by Shannon Hale
Enna Burning is the sequel to Goose Girl, but it departs from the fairy tale retelling of the first book. Rather than following the story of Isi, the princess-turned-goose-girl-turned-princess, the second book follows the story of Enna, the forest girl who became friends with Isi in the first book. The country of Bayern finds itself at war with its southern neighbor and Enna comes across a text that teaches fire magic. But Enna soon finds the same thing Isi has discovered with wind magic, that before too long she can't turn it off.
I enjoyed Goose Girl immensely, but this book lost a lot of the charm that the first one had. I even disliked it in the middle, although by the time it finished it was good enough. I never got attached or invested in the character of Enna, and the plot was a bit trite at times. Enna Burning is worth a read if you really liked Goose Girl, but if you're a newcomer to the series I would stick with the first book, which stands on its own quite well.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Enna Burning
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Peter
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2:11 PM
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Labels: books, fantasy, young adult
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Cyteen
by C.J. Cherryh
Cyteen follows the history of Ariane Emory, a brilliant scientist, businesswoman, and politician who has herself cloned after she dies. Her clone is then part of a life-long experiment in which her childhood and development is closely controlled to mirror that of her predecessor, in homes of producing another multifaceted genius. This experiment happens with the backdrop of interstellar political intrigue and competing factions within Emory's enormous corporation.
This book was very hard for me to get into. For the first 200 pages the major character, Ari Emory, does some really repulsive and twisted thing. I wanted to stop reading, but I kept on because I had heard that it got better.
I'm so glad I stuck it out, because it did get better. It got so good that I could scarcely put it down. It really made me think at times, about what makes us human and ideas of social engineering and the ethics of forming a person's mind. Cyteen won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards and after reading it I can say that it is well deserved.
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Peter
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1:33 PM
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Labels: science fiction
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Guardian of the Spirit
by Nahoko Uehashi
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Peter
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12:00 PM
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Labels: books, fantasy, translated books, young adult
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings
by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde is easy to read and quite entertaining. This collection starts with The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is a fairly short novel. It's quite good, although rambling at times. I've only ever read Wilde's plays before, so it was strange to read his signature silly dialogue in a mostly serious novel. It was good, and worth the short read. This collection also included several of Wilde's plays: Landy Windermere's Fan, which was okay; An Ideal Husband, which is decent, and The Importance of Being Ernest, which is deliciously funny. My only problem about that last one is that I have seen the film adaptation, and I cannot imagine the characters of Jack, Agly, and Lady Bracknell as anyone but Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, and Judi Dench (respectively). The collection wraps up with the narrative poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol," which he wrote in prison towards the end of his short but flamboyant life. It's a good assortment of his work; I highly recommend this collection to anyone wanting to get to know Oscar Wilde better.
This book also gets bonus points for using the famous photograph of Wilde taken by Napoleon Sarony, which was the subject of a very famous copyright lawsuit that established that photographs could be copyrighted.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Vintage Anthology of Science Fantasy
edited by Christopher Cerf
I have a deep fondness for short stories. I think they are the perfect length to present an idea, develop it, and draw a conclusion. They are also very readable. Even during law school, when I was up to my eyeballs in cases to read, I could always find time to read a good short story or two. So when I saw a dog-eared copy of The Vintage Anthology of Science Fantasy in a give-away book bin, I snatched it up to see if it was any good. I wasn't disappointed.
This was an amusing collection of short stories by some really great authors. Some of them, like Roald Dahl or Arthur C. Clarke, are very well-known. Other I had never heard of, but they were great nonetheless. Most of these stories were written 40-50 years ago, so they have a fun campy feel when they talk about what the future will be like.
I think science fantasy is an interesting genre. It's not fantasy because of its futuristic or technological elements, nor is it sci-fi because it doesn't really care about technical or scientific details. The fantastical devices are merely vehicles to explore interesting concepts. Science fantasy is arguably just a part of science fiction, but its definitely different from hard sci-fi. It's also very accessible, even to people who wouldn't imagine reading most science fiction.
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Peter
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10:57 AM
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Labels: fantasy, science fiction, short stories
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Story of World War II
by Donald L. Miller and Henry Steele Commager
I picked this book out from the library because I liked the cover and I wanted to know more about World War II. For that purpose it was perfect. The Story of World War II was accessible and rarely boring, with plenty of photographs and maps to make the narrative real to the reader. Much of the history is told in the words of soldiers or journalists embedded with the American troops or sailors. This is a revision of an orginal work that was published in parts during and immediately after the war. My only criticism is that the book focuses almost exclusively on the American experience of the war, but if that doesn't bother you it is a great way to skim the survace of an enormouse worldwide event. I recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about World War II without delving into a decade of study.
Posted by
Peter
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4:45 PM
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Labels: non-fiction
Monday, March 16, 2009
Danny the Champion of the World
by Roald Dahl
The book is told by a small boy who grows up with his father in a small gypsy wagon, working in his father's gas station and mechanic shop. Danny's father is an almost magical character, full of fantastic stories and fun idea, and Danny loves his father more than anything in the world. One night Danny discovers his father's darkest secret, which leads them to a new adventure that makes Danny the Champion of the World. I won't elaborate any more, because the journey is so much fun. Unlike many Dahl books, there isn't any actual magic involved. But the tone of the book is completely fantastical, because the marvelous father-son relationship that Danny has with his father is its own sort of magic.
For some reason Danny isn't as well-known as other Dahl books, but I recommend it to anyone.
Posted by
Peter
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10:24 AM
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Labels: books, children's literature, young adult


