REVIEW: BANISHED

Cover design by Jo Thomson using Shutterstock images.

BANISHED

THE BLACKHART LEGACY: BOOK ONE

BY

LIZ DE JAGER

ISBN: 978-4472-4765-4

Pages: 387

Publisher: Tor UK

Published: 27 February 2014

On the cover:

A Blackhart's Calling:

to banish evil and hold back the night

Kit is proud to be a Blackhart, now she's living with her unorthodox cousins and sharing their strange lives. Especially since their home-schooling includes spells, fighting enemy fae and using ancient weapons.

But it's not until she rescues a rather handsome fae prince, fighting for his life on the edge of Blackhart Manor, that her training really kicks in. With her family away on various missions, Kit must protect Prince Thorn, rely on new friends and use her own unfamiliar magic to stay ahead of Thorn's enemies.

As things go from bad to apocalyptic, fae battle fae in a war that threatens to spill into the human world. Then Kit pits herself against the Elder Gods themselves - it's that or lose everyone she's learnt to love.

   What do you get if you cross Urban Fantasy, Fairy Tale retelling, Lovecraftian Elder Gods, and add a bit of romance? Well, if you are Liz de Jager you'd have the mix necessary to write a great book.

   After a very nice introduction to our main character, Kit Blackheart, we quickly learn about how special she is. This may give you a moments pause, it did for me, there are a lot of characters that have something special about them or who outright are the chosen one in modern Urban Fantasy/Portal Fantasy. (Harry Potter arguably belongs to that "slash"-genre.) Actually, that is an unnecessary worry. It didn't take long before I completely forgot about it, and it doesn't come into play in that sense in the story.
   Kit is nowhere near a carbon copy chosen one, she comes across as a fully formed person that isn't necessarily the brightest, strongest, fastest, etc. in the room. And that made her all the better in my opinion. Even though she is not an average young woman, she is very relateable. She seems like the sort of person you will meet at some point in your life, someone who despite what makes her special is not too far removed from someone you might meet in your local bookshop.
   This is the type of Fantasy that demands good characters, and de Jager handles characters very well. Kit isn't the only one that feels very real, all of them comes vividly to life on the page. Even the villains of this story are really fleshed out, and although their motives are definitely otherworldly they make perfect sense in context. Something I feel is a necessity for immersion into Fantasy, and something de Jager delivers on.

   Characters aren't everything in Urban Fantasy/Portal Fantasy, and once you are satisfied they are up to scratch (, which they certainly are here), what you usually look at is the setting. The Fae world as a setting predates Fantasy as a genre, and it takes a deft touch to use it without it feeling stale. De Jager manages it with aplomb though. It's clear that she has done her research, but she has made her own spin on the source material, the myths and Fairy Tales, and made a world of her own that feels fresh to the reader.
   Infodumping can sometimes be a problem in Fantasy, de Jager manages to avoid it by integrating it very well into the text. A lot of information is passed to the reader in conversations and other character interactions, but it always flows very well and never feels like showing off the structural supports of the story. Some extra bits are left for chapter introductions, and I really liked those. They give lots of interesting little snippets of information that feels like garnish on a good meal.

   So far I've spent a lot of time on the framework the story is built on, the characters and their world, time to move on to the story itself. It's a really fast-paced one. Not that it always moves along at break-neck pace, because it doesn't. There are some passages where we get to know the characters, and discover what is really going on. Those passages are however far from boring. However de Jager has a tendency to drip feed things, and I did get impatient at times. Although I have to stress that it wasn't the bad impatience, but the good type where you just have to keep reading to see what will happen next.
   I said above that this was fast-paced, and there is a lot going on. At times there is so much happening that it leaves you almost breathless. Fortunately de Jager manages to steer the reader through events with a deft hand. Even when there is a multitude of things happening at once the author manages to keep it focused so that it never gets confusing. Tension levels are high throughout, and there are some cliff-hangers that does not make stopping reading a real option. The last quarter of the book is not a good place to take a break from reading, you'll probably need to know how it will end at that point - I did.

   This is an excellent Urban Fantasy novel, especially for those that like a helping of Fairy Tale in their Fantasy. Kit Blackhart is an excellent main character, and the supporting cast are also a joy to get to know. Add in great worldbuilding and a fast-paced story that refuses to let the reader go, and you have the ingredients for what is in my opinion a must-read for fans of both Contemporary Fantasy and Fairy Tale retellings.
   De Jager's debut leaves you with an appetite for more. I am certainly looking forward to the next volume in The Blackhart Legacy.

LINKS: Liz de Jager  PanMacmillan (Tor UK)  Tor UK Blog
  

REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO: THE BOG WARRIOR

Cover by Two Associates/Woodlands Books

DOCTOR WHO:

THE BOG WARRIOR

TIME TRIPS BOOK 6

BY

CECELIA AHERN

ISBN: 978-1-44814-237-8

 Pages: 33

Publisher: BBC Books/Ebury Publishing

Published: 8 May 2014

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

Arriving on the planet Cashel, the Tenth Doctor witnesses a strange masked ball. To guarantee peace, Prince Zircon has to choose a bride from the Bog People – dead men and women who have been resurrected as slaves. Or as warriors. But Zircon is in love with the enslaved Princess Ash, whose parents were deposed and executed by the current Queen. As usual, the Doctor has walked right into trouble, and it's up to him to sort it out.

   I am a big fan of Doctor Who. I am also a big fan of Fairy Tales, both traditional and modern. This story satisfies my enjoyment of both of those things.
   No attempt is made here to hide that this is inspired by Fairy Tales. There are lots of small details, and some larger plotpoints, that are clearly taken straight out of the Fairy Tales that have been adapted by Disney. If you have read a bit of Fairy Tales, you can have fun spotting where the influence comes from.
   That is not meant to suggest that this is unoriginal, or just a straight retelling, it is far from either of those. There are some delicious twists on what you'd expect from a Fairy Tale, and this story definitely takes its own paths.

   This is not a long story by any means, but Ahern has still managed to get some complexity into it. She is showing she is very good at tight plotting, there is nothing here that is wasted. What is here though is a story that feels like it should take up more pages than it actually does. It is actually bigger on the inside. (Sorry for the pun...)
   The structure is pretty classic Doctor Who. The Doctor arrives at a planet, notices something strange, and meddles. But it doesn't feel like this is something that have been done many times before.
   The way Ahern draws us into the events at the same time as The Doctor works very well. We get to discover what is going on with The Doctor. There is a feeling that we are there with him, even though we don't have a companion that can take our place in the story. Some of this is because the Fairy Tale setting is so familiar. I think everyone will be aware of at least some of the references made. But the most important element that pulls the reader in is Ahern's writing. She gets us on an intimate footing with the characters, and that she does it by playing on familiar emotional tropes does not detract from how well she does it.

   As mentioned above there is some interesting twists to the familiar in this story. A big one has to do with the nature of some of the characters. I really liked that, it is an excellent twist and it makes for a much more complex world than the black & white that some Fairy Tale retellings descend into.
   There is plenty of tension here, it's not a given that the story turns out the way it does. The pacing is also on the faster side of things, which is good when the story is this short. There are no unnecessary breaks here, and this is definitely something to read in one go. It would be hard not to.

   I found this to be really enjoyable. It has absolutely everything you could want from a Fairy Tale, and it is a great Doctor Who story. Ahern is without doubt a very good writer, and she tells a tale that I don't hesitate to call essential for anyone who enjoys a good Fairy Tale retelling. There is also plenty to enjoy here for the Doctor Who fan who wants a strong standalone story with the Tenth Doctor.
   This is simply an excellent Fairy Tale and Doctor Who crossover.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this from the publisher/NetGalley.

REVIEWS: You can find a full list of my Doctor Who reviews here. (Including the first five Time Trips stories.)

LINKS: Cecelia Ahern   Ebury Publishing

REVIEW: THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE

Cover by Sarah Coleman

THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE

BY

CASSANDRA ROSE CLARKE

ISBN: 978-1-908844-00-2

Pages: 320

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Published: US/Can/E-book 2 October 2012, UK 4 October 2012

On the cover:

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to another pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. And when Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn’t really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together

To break the curse, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks—all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic...and the growing romantic tension between them.

   This is a novel that have much in common with Fairy Tales, and its setting is very much reminiscent of A Thousand and One Nights. There's also elements here that are reminiscent of traditional Epic Fantasy. After a beginning that is bound to a single city we are taken on a quest, and this quest blends Epic Fantasy with Fairy Tale in a seamless manner.

   Clarke is very good at getting the Fairy Tale feel of the novel across. It's established early and never lets go as the novel progresses. But these elements don't constrain the novel, and it becomes apparent as the story progresses that it is not a simple Fairy tale re-telling. Instead it is a Fantasy novel that soon takes you on a journey through an interesting landscape.
   I'm always a bit skeptical of the "quest format" of Fantasy, but I needn't have had any worries here. Clarke makes the journey a very interesting one, and the change in scenery as the story progresses makes it a very interesting journey of discovery. From the desert setting of the beginning we are taken to different landscapes that become a great backdrop to this tale.

   Although the story does follow a similar path to other Fantasy novels out there, there is more than enough here that sets it apart, it never feels like it's just following a formula. Clarke's main strength when it comes to the story is making the events that happen along the way unpredictable. Even when you get a sense of where the story is going she manages to get there in ways that were unexpected.
   While the larger through line of the story is interesting enough, there are also many small events here that are really interesting and add to the story a great deal. Clarke is very good at adding great deal of exposition and worldbuilding without bogging the story down. There's lots of little details here that makes the atmosphere of the world in the novel come alive, and that is a world where it is well worth spending some time.

   There's a great deal of magic in the world Clarke has created. And that element of the book is done in a great way. It's certainly not wholly original, but what we are presented with here feels very fresh.
   We do get a good idea of magic's place in this world, and it feels like an integral part of it and not as an afterthought on the author's part. The way magic is done also feels very realistic, which in my opinion is a great strength in a novel like this.

   We also get some very interesting characters here, especially in Ananna - who is also the one telling us this story. Clarke manages to get across early on what type of character Ananna is, and as the novel progresses we get to see her show herself as a well rounded and realistic person. She never become just a vehicle for the story, but stays believable in all she does throughout the story. Ananna does have her flaws, but those only make her become more alive, and they don't make her come off as annoying in any way.

   The other main character, Naji, the assassin, is also very well realised. At first he seems a pretty standard mysterious figure, but as we get to know him better we see that he is much more than that. And despite him not always being the most forthcoming type, he does reveal that he has sides to him that make him feel like he's very much an individual formed by his past.
   We also meet quite a few other supporting characters along the way. Not all of them are as well developed as the main characters, but we do get to know them as more than just extras needed to get the story moving. There's especially one of them that stands out, and I think we may see more to her later. Clarke is very good at getting her characters come alive to the reader. They are interesting, and realistic, and are well worth spending a day with.

   All in all this is a very good Fantasy story. Clarke takes us on a great journey, in very good company. The style the book is told in fits in perfectly with the story and adds to the novel as a whole. The Fairy Tale elements make it a great books for fans of Fantasy based around that, and the quest format makes it worth reading for fans of Epic Fantasy. And it's a novel I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to Fantasy fans of all ages.
   Clarke has managed to create a set of very compelling characters that inhabit a well realised and interesting world. A world it is well worth travelling to.
   I really enjoyed this story, and I can't wait to follow it further in later volumes.

NOTE: An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher.

Links: Cassandra Rose Clarke  Strange Chemistry

REVIEW: STARDUST

Cover design: gray318

STARDUST
BY
NEIL GAIMAN

ISBN: 978-0-7553-2282-4

Pages: 194 (+ extras)

Publisher: Headline Review

First published: 1 February 1999

This edition published: 19 September 2005

On the cover:

In the sleepy English countryside at the dawn of the Victorian era, life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall. Young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester, but Victoria is as cold and distant as the star she and Tristran see fall from the sky one evening. For the price of Victoria's hand, Tristran vows to retrieve the star for his beloved. It is an oath that sends the lovelorn swain over the town's ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...

   This is a story that is in some ways Epic Fantasy, it is at its core a quest story. But it is structured very much like a Fairy Tale. And as many Fairy Tales do, it has a tendency to be very economically written. At one point you get a twenty page chapter describing a journey that could easily have been expanded to a two hundred page sequence in Epic Fantasy.

   This economy in the telling of the story is by no means a flaw, it makes for a lean story that still is satisfyingly rich on the necessary details.

   What the story is really about is coming of age, at the beginning of the story Tristran, our hero, is a typical teenager. But through the events of the story, he ends up as a much more mature person when it is finished. In that respect I have no problem with classifying this as Young Adult, although I am not sure it was written as such.

   The journey we follow Tristran on is all about discovering new things. We are quickly led from our world in to a much more fantastic one, populated by the creatures of Fairy Tale and Legend. The glimpses we get of this world are intriguing and very well written. Gaiman manages to show the setting without resorting to "descriptionitis" (...well, it is a word now if it wasn't before). You get a good feeling of how the world beyond the wall functions, and who its inhabitants is.

   We do not only follow Tristran in this novel, there are four different viewpoints that gradually come together. This may seem as many for such a short novel, but it works very well. They are connected and they give the reader an opportunity to see more of what's going on, and thus get a greater understanding of the significance of the events described.

    The characters are all interesting, and the different viewpoints works very well in showing off the different agendas they have. They also give us a chance of getting more details of the world the story is set in.

   This is not the most complex novel out there by a far margin, but it doesn't try to be either. What it is, is a beautiful Fairy Tale that takes you on an interesting and satisfying journey.

   It is a great book for anyone who likes Fairy Tales, and although it is in some ways a Young Adult novel, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to lovers of Fantasy of any age. This is a quick read that gives you much more than its page count suggests.

NOTE: I don't usually give any space to the extra material in my reviews, but I have to do so here. Included is a short prologue called Wall, which Gaiman mentions in his afterword as a story he may one day tell. It's inclusion makes me urge you to get this exact edition of the book if you plan to buy it.

LINKS: Neil Gaiman  Headline  Headline Blog