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patchworkbunny's Reviews (2.12k)
Based on the Chinese myth of Meng Jiangnu who brought down the Great Wall with her tears of mourning, this instalment of the Canongate Myths series has ended up a surreal fairytale against a backdrop of a country in despair.
Binu comes from a village where crying from your eyes is forbidden as doing so will mean your death is imminent. The women of the village get round this by shedding their tears via various body parts. When her husband is taken away to work on the Great Wall, Binu is grief-stricken and sets out across China to take him his winter clothes. I'm not familiar with much Chinese myth or superstition but I did enjoy all the unusual beliefs that Binu encounters.
Whilst only a short novel, it does remind me of the sort of journey based tales that began with Gulliver's Travels and has become a favourite within the fantasy genre. It even remind me a little of Neil Gaiman's Stardust in a way. Binu is travelling across a land unknown to her and she meets strange people on the way and gets herself in and out of all sorts of scrapes.
I was disappointed by the low average rating here, though obviously not enough to put off reading it. Expectations have a big part to play in enjoyment of a book. If you are looking for historical fiction then pass it by but if you enjoy Grimm's Fairy Tales and stories where the character goes on a weird and wonderful journey, definitely give Binu a go.
Binu comes from a village where crying from your eyes is forbidden as doing so will mean your death is imminent. The women of the village get round this by shedding their tears via various body parts. When her husband is taken away to work on the Great Wall, Binu is grief-stricken and sets out across China to take him his winter clothes. I'm not familiar with much Chinese myth or superstition but I did enjoy all the unusual beliefs that Binu encounters.
Whilst only a short novel, it does remind me of the sort of journey based tales that began with Gulliver's Travels and has become a favourite within the fantasy genre. It even remind me a little of Neil Gaiman's Stardust in a way. Binu is travelling across a land unknown to her and she meets strange people on the way and gets herself in and out of all sorts of scrapes.
I was disappointed by the low average rating here, though obviously not enough to put off reading it. Expectations have a big part to play in enjoyment of a book. If you are looking for historical fiction then pass it by but if you enjoy Grimm's Fairy Tales and stories where the character goes on a weird and wonderful journey, definitely give Binu a go.
It was easy to read and enjoyable enough but I'm not sure I'd remember much about it in a year's time. I have written a rambling post on my blog about why I'd have preferred it to be set in the past.
Both Terry and Neil have developed a lot since this book was written, over 20 years ago now! What I love about their writing is their abilities to tell great stories. I feel with Good Omens, it's more about the puns than the story, which was a bit predictable. Had I read the book during my teenage years, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more however it all felt a bit dated.Some moments are timeless, like the kids playing at the Spanish Inquisition which I thought was priceless and true laugh out loud funny! Terry's trademark footnotes were targeted at American translations which also made me smile.
When Ruby is made redundant, she realises that she never really loved her job and after losing her father, life is too short to be doing something that doesn't make you happy. She takes the opportunity to tackle twelve jobs in twelve months and work out what her true vocation is.
She takes on a number of jobs that are exactly the kind of thing the casual employee would be assigned. She doesn't mock those jobs that are important in this world and is at times compassionate. Ruby feels like a real, thirty-ish, single woman to me, despite the fact she seems to meet a lot of good-looking men (nearly one for each job I think). She occasionally drinks too much and makes stupid mistakes, but underneath she's a decent human being.
Whilst I'd classify this as chick-lit, it's not overly romantic or sexy. It's as much about Ruby working out what she wants in life as it is about the men. Some of the characters seem a bit stereotypical, but if you like Wendy Holden's novels, you'll probably enjoy this. The prose is quite simple and at times I thought it might be better off in first person narrative but is overall very readable.
If you're looking for chick lit that you can relate to, I give Working It Out a big thumbs up.
She takes on a number of jobs that are exactly the kind of thing the casual employee would be assigned. She doesn't mock those jobs that are important in this world and is at times compassionate. Ruby feels like a real, thirty-ish, single woman to me, despite the fact she seems to meet a lot of good-looking men (nearly one for each job I think). She occasionally drinks too much and makes stupid mistakes, but underneath she's a decent human being.
Whilst I'd classify this as chick-lit, it's not overly romantic or sexy. It's as much about Ruby working out what she wants in life as it is about the men. Some of the characters seem a bit stereotypical, but if you like Wendy Holden's novels, you'll probably enjoy this. The prose is quite simple and at times I thought it might be better off in first person narrative but is overall very readable.
If you're looking for chick lit that you can relate to, I give Working It Out a big thumbs up.
The story starts with a man poking a zombie with a stick...
The main characters are bloggers in a world where people have lost faith in corporate news. If the big fish told everyone the schools were safe just before your children got infected whilst the blogosphere was alerting people to the true threat, who would you trust?
The plot follows the blogging team as they join a senator on his presidential campaign. Whilst the politics have been amended to fit the international zombie crisis, they can easily be applied to current affairs. Feed raises some very topical questions such as, which is more important, freedom or safety?
The presence of zombies does tend to place this book in the horror genre, but its themes put it firmly in the science fiction camp. What's scary is not really the zombies, but what humankind is capable of and when characters die, it's not about gore but about loss. It's overall much more thought-provoking and moving than horror ever is.
If you were avoiding this book because of the zombies don't. It's for anyone interested in the changing face of journalism and the rise of social media. The zombies just accelerated the process...
The main characters are bloggers in a world where people have lost faith in corporate news. If the big fish told everyone the schools were safe just before your children got infected whilst the blogosphere was alerting people to the true threat, who would you trust?
The plot follows the blogging team as they join a senator on his presidential campaign. Whilst the politics have been amended to fit the international zombie crisis, they can easily be applied to current affairs. Feed raises some very topical questions such as, which is more important, freedom or safety?
The presence of zombies does tend to place this book in the horror genre, but its themes put it firmly in the science fiction camp. What's scary is not really the zombies, but what humankind is capable of and when characters die, it's not about gore but about loss. It's overall much more thought-provoking and moving than horror ever is.
If you were avoiding this book because of the zombies don't. It's for anyone interested in the changing face of journalism and the rise of social media. The zombies just accelerated the process...
Can you believe only two years have passed in Sookie-land since Dead Until Dark? She's had an actioned packed time recently so I think we can forgive Charlaine Harris for backing off in these last two books. I know many of you were disappointed in Dead in the Family but I enjoyed the back stories and was grateful that she wasn't overdoing things.
Bless Sookie, she hasn't really changed much. She may have become less prejudiced and more aware of the supernatural community but she's still rather naïve at heart. She gets upset when her hair gets burned and she still prides herself on her southern hospitality. Whilst many characters in urban fantasy series change quite dramatically over time, it's a refreshing change that some people stay the same.
Dead Reckoning did seem a little lackluster though and I think if you disliked Dead in the Family, this won't be for you either. There seems to be several threads of plots and none get the full attention required to make them gripping. Someone's trying to kill Sookie again, Eric's trying to deal with vampire politics again, Sookie's discovering a bit more about her Fey family and Pam's got a girlfriend who is terminally ill. Considering the book is only 325 pages of easy prose, this just doesn't seem fulfilling enough for me.
However I read it for the Sookie/Eric relationship and the ending has left me wanting to know how things turn out. At times they seem like an old married couple which is sweet if you know all the background. So yes, despite not being overly impressed, I will probably be anticipating the next book next year just as much as this one.
Bless Sookie, she hasn't really changed much. She may have become less prejudiced and more aware of the supernatural community but she's still rather naïve at heart. She gets upset when her hair gets burned and she still prides herself on her southern hospitality. Whilst many characters in urban fantasy series change quite dramatically over time, it's a refreshing change that some people stay the same.
Dead Reckoning did seem a little lackluster though and I think if you disliked Dead in the Family, this won't be for you either. There seems to be several threads of plots and none get the full attention required to make them gripping. Someone's trying to kill Sookie again, Eric's trying to deal with vampire politics again, Sookie's discovering a bit more about her Fey family and Pam's got a girlfriend who is terminally ill. Considering the book is only 325 pages of easy prose, this just doesn't seem fulfilling enough for me.
However I read it for the Sookie/Eric relationship and the ending has left me wanting to know how things turn out. At times they seem like an old married couple which is sweet if you know all the background. So yes, despite not being overly impressed, I will probably be anticipating the next book next year just as much as this one.
I fear I may have put a few people off this book with my comparison to Cloud Atlas, however I enjoyed Sam Meekings' The Book of Crows much more. Whilst both books have multiple stories spanning across history, Cloud Atlas is a literary matryoshka doll and The Book of Crows is more fluid. I personally like to get drawn into a story, so sometimes struggle when a book contains several plots that jump around. Whilst not a straight-forward time-slip novel, there was enough in my mind to connect the stories together and keep me going.
The book in question is a myth that Meekings has created, woven out of the many superstitions surrounding crows, death and prophecy and crows are a common occurrence throughout all the stories. The book is said to contain the entire world, the history, the present and the future and those seeking power also seek the book. The fact that the stories contained in the novel span from 80 BC to 1993 gives the idea that this could be a section of the mythological book.
Meekings has a background as a poet and this really shines through in his writing. Each page could be read an appreciated outside of the novel. In the story Rain at Night, the narrator is a poet writing letters to a friend and includes a deconstruction of a poem which I thought was a nice touch.
All the stories are set in China and they start with Jade's story, a girl who is stolen by bandits and sold into prostitution. At times, brothel life is horrific, but Jade does her best to get by each day and treat others kindly. She might come across as a bit naïve but the young voice is suitable for her story, she is only a child and has had little experience of the world before her capture.
I'm not sure if the narrator of the modern (1993) story is named. A colleague has gone missing after a landslide and the narrator is convinced something fishy is going on. He's abrupt and cynical and I only think he becomes a more sympathetic character nearer the end when more is revealed about his life outside of his marital home.
I must admit, the story of the Franciscan monks, travelling across China in 1288, nearly made me put the book down but I did want to know what would happen with the previous two narrators. The monks have a high and mighty attitude and it angered me how anyone not Christian was beneath them. Yes, this is most likely historically accurate, but as they were intruders in a foreign land, they came across as hypocritical. The prose was quite formal in style too which put me off a little. I think it was a fitting punishment that they were falling ill with the mysterious desert sickness.
In the end, the message of the book is to live life in the now and not to waste your life away chasing things that don't exist or are impossible to attain.
The book in question is a myth that Meekings has created, woven out of the many superstitions surrounding crows, death and prophecy and crows are a common occurrence throughout all the stories. The book is said to contain the entire world, the history, the present and the future and those seeking power also seek the book. The fact that the stories contained in the novel span from 80 BC to 1993 gives the idea that this could be a section of the mythological book.
Meekings has a background as a poet and this really shines through in his writing. Each page could be read an appreciated outside of the novel. In the story Rain at Night, the narrator is a poet writing letters to a friend and includes a deconstruction of a poem which I thought was a nice touch.
All the stories are set in China and they start with Jade's story, a girl who is stolen by bandits and sold into prostitution. At times, brothel life is horrific, but Jade does her best to get by each day and treat others kindly. She might come across as a bit naïve but the young voice is suitable for her story, she is only a child and has had little experience of the world before her capture.
I'm not sure if the narrator of the modern (1993) story is named. A colleague has gone missing after a landslide and the narrator is convinced something fishy is going on. He's abrupt and cynical and I only think he becomes a more sympathetic character nearer the end when more is revealed about his life outside of his marital home.
I must admit, the story of the Franciscan monks, travelling across China in 1288, nearly made me put the book down but I did want to know what would happen with the previous two narrators. The monks have a high and mighty attitude and it angered me how anyone not Christian was beneath them. Yes, this is most likely historically accurate, but as they were intruders in a foreign land, they came across as hypocritical. The prose was quite formal in style too which put me off a little. I think it was a fitting punishment that they were falling ill with the mysterious desert sickness.
In the end, the message of the book is to live life in the now and not to waste your life away chasing things that don't exist or are impossible to attain.
There is a secret war raging right under our noses. Our narrator, Joseph, is a soldier in that war however you and I would call him an assassin. At the heart of the novel is the power of propaganda. That people will fight for something without really understanding the why of it. Just that it must be done and to do otherwise is to live in perpetual fear.
Curiosity is not a valued trait in a soldier. What is important is the ability to follow orders without question. With that in mind, it is easy to make the jump to the world Trevor Shane has created. If you are told from a young age that you are fighting against evil, against the people that have killed your family and will not hesitate to kill those you love in the future, would you risk not believing it?
The novel is told in a mix of first and second person narrator and is presented from page one as a journal. Joseph is writing to Maria throughout and often addresses the reader directly with the use of “you”. Once I remembered it was a journal, this did make more sense, but as a female reader I do wonder how it comes across as a male reader being addressed as a woman? The writing in general, did feel very much after the fact and made me think that something had happened which meant Joseph had to write to Maria instead of telling her in person. Of course this helps to keep your eyes glued to the page looking for clues.
Maybe I'm being cynical here but I did feel that the relationship between Joseph and Maria was a bit rushed. The book is fast paced and I don't think the passage of time is very clear. Looking back, several months did pass by between their meeting and what happens next. The novel uses traditional chapters whereby the journal format doe shave the potential to structure by date or other unit of time.
I've come away with more questions than answers, which is not always a bad thing in a book. In short, Children of Paranoia is a pacey thriller with an undercurrent of social commentary.
Curiosity is not a valued trait in a soldier. What is important is the ability to follow orders without question. With that in mind, it is easy to make the jump to the world Trevor Shane has created. If you are told from a young age that you are fighting against evil, against the people that have killed your family and will not hesitate to kill those you love in the future, would you risk not believing it?
The novel is told in a mix of first and second person narrator and is presented from page one as a journal. Joseph is writing to Maria throughout and often addresses the reader directly with the use of “you”. Once I remembered it was a journal, this did make more sense, but as a female reader I do wonder how it comes across as a male reader being addressed as a woman? The writing in general, did feel very much after the fact and made me think that something had happened which meant Joseph had to write to Maria instead of telling her in person. Of course this helps to keep your eyes glued to the page looking for clues.
Maybe I'm being cynical here but I did feel that the relationship between Joseph and Maria was a bit rushed. The book is fast paced and I don't think the passage of time is very clear. Looking back, several months did pass by between their meeting and what happens next. The novel uses traditional chapters whereby the journal format doe shave the potential to structure by date or other unit of time.
I've come away with more questions than answers, which is not always a bad thing in a book. In short, Children of Paranoia is a pacey thriller with an undercurrent of social commentary.
In essence, Delirium a story about first love and love that endures against all odds.
Whilst I enjoyed Lauren Oliver's writing style, I felt the book lacking somewhat in my expectations. It focusses a lot on the central love story rather than the world in which love has been declared a dangerous disease. I would have preferred more back-story, learning how scientists came to that conclusion, about the development of the cure and the “cleansing” of the invalids. These areas are all mentioned but skimmed over.
Whilst I enjoyed Lauren Oliver's writing style, I felt the book lacking somewhat in my expectations. It focusses a lot on the central love story rather than the world in which love has been declared a dangerous disease. I would have preferred more back-story, learning how scientists came to that conclusion, about the development of the cure and the “cleansing” of the invalids. These areas are all mentioned but skimmed over.
Allegra is a paranormal investigator whose big toe itches when something paranormal is nearby. Other than that she has no special powers and she's a likeable, down-to-earth heroine. It's a fun paranormal mystery read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Allegra has a hunky guardian angel who she nicknamed Casper as a child. He pops in and out of the story as he's otherwise engaged in attending an angel awards ceremony. It's not, however, a romance.
I haven't read the first book, Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator, but I think South of Salem is perfectly readable as a standalone novel.
Allegra has a hunky guardian angel who she nicknamed Casper as a child. He pops in and out of the story as he's otherwise engaged in attending an angel awards ceremony. It's not, however, a romance.
I haven't read the first book, Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator, but I think South of Salem is perfectly readable as a standalone novel.