Tag Archives: Dangerous Journey

Mad Ship by Robin Hobb (The Liveship Traders, Book 2)

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Synopsis:
With the Vestrit family’s Liveship captured by the pirate Kennit and the family falling into poverty, headstrong Althea Vestrit plans a daring plot to regain her ship, even as her niece Malta becomes the family’s ransom to the shadowy, deformed Rain Wild Traders.

Review:
I know, I know, the plots of second books always sound so silly. You need to know who everybody is in order to appreciate Mad Ship, and if you’ve read the first book I’m sure i don’t need to convince you to read this one.

I enjoyed revisiting Bingtown and the Rain Wilds, not just because this is the second book but because it’s also my second read. Robin Hobb really created something special in this series and I’m glad she’s chosen to continue it with books beyond this trilogy.

The Comedians by Graham Greene

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Synopsis:
A hotelier, a nominal candidate for the US presidency, and a conman’s lives converge in Haiti during the height of the reign of Papa Doc Duvalier and his Tontons Macoute.

Review:
While I was captivated by Graham Greene’s remarkable prose prowess in The Comedians, I wasn’t as enthralled by the story as I wanted to be. My interest never dipped below the purely intellectual into the realm of emotion. There was something much too male about the story’s tone and construction for my tastes, if that makes sense. I admired the layers on layers of the narrative strands, and the complexities of the characterizations, but my admiration never transformed into love.

Beauty by Robin McKinley

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Synopsis:
A retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast.

Review:
I suppose it’s because of all the babysitting I’ve done, but I just couldn’t shake the image of Belle in her big yellow dress as I read Robin McKinley’s Beauty. But setting that aside, I would have loved this when I was 12. It’s swoony and romantic, featuring a narrator who’s my kind of girl. It hews very closely to the classic tale, while adding some imaginative elements such as the whispering voices who care for Beauty (so called because of her lack of same).

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

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Synopsis:
Master thief and con artist Locke Lamora is back with his steadfast sidekick Jean Tannen, both set to pull off the scheme of a lifetime when they are coerced into becoming–pirates?

Review:
Red Seas Under Red Skies is the follow up to Scott Lynch’s debut The Lies of Locke Lamora, a smash hit which placed a Sopranos-esque crime drama within a fresh, imaginatively realized fantasy world. The sequel throws swashbuckling in the mix, and the overall result of this melange is one of the most entertaining reads I’ve had all year. (Not including On Chesil Beach, natch.) Continue reading →

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

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Synopsis:
A legendary folk hero tells the first part of his life story, encompassing his early years as a vagabond and his time spent at University studying alchemy and magic.

Review:
It’s not for nothing that The Name of the Wind has been touted as a great fantasy debut. It absolutely is. I am leery of beginning fantasy series that have not been concluded, but my brother was so enthusiastic about this one that I had to check it out. Patrick Rothfuss’s writing has a confidence that makes me reasonably sure that he’s got the whole story worked out. And being that the story is told in the first person–this isn’t a sprawling, multi-character epic–it shouldn’t be that daunting of a tale to complete. Continue reading →

Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson

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Synopsis:
When Frances’s birth mother contacts her asking to “finish it,” Frances must come to terms with the terrible crime that caused their separation, and learn how to forge her own path in life.

Review:
I devoured Breathe My Name, which will be published in early November 2007 by Razorbill. Not only is it an outstanding coming-of-age tale, Breathe My Name has a gorgeous, poignant love story that really drew me in. This is one I’m happy to give some advance praise to!

Perilous Seas by Dave Duncan

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Synopsis:
Rap the stableboy joins a merchant crew still intent upon rescuing Queen Inosolan, who is crossing a haunted wasteland in order to appeal her case to the four wardens.

Review:
Perilous Seas is the third book in Dave Duncan’s A Man of His Word series, and again I’m impressed at the skill with which Duncan crafts his narrative. He continually places his characters in severe jeopardy, taking the kinds of risks that fantasy authors so often fear. It’s almost as if the work it takes to build an alternate universe is too precious to dismantle. They’re afraid to damage, when in fact the best stories come when the world is shattered into irretrievable pieces. Continue reading →

Faery Lands Forlon by Dave Duncan

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Synopsis:
Inos might be queen of Krasnegar, but she’s been magicked to the other side of the world, and the same magic has sent stable boy Rap, the goblin Little Chicken, and boy thief Thinal to the land of Faery, where Rap discovers that Inos is a pawn in a deadly game between powers greater than any army or king.

Review:
Faery Lands Forlorn is the second book in Dave Duncan’s A Man of His Word series, and it’s clear that none of these books is meant to stand alone. It picks right up where Magic Casement left off, and ends with another cliffhanger. Continue reading →

Magic Casement by Dave Duncan

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Synopsis:
A stableboy begins to exhibit mysterious powers that draw attention that could be dangerous, and he finds himself a prisoner on the goblin waste as the princess he’s sworn to serve comes ever closer to a danger that only he is aware of.

Review:
Magic Casement is a fantastic start to a four book series that I hope lives up to the promise of this first installment. My friend Shari saw that I had read Duncan’s Hero!, and said, “You finally read Dave Duncan–but you read his sci-fi?” And then she pressed these books into my hand, and I knew that I’d be reading these as soon as I finished War and Peace. I had originally planned to pace myself through the series, alternating with other books, but because Duncan employs the cliffhanger ending, I have no choice but to give myself over to Princess Inos and Rap for as long as it takes. Continue reading →

The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits

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Synopsis:
When Mary was 16, she may or may not have been abducted and raped by an older man, whose life was ruined by her accusations. Continue reading →