from tradition then I recommend this book.

AFTER THOUGHT: According to Laini Taylor's blog the movie rights to this book have been sold to Universal. I'm a little bit iffy on the idea of making this book a movie. I believe that it could be visually stunning, as long as it's not given the Twilight treatment and just pumped out to be another teen paranormal romance movie. This book is so much more, and I hope if it does become a movie it won't be simplified.

Review: The Infernals

Let's talk about John Connolly. 

The Infernals is a sequel to his earlier book The Gates, which I fell in love with last year. The Gates was clever, funny and touching with humour that reminded me of Douglas Adams. The Infernals, a continuation of Samuel Johnson's story, is good but doesn't reach the same level of cleverness as the book that came before it. 

So let's rewind: 

A year has passed for Samuel Johnson since his encounters with the demons of hell and he has done everything he could to move past it. But unbeknowest to Samuel, the demon Mrs. Abernathy (formally known as Ba'al) is plotting revenge against him for foiling her previous plans. Samuel finds himself dragged to Hell where he encounters many of its denizens and a few of his old friends. 

There are other characters who end up falling into hell with Samuel, two policemen and a band of Dwarves who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their stories, cute at some times do not hold up against Samuel's adventures. 

The book started out fairly slow, but picked up when Samuel began to have encounters with demons, and I have to say that's where the book's real strength lies. The vibe kind of reminded me of the vibe in his other bok The Book of Lost Things (I'll talk about this book another day), which is more creepy then comedy. I was fascinated by the character's of Old Ram and the Old Oak, and I was interested in Connolly's portrayal of hell, but I don't want to go into anymore details and spoil the story for you. 

Similar to The Gates, the chapter titles and the footnotes were clever or laugh out loud funny and offered either blunt insight into their chapters (in the case of the titles) or background information and comments on the narrative. My favourite footnote out of the entire book had to be number 42: 

"Most people will spend their lives doing jobs that they don't particularly enjoy, and will eventually save up enough money to stop doing those jobs just in time to start dying instead. Don't be one of those people. There's a difference between living, and just surviving. Do something that you love, and find someone to love who loves that you love what you do. 
It really is that simple. And that hard" (Connolly, 303) 

In the end, this book doesn't hold up against Connolly's previous work, but it still is enjoyable. If you liked The Gates, I recommend you do read the sequel (which clearly sets up for a third book) and continue the story of young Samuel Johnson. 

REVIEW: Falling for Hamlet

I'm just going to skip how much
this cover bothers me, okay?

Hamlet is a story of betrayal, dealing with grief, politics and madness. In the play, Shakespeare is able to hit on many themes and emotions, giving actors much to work with leading to some intense performance from talented actors. 

Then there is this book. 

Falling for Hamlet takes the story of Hamlet, sloppily butchers it and stuffs the remaining corpse with teen fiction tropes. The book is told from the perspective of Ophelia and how she is so in love with Hamlet... etc... etc... Hamlet is so hot... etc etc. The usual. The core of the story, the atmosphere and the depth has been removed and sacrificed to make the story flashy and hip. Don't get me wrong, rewrites and novelizations of Shakespearian plays can work (For example, Fool by Christopher Moore) but the author needs to take care with what they are doing and how they approach it. 

In the case of this novel, it is modernized. It takes place in Denmark probably present day. Ophelia is still the daughter of Polonius, an advisor to the King. She has been friends with Hamlet and Horatio forever. She also has dated Hamlet off and on again, recently getting back together with him at the distain of Gertrude Hamlet's Mother. 

So Ophelia? Is she likeable? Meh. Is she relatable? Not in the slightest. On many occasions it is shoved in the Reader's face that Ophelia is hot. She's so hot that she doesn't have to do anything and she will look hot. She's blond, well dressed and lives the celebrity life. But she doesn't want to celebrity life, she wants to be normal. Ophelia is madly in love with Hamlet, which we are constantly reminded of. In the play, Ophelia is a side character. She is in love with Hamlet and Hamlet loves her too, but this isn't that crucial to the story line. Ophelia's purpose is to act as a foil to Hamlet's character and to be a comparison to him and his "decent into madness". In this novel Ophelia comes off as being unbelievable. She reminded me of Bella from Twilight judging her existence on how much Hamlet loves her. Which makes me wonder... Ophelia acknowledges that she is that girl, the girl who drops her friends and her life to run after a boy, does it make it worse that she knows this, or does it make it better in some way? 

Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet in the 1996 film adaptation.
More entertaining then anything....

Then there is Hamlet, as I mentioned earlier, Hamlet is "hot". When we are first introduced to him his main characteristics are that he is hot and he is a great boyfriend. All of Hamlet's story arch becomes unbelievable as his actions are forced. 

What really got to me, was how the author tried to incorporate the soliloquies into the novel. This didn't really work. The speeches lost their power after being translated into modern english. All of the eloquence lost. This novel took the plot strands of Hamlet and stripped it down to the bare minimum (the romance, Hamlet going crazy) and simplified the characters. I understand what Michelle Ray was attempting to do here, but it wasn't effective. This novel would have been much better if it wasn't a direct adaptation, instead stood on its own with different character names and different locations (pulling a Lion King if you will). 

I highly recommend you take a look at the original play.