3.5 out of 5 worms
SOULESS has a lot of secondary titles; An Alexia Tarabotti Novel, Book the First of the Parasol Protectorate. Ms. Carriger is a little too cute for her own good - pick a title!
But I digress. I read this piece a few months ago, but I'm revisiting it since it still falls on the recently read list.
I really didn't know what to expect when I picked up this one, described as "A novel of vampires, werewolves and parasols." It seemed it could go for the better or worse with a tag-line like that. I started out skeptical but was drawn in and throughly enjoyed the read. It is light, supernatural and Victorian. I also apprectiate Ms. Carriger for creating an alternate Victorian era, where werewolves and vampires are a known part of society. She creates her own, strong mythology - not an easy feat - and coins a few of her own terms.
Our heroine is Alexia Tarabotti who is a preternatural. As far as I know, this idea is an original, so listen up. Preternaturals have no soul, however, they have morals and emotions. The main difference between preternaturals and the rest of us is that when they touch a supernatural creature, that being becomes essentially mortal for the duration of the contact.
Since we were in an alternate era, I really wanted to put a soundtrack to the book. This is something that I do for fun, literally choosing songs that I think fit and then envisioning a scene with my soundtrack. It's fun, try it! Anyways, I picked La Roux's album, specifically Tigerlily and Cover My Eyes.
I don't want to give away the plot of this one, since I recommend it. Lord Maccoon, the alpha werewolf, is a fantastic character in addition to Miss Tarabotti. Miss Tarabotti is half Italian and half English, a "spinster" in her twenties because of her olive complexion and Roman nose. My biggest disappointment was that the cover artwork did NOT match this description at all! We see a stylized, pale twig that I had mistaken for a vampire. If the author takes such pains to create such an interesting character physically, why sell out on the cover? Answers please!
I just purchased the 2nd Book, Changeless and am looking forward to it.
Bottom line: Light, supernatural, great characters
8.07.2010
8.05.2010
Coming Soon....
SOULESS - Gail Carriger
How does librophile feel about this pseudo-steampunk trilogy? find out soon!
How does librophile feel about this pseudo-steampunk trilogy? find out soon!
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
2.5 out of 5 worms
With a title like that which Ms. Hieber christened her literary debut with, I had my hopes high. And a Victorian setting! I was ready to be delighted. Alas, the story falls short - very short of anything outside of the teen section at B&N. I felt sorry for the characters in the plot. In fact, that was the novels strength, the solidity and color (no pun intended, since the heroine is albino) of its characters.
So here's the dilly-o. The story opens with 6 children, strangers being mysteriously summoned one night to meet a goddess, who imparts each of them with an ancient spirit. The spirit or, Guardian, endows it's mortal with special powers. However, this means that the children are now enmeshed in a long-standing battle between good and evil. Fast-forward twenty years. Our six have been protecting the balance of good and evil in London by dealing with unruly ghosts. Two of the six have created a boarding school for uber-intelligent teens. Professor Alexi Rychman is a hottie with a big.....horse he rides through the night to battle ghosts, and he is also the group's leader. The author drops the needle when the "strange and beautiful" Percy Parker arrives, a 19 y.o. albino orphan raised in a convent who can see and talk to ghosts. Sounds like a charming proposal - but the narrative is too precious. What follows sounds like it was quoted out of a tween's late night fantasy. Percy receives tutoring in his office because she can't do math (really?). She's always fainting and collapsing while in his presence. Turns out the 6 ghost busters have been waiting for a seventh team member who will help them fight evil. Could it be Percy? Of course it is. However, the poor albino is intercepted by a false prophet posing to be their seventh.
Here's where I totally jumped ship in reading this book - and hold on to your pants. We learn that Percy is the reincarnation of Persephone from Greek mythology, the poser seventh is Medusa working for Hades, and the 6 ghost busters have been endowed with the spirits of Muses. Again - really? I thought this was a gothic ghost story set in Victorian England. I don't buy it at all.
It's not that the concept of a twist into Greek mythology isn't a bad idea. I could see it working in the hands of someone like Anne Rice, who weaves mythology into her stories in a classy way. Here's how I would fix this story: the ghosts and battles need to be scarier. Let's think Clive Barker scary. And the battle between good and evil wouldn't seem as cheesy if it was handled in a more mature subtle way a la Stephen King.
Bottom Line: Read if you are under 16 or at the beach
With a title like that which Ms. Hieber christened her literary debut with, I had my hopes high. And a Victorian setting! I was ready to be delighted. Alas, the story falls short - very short of anything outside of the teen section at B&N. I felt sorry for the characters in the plot. In fact, that was the novels strength, the solidity and color (no pun intended, since the heroine is albino) of its characters.
So here's the dilly-o. The story opens with 6 children, strangers being mysteriously summoned one night to meet a goddess, who imparts each of them with an ancient spirit. The spirit or, Guardian, endows it's mortal with special powers. However, this means that the children are now enmeshed in a long-standing battle between good and evil. Fast-forward twenty years. Our six have been protecting the balance of good and evil in London by dealing with unruly ghosts. Two of the six have created a boarding school for uber-intelligent teens. Professor Alexi Rychman is a hottie with a big.....horse he rides through the night to battle ghosts, and he is also the group's leader. The author drops the needle when the "strange and beautiful" Percy Parker arrives, a 19 y.o. albino orphan raised in a convent who can see and talk to ghosts. Sounds like a charming proposal - but the narrative is too precious. What follows sounds like it was quoted out of a tween's late night fantasy. Percy receives tutoring in his office because she can't do math (really?). She's always fainting and collapsing while in his presence. Turns out the 6 ghost busters have been waiting for a seventh team member who will help them fight evil. Could it be Percy? Of course it is. However, the poor albino is intercepted by a false prophet posing to be their seventh.
Here's where I totally jumped ship in reading this book - and hold on to your pants. We learn that Percy is the reincarnation of Persephone from Greek mythology, the poser seventh is Medusa working for Hades, and the 6 ghost busters have been endowed with the spirits of Muses. Again - really? I thought this was a gothic ghost story set in Victorian England. I don't buy it at all.
It's not that the concept of a twist into Greek mythology isn't a bad idea. I could see it working in the hands of someone like Anne Rice, who weaves mythology into her stories in a classy way. Here's how I would fix this story: the ghosts and battles need to be scarier. Let's think Clive Barker scary. And the battle between good and evil wouldn't seem as cheesy if it was handled in a more mature subtle way a la Stephen King.
Bottom Line: Read if you are under 16 or at the beach
8.04.2010
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
4.5 out of 5 worms
I know. I'm very late in reading this one, seeing as it was very vogue to have it on the subway I'd say a year or so ago. But here it is!
I and my boyfriend love vampire movies and books. Not that we dress up like them or anything. He loves Bela Lugosi, and I my beloved Anne Rice, and are unanimous on how wonderful Buffy is. Whedon, where are you! We both refuse to read/view the Twilight Saga. No offense.
So, I felt I had a good background to take in this particular piece of historical fiction.
Brava, Ms. Kostova, for your maddening attention to historical detail, as well as the minutia of the various Eastern European locales travelled in the story. The author manages to impart so much information about each setting, it's like a pain-free world cultures class. As a side note, during and after reading the novel, became fixated on learning several languages - Italian, French, Russian, and Latin, in that order. The novel uses Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish and Greek, but does influence one to expand one's horizons, linguistically.
This is a book that even I could not ingest at a rapid rate. Not because of its size, but because of the amount of travelling through time and place and point of view that takes place. I found it effective to read a large chunk, then digest it for a day or so.
I did not find the book a page turner. My only critique is that at one point in the story, it seemed as though the main characters were doing the same thing over and over again. I.E. Paul and Helen would find a mysterious book, follow the clue, but no Dracula or Rossi, sorry.
I very much appreciated the homage paid to Bela and Bram Stoker. The inclusion of Bela's films as being viewed by Paul, each large section introduced by a Stoker quote.
Round-up: Definitely a book for history and vampire lovers!
I know. I'm very late in reading this one, seeing as it was very vogue to have it on the subway I'd say a year or so ago. But here it is!
I and my boyfriend love vampire movies and books. Not that we dress up like them or anything. He loves Bela Lugosi, and I my beloved Anne Rice, and are unanimous on how wonderful Buffy is. Whedon, where are you! We both refuse to read/view the Twilight Saga. No offense.
So, I felt I had a good background to take in this particular piece of historical fiction.
Brava, Ms. Kostova, for your maddening attention to historical detail, as well as the minutia of the various Eastern European locales travelled in the story. The author manages to impart so much information about each setting, it's like a pain-free world cultures class. As a side note, during and after reading the novel, became fixated on learning several languages - Italian, French, Russian, and Latin, in that order. The novel uses Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish and Greek, but does influence one to expand one's horizons, linguistically.
This is a book that even I could not ingest at a rapid rate. Not because of its size, but because of the amount of travelling through time and place and point of view that takes place. I found it effective to read a large chunk, then digest it for a day or so.
I did not find the book a page turner. My only critique is that at one point in the story, it seemed as though the main characters were doing the same thing over and over again. I.E. Paul and Helen would find a mysterious book, follow the clue, but no Dracula or Rossi, sorry.
I very much appreciated the homage paid to Bela and Bram Stoker. The inclusion of Bela's films as being viewed by Paul, each large section introduced by a Stoker quote.
Round-up: Definitely a book for history and vampire lovers!
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