Again I’ve found a stack of reviews just waiting to be published and like with the previous I’ve compiled them all into a single post. No point in getting anyone’s hopes up.
Continue reading “The Memoirs of Lady Trent – Books 2-5 By Marie Brennan”Fantasy
Magisterium – Books 2-5 – By Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Most of these quick reviews were written two years ago and never got published. Instead of posting them individually I’ve combined them and then added my thoughts about what I can remember about the last book. This doesn’t mean I’m back, just doing some house cleaning.
Continue reading “Magisterium – Books 2-5 – By Holly Black & Cassandra Clare”DNF – A Sending Of Dragons by Jane Yolen
I can’t….I just can’t.
This book has only the most superficial connection to either of the previous books and it might not even be in the same genre anymore. I got maybe a third of the way in and I’m bored out of my mind. No clue where this could go and I just don’t care anymore.
Robert
Pit Dragon Chronicles – Book 2: Heart’s Blood – By Jane Yolen
Jared? Is that you? It’s just been so long I didn’t recognize you.
It’s a little weird to think that the thing that finally brings you out of hiding is a romance.
Title: Heart’s Blood
Series: Pit Dragon Chronicles; Book 2
Author: Jane Yolen
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Audience: Teen
ROTS Setting: CU, distant future, dragons, dragon fights
Synopsis: Jakkin risks everything — freedom, dragon Heart’s Blood, even his life — to rescue beloved Akki who vanished months ago in rebel cell on former prison planet Austar IV. He must become rebel spy Three for mysterious Senator Golden and carry an explosive satchel to the dragon pits. In this game he will lose no matter how well he plays.
Recommendation: This book is not recommended.
Continue reading “Pit Dragon Chronicles – Book 2: Heart’s Blood – By Jane Yolen”
Pit Dragon Chronicles – Book 1: Dragon’s Blood – By Jane Yolen
Hey Jared,
I read an abridged/short story version of this in school and had no clue there was a (slightly) bigger version out there for the longest time. Finding it has been nearly impossible but I figured it out eventually.
Title: Dragon’s Blood
Series: Pit Dragon Chronicles; Book 1
Author: Jane Yolen
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: CU, distant future, dragons, dragon fights
Synopsis: Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga. Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for fifteen-year-old Jakkin.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for pre- and early teens.
Continue reading “Pit Dragon Chronicles – Book 1: Dragon’s Blood – By Jane Yolen”
The Copernicus Legacy – Book 2: The Serpent’s Curse – By Tony Abbott
Hey Jared,
I hate it when a series starts out strong and then nosedives the first chance it gets….meaning the second book.
Title: The Serpent’s Curse
Series: The Copernicus Legacy; Book 2
Author: Tony Abbott
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: CU, present day, astronomy
Synopsis: Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca may have found the Copernicus Legacy’s first relic—a beautiful blue stone named after the constellation Vela—but they have lost much more than they have gained. Darrell’s mother, Sara, has been kidnapped by Galina Krause, the conniving leader of the Teutonic Order, who hopes that the renowned academic will lead her and her minions to the next relic.
Recommendation: Not recommended. It’s still a decent read, and good for younger readers, but it’s generic and the quality tanked.
Continue reading “The Copernicus Legacy – Book 2: The Serpent’s Curse – By Tony Abbott”
Tales of the King’s Blades – Book 2: Lord of the Fire Lands – By Dave Duncan
Hey Jared,
I could have sworn I’d read this before and I remember the beginning vividly……but not the middle…..or much of the end. In fact, the end I mostly remember from reading the next book in the series.
Title: Lord of the Fire Lands
Series: The King’s Blades #2 / Tales of the King’s Blades #2
Author: Dave Duncan
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: AU, Medieval, No Higher Magic (sort of)
Synopsis: Young Wasp never intended to be a rebel. Yet, at the sacred ceremony of binding, he follows the lead of his friend Raider, and together they spurn the wishes of King Ambrose himself. Now Raider and Wasp are outlaws hunted by the very Blades whose ranks they were a breath away from entering, and joined together by a destiny that binds them more securely than any knot tradition and sorcery might tie. Amid the turmoil their “treachery” has inspired, Wasp and Raider must undertake a desperate journey into the heart of the dreaded Fire Lands. And the outcome of their terrifying confrontation with dark truth and darker magic in this realm of monsters, ghosts, and half-men will ultimately determine the fate of two kingdoms.
Recommendation: This book is intended for Adults. I highly recommend it.
Continue reading “Tales of the King’s Blades – Book 2: Lord of the Fire Lands – By Dave Duncan”
The Trials of Apollo – Book 3: The Burning Maze – By Rick Riordan
Hi Jared,
Ok, maybe it was me but I kept thinking this book was going to end the series….and it didn’t. So my feelings are a bit conflicted.
Title: The Burning Maze
Series: The Trials of Apollo; Book 3
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Youth/Teen
ROTS Setting: EU, Modern, Magic, Mythology/Supernatural
Synopsis: The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad. With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon. . . .
Recommendation: Still recommended, but only barely.
Continue reading “The Trials of Apollo – Book 3: The Burning Maze – By Rick Riordan”
The Memoirs of Lady Trent – Book 1: A Natural History of Dragons – By Marie Brennan
Hi Jared,
I am thoroughly impressed by this book. The cover, the font, art and even how the pages were cut. Everything was spot on and I hadn’t even read the first line.
Title: A Natural History of Dragons
Series: The Memoirs of Lady Trent; Book 1
Author: Marie Brennan
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: UU, Dragons, Science, Pre/Industrial Era
Synopsis: All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.
Recommendation: I highly recommend this book. Suitable for adults and older teens.
The Keys to the Kingdom – Book 2: Grim Tuesday – By Garth Nix
Hi Jared,
I’ve been extremely inconsistent in my reading and reviewing of late and for that I can only apologize. There was a few hiccups with a book or two combined with a broken habit and I’ve been just trying to keep a book open.
Title: Grim Tuesday
Series: The Keys of the Kingdom; Book 2
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: EU, Magic (sorta)
Synopsis: Arthur doesn’t think he will ever have to return to the strange house that nearly killed him on Monday — the house that contains an entire world. But Tuesday brings new challenges — in the form of an enemy named Grim Tuesday, who threatens the well-being of both Arthur’s family and his world. Arthur must retrieve the Second Key from Grim Tuesday in order to save everything — an adventure that will include stealing a Sunship, surviving a very weird work camp, befriending a bearlike spirit, fighting the voidlike Nithlings, and traveling to the scary Far Reaches for the ultimate showdown.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book for youth, 8-12yrs.
Continue reading “The Keys to the Kingdom – Book 2: Grim Tuesday – By Garth Nix”
Reading Over The Shoulder 