Tag: fantasy

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

My husband and a close friend have been nagging me to read The Priory of the Orange Tree for ages, but I kept putting it off because of the length, over 800 pages is quite a commitment when I usually only have time to read during my daughter’s naps and for an hour or two before bed. It’s been a while since I read epic, high fantasy but I was hooked from the start and found myself reading past my bedtime most nights.

In the West, wyrms are feared and hated for bringing death and destruction, while the East worship dragons as noble and wise. Yet both have a common enemy in the most hated of all the dragons, The Nameless One, who is waking after 1000 years asleep. The Priory of the Orange Tree is set in an incredibly detailed world with its history, mythology and religions woven throughout the story.

The plot follows four characters spread across the world: Ead is a member of the clandestine Priory of the Orange Tree who has been assigned to infiltrate the court of Queen Sabran and protect her from harm; meanwhile Sabran’s childhood friend, Loth has been exiled and sent to find out what happened to Sabran’s missing father; Tane is training to become a dragon rider in the East; and the exiled alchemist, Roos, is scheming about how to exonerate and avenge himself. It’s also worth noting that I found the supporting and secondary characters every bit as nuanced and interesting as the protagonists from the witches, pirates and privateers to the knights and courtiers. The Priory of the Orange Tree is full of political intrigues, betrayals and conspiracies, but also romance, friendship and loyalty. The plot trots along before breaking into gallop in the second half where most of the action takes place as it hurtles towards the conclusion.

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a brilliant epic fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and discussing afterwards. Take care, and have a lovely week. X

The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos

It’s been a cold, dark and rainy month, and I’ve been seeking cosy, comfort reads. A Winter’s Promise (reviewed here) was a complete delight, and I couldn’t wait to return to the Mirror Visitor series to find out what the eccentric characters were up to in the second installment.

The Missing of Clairdelune starts shortly after the events of the first book; when Ophelia starts receiving anonymous, threatening letters and the other people who received similar letters begin disappearing, she and her fiance, Thorn, begin investigating. After a slow start, it turns into a gripping mystery as Ophelia and Thorn race against the clock to rescue the missing persons and discover who’s behind the letters, and find themselves caught up in an even bigger conspiracy that spans the rupture of the world, creation of the Arcs and the history of the family spirits.

Ophelia is such an unusual heroine – she’s clumsy, mumbling and absent-minded but also brave, resourceful and determined. Meanwhile, Thorn is completely inscrutable, and their developing relationship is fascinating to follow.

There are some pacing issues as almost all the action takes place in the second half of the story, but it’s a genuinely delightful, gripping and unexpecedly thrilling sequel with some clever twists. The third book is one of my most eagerly anticipated reads because I’m so enjoying this original and quirky series. Take care, and have a lovely week. X

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Despite being an avid fantasy reader, I’ve probably only read about fifteen of the 41 Discworld novels, but The Wee Free Men is the first book in the Tiffany Aching series and works well as a standalone novel (though the beloved witches Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax make an appearance in this).

The plot is a familiar one of a girl, Tiffany, having to rescue her baby brother when he’s stolen by an evil Fairy Queen. Tiffany grew up on a farm, herding sheep and making cheese, yet she aspires to become a witch, and resolves to steal her annoying, little brother back with the help of the Nac Mac Feegle – an endearing clan of small, blue warriors with Scottish accents.

Tiffany is such an appealing protagonist, with a strong moral compass, courage, common sense and determination, and this is such a refreshing fantasy tale full of autonomous, empowered women from Tiffany and her late grandmother to the Kelda who rules the fearsome Nac Mac Feegle, and even the evil Fairy Queen.

The Wee Free Men is a fun little story that plays around with fairytale tropes, and it’s a great witchy read for October. Take care, and have a lovely week. X

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

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The Fifth Season is the first book in The Broken Earth Trilogy and it’s the kind of gripping story that swept me along before I had the foggiest idea what it was about.

Set in a dystopian future, The Fifth Season follows three protagonists, Essun, Damaya and Syenite, all members of a race of humans called orogenes with the ability to control seismic activity. Essun, who has been living in hiding, is searching for her husband after he murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Damaya is taken to an organisation known as Fulcrum to be trained in how to control her abilities and serve the human population, while Syenite is an ambitious and talented orogene sent on a mission by the Fulcrum, frustrated but resigned to the injustices and unfairness of the world she lives in.

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Each perspective is unique and intriguing, and how the characters intersect with one another adds another level of mystery and suspense. When the characters and timelines finally coalesce at the end, it sets the scene for the next part of the trilogy which I’m looking forward to reading.

The world building is brilliant, though the brutal dehumanisation, exploitation and subjugation of the orogenes is uncomfortable reading in places, and I wasn’t suprised to learn that it was inspired by the real history of slavery and the oppression of black people. The Fifth Season is a thought-provoking, absorbing and original read. Have a lovely week. X

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Gods of Jade and Shadow was one of a few books that I bought to help get myself out of my lockdown reading slump. Set in Mexico during the 1920’s, the story follows a young woman called Casiopea who happens to be the downtrodden member of a wealthy family, until one day she frees the ancient Mayan God of Death, Hun-Kamé, who has been imprisoned in a locked chest in her grandfather’s bedroom.

Casiopea agrees to accompany Hun-Kamé around Mexico as he attempts to restore himself to full power, and it’s a race against time as while he exists in mortal form, he draws strength from her, draining her like a battery. Their quest to retrieve Hun-Kamé’s essence (his eye, ear, finger and jade necklace) takes them across Mexico encountering all manner of ghosts, demons, witches and other supernatural beings before the final confrontation in the underworld, Xiabalba, itself, it’s delightfully sinister and macabre in places.

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Hun-Kamé and his treacherous twin, Vucub-Kamé pit Casiopea and her cousin, Martin, against each other as they battle for supremacy over the underworld; it’s an interesting dynamic as all four characters’ positions were determined by chance as firstborn Hun-Kamé became the ruler of Xibalba with his younger twin destined to serve him, while Martin is the heir to their grandfather’s fortune soley because of his gender with Casiopea assigned to a position of servitude.

Given that Gods of Jade and Shadow is just over 300 pages in length, I found it slow to start and if not for my 100 page rule I might have given up before it started to get interesting, I also thought the romantic subplot felt flat and predictable, however, I found the setting and Mayan mythology a refreshing change, and the final test of the champions and the ending itself were particularly satisfying. Have a lovely week. X

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

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A Winter’s Promise is the first in ‘The Mirror Visitor Quartet’ and follows Ophelia, a member of the Animist clan who is betrothed against her wishes to Thorn, a stranger from another clan on a different Arc (one of the floating islands featured on the cover). No sooner does Ophelia arrive on Thorn’s Arc than she finds herself caught in the midst of political intrigues between feuding clans, with her future in-laws proving to be every bit as devious and vicious as their enemies.

Ophelia has the unusual abilities of being able to read the history of an object by touching it and to travel through mirrors. Despite her abilities, Ophelia is such an unlikely heroine, a mumbling, clumsy and socially awkward slip of a girl, but she proves to be brave, determined, resourceful and honest, and I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops through the series.

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This was originally written in French, and the translation is generally very smooth with a few exceptions where the author used terms like trompe l’oeil that don’t have a clear translation and remain in French, which felt slightly jarring.

A Winter’s Promise is such a strange and whimsical story that it’s hard to describe; it’s not typical fantasy, there aren’t any great battles or epic quests, yet the plot trots along and there were enough twists to keep me hooked until the end. This quirky story is populated with such eccentric and scheming characters that it reminded me of a cross between Jane Austen and Gormenghast. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed A Winter’s Promise and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what happens next. Have a lovely week. X

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

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The City of Brass (reviewed here) was the best book I read last year, and I loved slipping back into this world inspired by Arabian mythology in The Kingdom of Copper.

Set five years after the first book, Nahri has been forced to marry King Ghassan’s eldest son, Muntadhir, while Prince Ali has been exiled, and Dara has been freed from Ifrit enthrallment by Nahri’s mother, Manizheh.

Generations and tribes clash in a conflict that pits husbands against wives, parents against children, and siblings against each other. Ali is caught between his scheming relatives, as much as Nahri is caught between the rival factions of daeva and djinn. Nahri and Ali try to ease tensions between their rival tribes and improve conditions for the persecuted half-human shafit, while their parents’ generation seek vengeance, power and control over the city of Daevabad.

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Despite the fantasy setting, this story explores universal themes of love, loyalty, family, idealism and fanaticism, prejudice and revenge, and I’m so looking forward to finding out how the story resolves in the final part of this trilogy. Have a lovely week. X

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

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It feels very much like we’re living in a dystopian novel at the moment, like many others I’ve been staying at home, worrying about family and glued to the news over the last week, yet at times it’s been necessary and calming to retreat from our strange, new reality into fiction.

Crooked Kingdom starts just after the events of Six of Crows (reviewed here); betrayed by the merchant Van Eck who hired them for the seemingly impossible prison break in the first book, the Crows are seeking vengeance while Van Eck attempts to eliminate them.

I have such a soft spot for rogues and underdogs who refuse to give up no matter how impossible it seems, and I loved seeing how this band of misfits fought back when Kaz’s carefully laid plans fell apart. What makes this duology so compulsive is that time after time the Crows are outwitted, ambushed and betrayed, yet somehow they always drag themselves out of it and refuse to give up. Although magic exists in the Grishaverse, I also really appreciated that most of the characters rely on a combination of skill and cunning rather than superpowers.

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The romantic subplots are a little bit neat in that all six of the main characters pair off, though not everyone gets their happily ever after. Kaz and Inej in particular have become some of my favourite characters, and I was fascinated watching them circle each other warily, trying to bridge the distance across their personal traumas.

Crooked Kingdom contains the same blend of humour, action, twists and romance as Six of Crows, but I enjoyed the second book even more than the first. When reality seems stranger than fiction, I’m grateful to have stories as absorbing as this to escape into. Hoping everyone is safe and well. X

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

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I’d been putting off reading the final part of the Shades of Magic trilogy because I’d fallen in love with the characters and their world so much that I didn’t want the adventure to be over, yet I finally gave in to the competing desire to find out how it all ends.

A Conjuring of Light starts immediately after the end of A Gathering of Shadows (reviewed here). There’s a certain sense of circularity in that the plot of the final book resembles that of the first, A Darker Shade of Magic (reviewed here) as once again magic incarnate spreads like a plague possessing or destroying all who come into contact with it, yet this time the stakes are so much higher. There’s a real sense of desperation as Kell, Lila, Holland, Rhy and Alucard battle to save the besieged city, and they have to set aside their differences and grudges to work together to fight a common enemy.

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A Conjuring of Light was full of enough suspense, betrayals, sacrifices, romance and humour to keep me hooked right up to an ending that felt both satisfying and bittersweet. This is one of the best fantasy series I’ve read in a long while, and a trilogy that I’ll happily re-read at some point. Have a lovely week. X

The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

The Lost Plot is the fourth book in the Invisible Library series following the librarian Irene Winters in the battle between the forces of chaos and order.

Shortly after The Lost Plot begins, Irene is approached by a dragon with a request to acquire a specific version of a text, a request that threatens the Library’s neutrality between the dragons and the fae, and Irene finds herself caught between two rival factions of feuding dragons.

One of the aspects I love most about this series are the locations and this one was set in an alternate 1920’s New York complete with speakeasy’s, prohibition and gangs.

The pace of The Lost Plot trots along and there were enough shady deals, betrayals, shoot-outs and librarian duels to keep me hooked until the end. As an added bonus the slow burn romance between Irene and her assistant Kai finally starts to heat up.

I’m generally reluctant to commit to long-running series, but the Invisible Library books are so original, fun and easy to read with such endearing characters that I’m always happy to find out what Irene and her allies are up to. Have a lovely week. X