Tag Archives: epic fantasy

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

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I did not know anything about this book until I saw it in Barnes and Noble. I’ve read The Magician’s trilogy by Lev Grossman, but hadn’t read anything else by him. I had actually just finished doing a re-watch of the SyFy tv show based on the Magicians (I have very mixed thoughts about that tv show). But, I’m a sucker for a King Arthur story, so I was interested right off the bat. This is not a retelling of the traditional King Arthur stories (LaMorte d’Arthur, Once and Future King, etc.), but it’s a story more so of the Knights of the Round Table, and not the ones that typically get all the attention (Sir Gawain, Sir Galahad, Sir Kay, Sir Percival, Sir Tristan, etc.) This is the story of Sir Bedivere, Sir Dagonet, Sir Palomides, and others. The old favorites make appearances (Galahad, Lancelot, Gawain, etc..) but they are not the focus. It makes the tale seem more like untold stories. Which I think is a nice take on Arthurian legend. I don’t know how unique it is, but for fans of Arthurian legends, it’s a nice change of pace.

Our protagonist is Collum, a young man with a sad past who has dreams of being a Knight of the Round Table in service to King Arthur. Collum makes his way to Camelot, and finds that Arthur is dead, and the Knights of the Round Table are in shambles. The story continues as Collum and the remaining knights set out on a journey to rebuild Camelot and come to terms with how the beloved King Arthur could have possibly been defeated. There are some new twists on old favorites and it wouldn’t be an Arthurian legend without some quests for holy objects and visits to the faery world. The main narrative is broken up by interludes that give us the backstories of the remaining Knights of the Round Table. The story is therefore not linear. Arthur is always a presence, even when he is not depicted in the backstories.

My overall thoughts are that the story is entertaining. I do think it might be a bit long. There are points in the story, particularly in the middle, where it seems as though the backstories are becoming the focus, rather than propelling the main story forward. Side quests are a staple of Arthurian legends, but with several chapters devoted to backstories, I think it is more important to be able to get back to the main story to keep things moving. There’s a twist to the traditional Lancelot, Arthur and Guinevere love triangle, which I enjoyed, but it took us a while to get there. I do recommend The Bright Sword, particularly if you enjoy Arthurian legends. I would not recommend this book as an entry point to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Read the more traditional tellings, first, and then come back to this one for some fun and intersesting twists to the tale.

Lilypad Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

The Navigator’s Children by Tad Williams

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I finished this book before Christmas, but I’ve been ruminating on it since then. I know that this is the last book in the Last King of Osten Ard series, and I believe it’s the grand conclusion to our adventures in Osten Ard as whole. We started with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, and then continued with the Last King of Osten Ard, intermixed with a couple side novels (The Heart of What Was Lost and Into the Narrowdark). So we have quite the compilation of stories with Simon, Miriamele, Jiriki, Aditu, Isgrimnur, and all of our favorite characters. So, as with the end of any era, it’s bittersweet.

This is a spoiler free review.

It took me a while to read. I started on November 13, 2024, the day it came out, and didn’t finish until December 22, 2024. It’s not that I wasn’t interested or invested in the story, it’s that Tad Williams packs a lot into his stories. He uses a lot of words, and the language is very rich. For me, this makes me read slower, because the content is not meant to be devoured quickly. Some people can do that, but for me, I needed to take my time.

The first few chapters are clearly set up and moving people to get them where they need to be for the climax of the story. It was nice to see those pieces coming together and it didn’t feel too rushed. Once we get everyone where they need to be, that’s where things got a little wonky for me. We have the big battle with the Norns vs (almost) everybody else, and it ends. Great. But then we still have about a third of the book to go, and we still have another antagonist to battle. Taking them one at a time makes sense, but in doing that, there were characters that were just missing for basically the whole middle of the book. We had some characters fighting only one of the antagonists, and then our main protagonists were fighting both antagonists. And then you had the actual navigator’s children plot to wrap up after all that. It was a lot going on and it was handled in a pretty methodical way. My feelings are all over the place about this, so it’s hard to say it was good or bad. It was just different and unexpected.

I don’t like to give too many spoilers, but there is a character that reappears and its kinda anti-climatic. The reveal seemed to come out of nowhere and honestly I almost missed it. It should have been more powerful and dramatic than it was. It just happened. This could be reader error on my part, but, that just means I’ll need to do a re-read! Anyway, the ending was left a bit open. The story continues for these characters, but we still have questions left that we may never get the answers to. For example, we may or may not have seen the Last King of Osten Ard…what we get is more of a “here’s the plan and so you may have seen the last king, but maybe not”. It’s an interesting way to end a sprawling and epic series like this one, and it definitely left me wanting to know more. But the characters continue to live their lives. We only get a piece of their story. Maybe one day we’ll get a little more.

This has been a very rambling review, but I’m not sure if I will ever have concise and coherent thoughts about it. I enjoyed it, and I think that if you love the world of Osten Ard, then I would definitely recommend this series. I would also recommend that you reread it. I think rereading will help answer some questions and probably pose some new ones as well.

Lilypad Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Wheel of Time Season 3!

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On December 7th, The Wheel of Time tv show had a panel at CCXP in Brazil. On that same day, we got our first teaser trailer. It was about a minute long and served as an introduction to what we’ll see in season 3.

SPOILER ALERT! Season 3 of the Wheel of Time will cover roughly parts of Book 3 (The Dragon Reborn), most of Book 4 (The Shadow Rising) and may cover parts of Book 5 (The Fires of Heaven, specifically the ending). I have read the series (multiple times!) so there may be spoilers through book 5 and definitely spoilers for the first two seasons of the show. You’ve been warned.

I have had very mixed feelings about the tv adaptation so far. The first season was pretty rough for me and I had some issues with certain adaptation choices, for example Perrin having a wife and how she dies directly at his hand. I feel as though there were points where things just went a step too far. I also understand the challenges of filming during COVID, a cast member leaving unexpectedly midway through season one, and that had a huge impact on the season and caused certain decisions to be made that they otherwise wouldn’t have done. Especially the unexpected departure of a castmate in season one had ripple effects all the way into season 2. I don’t want to rehash all that because I do believe that the show did the best they could with what they were given. There are plenty of other places on the internet that have done deep dives into all that, so a quick google search can bring up those sources if you choose to go down that rabbit hole.

All that being said, the season 3 teaser looks really good. It is more recognizable as the Wheel of Time and there are some fan favorite and classic scenes that look like they will be amazing. Rand and Moiraine in Rhuidean, glimpses of Rand’s journey through the glass columns… and it looks like we will actually get to see Moiraine’s journey, which we didn’t get in the books. That segment looks fantastic and I’m looking forward to that.

I’m also looking forward to Mat getting back to being the Mat we know from the books. He has some great iconic scenes coming up from the books that I hope have made it to the screen. Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve we didn’t get to see too much of in the teaser, but from what little was there, it at least looks like Elayne and Nynaeve will be in Tanchico. Seems like Mat may be there too but we will probably see more of that in the final full trailer. This is mostly based on fan speculation of course. But that’s what’s so fun!

Anyway, I am probably most concerned about Perrin. I really want him to become the Perrin that he is meant to be when he goes back to the Two Rivers. It’s hard to imagine how Perrin will get to where he needs to be. I think that having him be the person who actually kills his wife, accident that it was, is just so much to overcome. The timeline on the show is condensed of course, so I’m afraid that his new romance with Faile will seem rushed or unrealistic, given how things with his wife played out. I’m reserving judgment of course, but I hope it makes sense within the confines of the show.

Overall, the teaser does have me excited for season 3 because I think the show will finally get on solid footing- no production issues, COVID, writer’s strike, departing cast members. That’s a lot to overcome and keep the storytelling consistent. Looking forward to season 3 and returning to old favorite characters, the departure of some favorites, and meeting some of the awesome new characters we’ve got coming! If you know you know! (wink wink).

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

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This book has been popping all over the place. The level of hype was closer to what you would get for a movie or tv show, rather than a debut novel. Does it live it up to the hype? Mostly yes.

The most interesting thing about the book is the structure. The story of Kihrin, our main protagonist, is told in a fragmented form by two narrators. Kihrin narrates the more recent events of his life, those events that lead us to the jail cell where we first meet him. Another narrative (I won’t give that away), tells Kihrin’s story from further back in his past. There is also a third narrator, who will eventually pick up the story, who provides insights throughout both narratives in the form of footnotes. I wasn’t sure how I would like the narrative structure, but once I got used to it, I quite enjoyed it. It did make a good plot better.

The plot itself was intriguing, but at times there seemed to be plot twists for the sake of plot twists. One of those twists was the parentage of one of the characters. It kept changing, to the point where I was not sure what was true anymore. Now, that could very well be the point, the narrators are not entirely reliable, but it was still a bit more twisty than I thought it needed to be. The plot was already compelling, I didn’t find the additional twists to be necessary. On its surface, the story revolves around Kihrin finding his true destiny and saving the world, but there is a nice sort of twist at the end, that really sets up the other books in the series. That was a twist I appreciated and felt was earned.

A very special shout out to the audiobook. There were three different performers used to wonderful affect. I found myself wanting to listen to the book more than reading it.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. The story isn’t completely unfamiliar to anyone who has read a lot of fantasy, but the narrative device gave it a fresh feel that I really appreciated. I will definitely read this before the next book in the series comes out, since I do feel like I may have missed a few connections on my first read through.

Lillypad Rating: 4 out of 5

An Ember in the Ashes (Series) by Sabaa Tahir

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This review will cover the first three books in the Ember series (An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night and A Reaper at the Gates). The fourth and final book in the series is due in 2019.

This is the story of Laia, a young woman in a slave class that finds her world destroyed, and ends up in a band of resistors who are looking to finally free themselves of the Martials, who are the ruling class of the empire. There is also Elias, who is student at a military school, which trains the best and the brightest to become Masks, an elite fighting force that serves the empire. Eventually, Laia and Elias’s stories intertwine, and we begin our grand adventure to destroy the empire. But of course, the threat is much deeper and our “heroes” discover a threat that is bigger than anything they could have imagined. The fate of the world is at stake!

The story is full of the familiar tropes that we all know; the bastard of a powerful family who wants out; the unrequited love of a best friend; the conspiracy that is bigger than first thought, etc. It makes some plot developments predictable, but, there are enough plot twists that are not conventional, that really elevates the story from being typical fantasy cliches to an interesting story that doesn’t always go the way you’d think.

My one quibble with the novel is my utter lack of interest in the main protagonist, Laia. Especially in the first book, I constantly found myself getting annoyed with her. She was so indecisive, so naive and didn’t really seem to think things through. Granted, it can be just as frustrating when the main character seems to do everything perfectly, even when its something they have never done before, but this almost made me not want to finish the book. What saved me was the story of Elias. I found his character to be much more compelling. Sure, there are some major tropes going on with him as well, but I just found his journey to be the more intriguing of the two. His inner turmoil about being turned into this amoral fighting machine, fighting for an empire he really didn’t care for, while not groundbreaking, was just plain old interesting. The cast of characters surrounding Elias at the school helped as well, although I wish there was a bit more character development there. They weren’t quite distinctive enough for me to really tell them apart, but I think there would have been more time for that sort of development if the book was focused on Elias, and not Laia.

Another reason for me to continue with the series was the twisting and turning of the plot, which I found made up for my lack of interest in Laia. I won’t reveal those twists of course, but we also get some new point of view characters starting in the second book that really beings to round out the overall story.

I did find that once I finished the second book, I really thought that the third book would be the conclusion. Then I read that this was a quartet and not a trilogy. I really think the story could have been condensed to three books, since there were some plot shenanigans that were going on to stretch out.

I know I seem fairly critical, but I did come to enjoy the characters and the story, especially when the new point of view characters were introduced in book two. I am looking forward to the fourth installment, and discovering the ultimate fate of the characters.

Lilypad Rating:LilyPadLilyPad1/2 out of 5

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

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Dread Nation is an alternate history set in the aftermath of the American Civil War. A civil war which ended in part because of zombies. Sounds like fun!

Well, not quite. Just because the dead aren’t staying dead, that doesn’t mean some form of subjugation and oppression of blacks and Native Americans would go away. It just takes a different form. In this timeline, slavery is abolished, but there are still shamblers to fight. So, former slaves and native peoples are forced into combat schools where they are trained to fight shamblers in order to protect the white population. Our main character, Jane, is a young black girl who has been trained at Miss Preston’s School of Combat to be a shambler fighter. It is supposed to be her greatest hope to be chosen by a white lady from high society to be her “Attendant”.  These “Attendants” are basically body guards for their lady, and are meant to protect them from shamblers. Of course, things go horribly wrong for our heroine, and our adventure begins.

I enjoyed the point of view of Jane, who is not only one of, if not the best fighter at the school, but she is rough around the edges to say the least. She is brash and somewhat unapologetic. Its refreshing to have her as the protagonist rather than being the sidekick.   She is reminiscent of the “charming roguish thief”, that you see in many fantasy series. I liked the characters themselves, but I’m not sure how I feel about the actual plot. I liked it when they were at the school, and when they were able to get out of the school and into the surrounding areas (Baltimore, to be exact), but once the location changes, then I began to lose a bit of the connection I had to the story. I still enjoyed it, but the story was expanding a little too quickly for my taste. I had just gotten into that particular corner of the world, and then I was taken out of it. This is the first book in a series, so if there were going to be other books, I felt more time could’ve been spent in their original location. (I’m being vague because I am avoiding spoilers).

I was also concerned about the timeline. I kept thinking it was closer to the end of the civil war than it was (the story takes place in 1880, the U.S. Civil War ended in 1865). I would read a story about what happened at the Battle of Gettysburg when the dead on both sides began to rise.  Maybe that can be a prequel!

The writing had a sharpness that was appealing, with an economy of words that I think worked well overall. Just enough description, but not too much.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I encourage others to pick it up. The author also has a list of resources in her “Author’s Note” about the history of industrial schools, and how the United States government sent Native children there to be “civilized”. These schools were the basis for her “combat schools” in the novel.

Lilypad Rating:LilyPadLilyPadLilyPad1/2 out of 5

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

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I think I heard about this book through io9’s monthly article about books they are anticipating. I’ll leave the link here. They have a really good list. I’m also interested in Dread Nation and Night Dahlia.

Ash Princess is about a princess, Thora/Theodosia, of the conquered nation of Astrea, who is held hostage by her nation’s conquerors, the Kalovaxians.  Thora is used as a tool to keep the Astreans in line. Step out of line, and the princess is beaten. She is the princess of ashes only, and is treated at times like an honored guest, and at other times like a criminal. Of course, rebellion is in the air, and Thora soon becomes involved in a plot to overthrow the Kalovaxians and take back her kingdom.

As I was reading along, I thought this was a stand alone novel. The plot moved along at a very brisk pace, with just enough information about the characters, culture and circumstances to advance the plot. There were breaks in the story for exposition about the use of gems in the Astrean religion, a little bit of background on the Kalovaxians, and the destruction they have wreaked not only on Astrea, but other nations in this world. But it all seemed pretty surface, no real depth. Which I expect when a story is a stand alone. More emphasis on plot and less on character development. This isn’t a criticism, it was just the impression I got while reading. As we get nearer to the end, it becomes obvious that this won’t get resolved by the end of the book. And I find that I don’t mind that. I am actually curious about what will happen next. I like a good story about the oppressed rising up against the oppressors!

That would be the main criticism I had. I wished that this felt like a first book in a series, rather than a stand alone novel. This may be my own fault for not researching more on this book, but I would like to have seen more world building. The Kalovaxians have a history of concurring and pillaging other countries, so I would like to know more about that. This will probably (hopefully) happen in the next book (or books), but more world building now would have made the story a bit richer, for me.

Lilypad Rating:LilyPadLilyPadLilyPad out of 5

Circe by Madeline Miller

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I have always loved greek mythology. And if you love it too, you’ll really enjoy Circe.

The story is about Circe, the witch Odysseus meets on his journey home from the Trojan War. She is the child of Helios, one of the Titans- the gods who ruled before Zeus and the Olympians overthrew them. You meet some of the Olympians we are all familiar with, but we see them through Circe’s eyes. Circe has had a hand in almost all of them. The names should be familiar: Scylla, Glaucus, Daedelus, Jason, Medea, to name a few. Even a couple surprises! At least they were surprises to me. 🙂

Circe’s story is tragic. At times you root for her and at other times you become exasperated with her. She is a complicated figure. You really feel her loneliness, her sense of being “other”, and how her upbringing brought on many of her insecurities, and shaped the decisions she makes later in her life. In a small way this is a story about bullying, and the long term affects that can have on a person. Circe definitely lashes out in response to her treatment by her family, and usually to horrible consequences. Her story is always compelling, and you understand how she came to be who she is.

The writing is like a more accessible epic poem. (I would also suggest listening to the audio book). It is a good balance of modern and formal. There is a sense of age, yet its not impressed with itself.

I’m really not doing this book justice. Its a fantastic and captivating read. It makes the greek myths feel more vibrant and real. I’m definitely going to go back and re-visit these old myths, and I will certainly pick up Miller’s first book, Song of Achilles.

Lilypad rating: LilyPadLilyPadLilyPadLilyPad

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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This book showed up on several lists of anticipated books of 2018. I added it to my own list because I was in the mood for a Young Adult (YA) story. This is not a dystopian YA story, which is a good thing.

This is the story of a country in what appears to be an African-like continent, where magic has been eradicated (or has it??), and the people who used magic were almost wiped out. Their descendants are an oppressed people who are shunned, ostracized and brutalized by the current regime. They are often used as servants/slaves to the upper classes, including the royal family. This purging of magic took place about 11 years ago. Of course, our young heroine, Zelie, is descended from magic users, and the story focuses on her discovering her destiny to bring magic back.

You can definitely pick out the epic fantasy influences. There’s the hero’s journey, where Zelie denies her destiny, then accepts it. There’s the loss of the wise mentor. There is also the formation of the rag tag group of heroes who will help her on her journey. There are tales of gods, wars, magical objects, and of course romance. There are references to places with similar names to ours (Britaunis, Porltoganes, etc.) This is definitely the same way in which more traditional fantasy infuses medieval English or French cultural influences into the world building.  There is also the use of the Yoruba language that lends even more grounding in cultures here on our own earth.

What this story does so well, is dramatizing a real underlying sense of fear, hate and oppression. There is a heavy sense throughout the book of the depths of hate and intolerance and the lengths people will go to in order to oppress those who are different. The hate and animosity runs deep, and some characters are overcome by it, while others clearly struggle to rationalize what has been done to the magic users, all in the name of  protecting the people. The Author’s Note at the end of the book gives more insight into how this story reflects modern day issues.

I have a few nitpicks, but the one I will mention here is the setting, or timing of the current story.  I would’ve liked this story to take place maybe another generation or two from the eradication of magic. Seeing how wounded this society would be after so many years, would make the stakes a bit higher. How would the descendants of the magic users feel? Would they have sided with their oppressors and believed that magic was bad? Would they mostly be in hiding? Everything seemed so new and raw. I would like to have seen the toll this event has taken on the society, another generation or two later.

Overall, this is a very engaging story, with characters you can root for. There is so much more to this story, so I am looking forward to part two!

Lilypad rating: LilyPadLilyPadLilyPad1/2

2018 Reading Goals

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Happy New Year!

New year, fresh start for reading. I’ve never  had any specific goals for reading, other than to read more. This year, I’ve decided to actually be more specific, and deliberate with my reading. In 2017 I exceeded my Goodreads goal, but it was a struggle at times. Part of the problem was that I was distracted by all the great television. Between Netflix, Hulu, HBO and everything else, it was, and still is, very easy to just plop down in front of the TV and binge a show. I’d like to change that, and plop down on the the couch and binge a book! There aren’t too many sows that I need or want to watch live, so there’s no reason why I can’t make reading my default, and fit TV in between those times when I’m not reading. So, here’s my plan for 2018:

  1. Goodreads Goal: 25 books
  2. At least 30 minutes to an hour each day reading. The TV will not be on, no other distractions. This can be a designated time before bed or right after work.
  3. Expand beyond traditional sci fi and fantasy. Maybe more young adult, urban fantasy, contemporary fiction, historical fiction etc. Expand those horizons! Its not like I’ve never read literary fiction before, so why not add that back into the rotation?
  4. Re-read Favorites. When in a rut, pull out an old favorite. I won’t necessarily finish the book, but use it as a time filler while deciding on a new book. It keeps up the habit of daily reading. And its always nice to re-visit old favorites!
  5. Second Chances. Be willing to give some books a second chance. Life is too short to read books you don’t like, but sometimes you just need to give it a go again, because it may turn out to be a new favorite.

We’ll see how this goes! What are your reading goals for 2018?