Review : Fire by Kristin Cashore

Title : Fire Author : Kristin Cashore Reading Dates : 5 Apr - 10 Apr 2011
The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy
Graceling Fire Bitterblue
From goodreads :
Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans. Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.

Book Review of Fire.

While Fire was the second book in the trilogy, I made a conscious decision to read it first since it was set before Graceling. Hopefully, this decision doesn’t come back to haunt me later but in any case, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of Fire.

The first thing that struck me about the story is how beautifully it is written. The author has a way with words which just leaves me wanting more. The world of Fire seem so vivid that it’s almost as if I can see it in my mind’s eye as I read it. If for no other reason, this alone makes me want to read more books by Kristin Cashore.

The other reason to enjoy this is Fire herself. I liked that the heroine is uncertain and afraid of her own powers at the start, not only because of what she imagines she could do but with the very real example of what her father and she herself has done in the past. And I like it even more that she learns to face this fear and even accept the necessity of her actions as the story progresses. Again not so much because of what any one person says, but through her experiences. What I loved about Fire though are the contradictions surrounding her feelings for her father and Archer. To know that it is possible to love someone and be beloved by that person and know that the person we love can be unkind or even cruel to others. And that it is not only possible to continue loving them in spite of it all, but that it is okay to do so.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Definitely.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Yes.
• Who would I recommend this too? Anyone who enjoys fantasy or a good story.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? I'm reserving judgement on this until I read the next book.

Read another review on the book by :

• Emily's Reading Room
• Storywings

In My Mailbox

Teaser Tuesdays

Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge, The Read-a-Myth Challenge

Teaser Tuesdays : Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted at Should Be Reading.

Share 2 teaser sentences from your current read. Be careful not to include spoilers

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Some things never changed. In a government meeting, even a vampire's handler had to use Powerpoint.

Miss Caroline caught me writing and told me to tell my father to stop teaching me. "Besides," she said, "We don't write in the first grade, we print. You won't learn to write until you're in the third grade."

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren.

Anyone can participate. IMM is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.

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Bought:

• Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz
• Third Girl by Agatha Christie
• Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie

[ What I spent on the books : RM 55.80]

On My Wishlist : Leviathan and Midnighters trilogies

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted at Book Chick City.

Do you have any books that you desperately want but haven't bought yet? The books can be old, new or forthcoming.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

From goodreads :

The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what's ahead.

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

From Amazon :

The final book in Westerfeld's masterful trilogy that SLJ reviewed as "sure to become a classic."

Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

From Amazon :

Bixby, Oklahoma, is full of secrets.
some come out at midnight.
some should stay hidden.

As the Midnighters search for the truth about the secret hour, they uncover terrifying mysteries woven into the very fabric of Bixby’s history, and a conspiracy that touches the world of daylight.

This time Jessica Day is not the only Midnighter in mortal danger, and if the group can’t find a way to come together, they could lose one of their own . . . forever.

Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld

From Amazon :

the darklings will hunt once again

The secret hour when time freezes arrives every night at midnight in Bixby, Oklahoma. It's a dangerous time, when five teenagers are the only humans awake and dark creatures crawl out of the shadows, but at least the midnight hour is regular and predictable.

Until suddenly, the blue time comes . . . in the middle of the day.

The noise of school stops. Cheerleaders are frozen in midair, teachers brought to a standstill. Everything is the haunted blue color of the midnight hour.

The Midnighters can't understand what's happening, but as they scramble for answers, they discover that the walls between the secret hour and real time are crumbling. Soon the dark creatures will have a chance to feed after centuries of waiting, unless these five teenagers can find a way to stop them.

A desperate race against time, a mind-blowing mystery of paranormal logic, a tale of ancient evil and spine-chilling sacrifice: blue noon is the exhilarating third volume in the Midnighters series by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld.

Review : Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Title : Leviathan Author : Scott Westerfeld Reading Dates : 5 Apr - 7 Apr 2011
Leviathan
The books in the series Leviathan Behemoth Goliath
From Amazon :
Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men. Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

Book Review of Leviathan.

I loved Leviathan and have added the rest of the books in the series to my wish list. My only regret at reading this now is the long wait until the next books are available to me.

Leviathan starts off alternating between the 2 viewpoints of the main characters, Alek and Deryn. If I have any complaints at all about the way the story is told, it’s that Deryn’s story doesn’t seem really exciting when contrasted against Alek’s in the beginning. It is only when the Leviathan is attacked that Deryn’s story really takes off. So, for the earlier stages, it was the intrigue and danger surrounding Alek as he and his guardians go on the run that had me clamoring for more. At that point, whenever the tale switched to Deryn’s viewpoint, the pace of the storytelling dropped and left me very impatient to skip it altogether.

What I did love about it was the world that Alek and Deryn lives in. In this case, it is Deryn or the Darwinist side that leaves me fascinated. The idea of living machines had me wondering if maybe this was something we had to look forward to in our own futures. The possibilities there seemed endless, whether the arguments for or against but imagine a living, breathing ecosystem serving as a means of transportation … perhaps this would be the way to go to save our planet ? Compared to this, the Clankers weren’t as extraordinary though.

The other reason to love the book is Alek. Deryn hasn’t quite come into her own yet, but I have high hopes yet. She does seem to be changing as the book progresses whereas Alek had to grow up very early on in the tale. Alek is no spoiled child but he has lived a very insulated life. Watching him make difficult decisions and weighing his responsibilities certainly has me rooting for him to triumph in the end.

This is definitely a series I’m looking forward to reading.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Definitely.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Yes.
• Who would I recommend this too? Steampunk, fantasy or adventure fans.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? I'm reserving judgement for now. But if the rest of the series is as good, then this one is definitely a keeper.

In My Mailbox

Teaser Tuesdays

Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge, What's in a Name Challenge 4, Full Steampunk Ahead Challenge

Teaser Tuesdays : Edge Chronicles - The Rook Trilogy by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted at Should Be Reading.

Share 2 teaser sentences from your current read. Be careful not to include spoilers

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"Oh, nothing," said Magda. "Nothing at all. Except we're in the middle of a sky-pirate raid. And the shrykes are about to go crazy. Oh, and Rook's decided he wants a better view."

"Yes, yes, " said Felix. "History never really was my strong point. It's all so sort of long ago, if you know what I mean. It's the here and now that I'm interested in, not the past."

"You and your barkscrolls!" snorted Felix, turning away. "If we lose this battle, father, there will be no barkscrolls, no Great Library! And the shrykes will make slaves of all those they don't slaughter!"

It's Monday What Are You Reading ?

It's Monday What Are You Reading ? is hosted at Book Journey.

Where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

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What I Read:

• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
• Fire by Kristin Cashore
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore

What I Reviewed:

• The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
• The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
• Bandits by LM Preston

What I’m Reading:

• The Edge Chronicles - The Rook Trilogy by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell

What I Plan to Read next:

• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren.

Anyone can participate. IMM is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.

***

Bought:

• Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

[ What I spent on the books : RM 29.60]