Month: July 2019

Review: Mistborn

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For a thousand years, the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years, the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

Going into Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, I knew very little about the story. Some of my coworkers had been nagging me for months that I needed to read it. The back cover provided just enough information to pique my attention, so I bought it. 

I was immediately plunged into a world that is very bleak. From the abject subjugation of the Skaa, to the ash falling from the sky. This is a world without color, without stars. There are no flowers. Most crops struggle to survive. 

There is a stark comparison between the gritty, dirty streets and the gleaming white abodes of the nobility. The nobles can do whatever they want with the Skaa, and the Skaa can’t do a single thing about it. The brief introduction does a great job of showing just how bad this system can be. This divide gets explored in a way that shows the view from each side, as well as those who stand somewhere in the middle. 

We also get to explore the world of the Mistings and the Mistborn. I particularly enjoyed this part. The magic system is called Allomancy and it is certainly different from anything I have ever encountered before. It took a while to get used to, but with how he introduces it, it grew on me. He not only explains to us what it is, but he shows us how it works and what it feels like. 

This has to be my favorite introduction and use of a magic system I have encountered so far. It is based on metals, where ‘burning’ different metals enable you to do different things. There are a limited number of metals that can be burnt, of course, and if you burn something that isn’t pure it can be very bad for your health. 

I mentioned Mistings and Mistborn. Mistings are people who can burn a single one of the metals. They have different names based on which metal they burn. The Mistborn are those who can burn all of them. That is what the two main characters are, as well as the Lord Ruler. 

Between the intricacies of the magic system and the internal machinations of both the house politics and the movements of the rebellion, I quickly became enthralled. The narration is all in the third person, but it is not quite omniscient. It is more focused on the perspectives of the two main Mistborn, Kelsier and Vin. 

As mentioned in the description above (borrowed from Amazon), Vin very skittish and untrusting when you first meet her. It was a delight to see her grow more confident, not only in herself and her skills but also in her ability to trust those around her. Her life has been significantly harder than Kelsier’s, yet she grows so much throughout the first book I could not help but be proud of her.

This Mistborn trilogy includes three books. There is the one I read, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. Set 300 years after that we have The Aloy of Law, Shadows of Self, and The Bands of Mourning. The next book, The Lost Metal, is set to be released later this year.

I am currently regretting the fact that I opted to buy Mistborn on its own instead of buying the trilogy box set, as I now have to go back and buy the other two. Which is going to have to wait until I have finished some of the other two dozen books I’ve bought this year.

Don’t worry though, I definitely intend on finishing this series. I can’t stand not knowing how this ends.

The rating

This is a classic fantasy series that is definitely worth reading. The magic system is unique and refreshing and created in a way that makes sense. The characters are endearing and you find yourself starting to consider them a family along with the main character. There are some very well crafted twists slipped in there that, if you’ve read it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s one of those things you never see coming, yet when you get there it makes complete sense. I genuinely enjoyed reading this and cannot wait to see what happens in the Well of Ascension.

Review: A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

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Do you like stories that keep you on the edge of your seat? Do you like high stakes races, space battles, and grand conspiracies? Do you like stories that blur the lines between science fiction and fantasy in a way that feels new yet completely natural?

Then go out and buy A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White, and then read it. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

I first found out about the book when a customer brought the second in the series, A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy, through my line. The cover had caught her attention and, to be honest, it caught mine too. 

It was upon reading the back that I realized it wasn’t the first book (at the time we didn’t have a copy in stock). I made sure to write the name down both for her and for myself.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that I was more familiar with the author than I first thought. Years ago he wrote and produced an audio drama called The Gearheart, an enchanting combination of steampunk and rune-based magic.  It was a podcast that I very much enjoyed. 

I kept an eye out for it after that until we finally got a copy in. I bought it immediately and started it that night.

I was not disappointed. 

The world

The world he crafted is rife with magic, but in a way that fits perfectly within a futuristic world. The ability to use magic is tied to a specific part of the brain. It is incredibly rare to be born without it. I was impressed to discover there was a medical term for this condition, TERM, as well as common slang, like dull fingered.

That level of attention to detail speaks volumes about how much care and thought went into this book. It is also a lot of fun to see how he intermingles the technological and magical sides of the world. 

Everyone born with magic has what is called a ‘mark’, which dictates what they can do with that magic. The first person we meet uses her mark to attune with technology, meaning that she can control it in a way few others can. Some people can create shields, others conjure fire, whereas others can use it to commune with animals and so forth. It is fascinating.

We meet one person who has no mark and another who has a deformed mark, meaning he can only do about half of what he should be able to do. It is interesting to see how they handle the difficulties presented to them living in a world primarily designed for those with marks. 

One might even say it is a commentary on those who live with disabilities (especially the ones that aren’t visible). I mean, it is literally something different in their brains. It’s not a stretch to compare that to mental illness. 

Another important thing to keep an eye on is any mention of the Famine Wars. It’ll be a while before you really start to get the full picture, mostly because no one likes to talk about it, but it does prove to be important.

The Story

We start off at a high stakes race following Nilah, a talented racer whose mark allows her to attune with technology. Its a thrilling introduction to the world, but things quickly take an interesting turn when a mysterious figure called Mother stops time and murders another racer. Nilah uses her ability to trigger the special drive on her racer and somehow manages to transport herself across the universe. 

Thankfully, she lands mostly in one piece in a back alley on the same planet as another of our main characters. I mentioned her earlier. Her name is Elizabeth, a.k.a. Boots, and she was born without a mark. We also know that she has some connection to the Famine War, she has an AI she isn’t supposed to have, and she is really good at finding things. That is her job.

She receives word that the SHIP recently docked. The crew are old friends of hers that she abandoned some time ago, and they have been looking for her for a very long time. This is around the same time she learns of the hefty price on Nilah’s head. 

That is why the second she runs into Nilah, she knocks her out. Unfortunately, she herself is knocked out before she can do anything to take the bounty. That is how they both end up aboard the Capricious. 

The reunion is delightfully awkward and incredibly informative when it comes to Boot’s past. It turns out she was connected with the racer Mother killed. He sold her something that Mother wants, which is why her office was destroyed just before the book began. It was picture of a missing, nearly mythical warship called The Harrow said to have enough power to destroy a planet. 

An incredibly dangerous prize indeed, and one that we don’t want just anyone to have their hands on.

Thus begins the game of cat and mouse between the crew and Mother as each group hunts for clues as to the whereabouts of the Harrow. It’s exciting. It’s thrilling. And there are a lot of things that are revealed that I am not going to talk about.

Because I am here to get you interested in the book, not to spoil the book. So, now you have to read it to see for yourself! (please message me when you do, I’ve been looking for someone to geek out about this book with)

The Moral

Beyond the possible commentary on living with a disability, this story focuses a lot on how there is more going on to any one story than most people realize. Near the end you see what happens when people are given too much power and start to abuse what they have in the search for more. The conspiracy that gets untangled reaches so far back that it is hard to see exactly where it all began. 

There is also a lot to learn about family, about staying loyal to those you trust. About sticking together and never giving up in the face of impossible odds. About how little, easy to miss details can make a huge difference.

The Verdict

This book is a fascinating combination of magic and science fiction and huge, overarching conspiracies that scratched an itch I didn’t even know I had. The cast is full of unique, dynamic characters with their own backgrounds and their own powerful personalities. I loved seeing them grow and evolve not only as individuals but also in their relationships with other characters.

A warning though: the more you read the harder it will be to put down. This story is a ride from page one and it only builds in intensity the farther you go. It has been a while since I’ve read a story with such a well-crafted twist that I had to put it down for a second (but only a second, because I had to know what happened next).

The second book, A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy came out in December 2019. Book three, The Worst of all Possible Worlds is going to come out in 2020. That is literally the only downside of reading this series. 

Review: Zenith

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Working in a bookstore is great not only because I am surrounded by books, but we also have a lot of author events. Which means I have certain series I have been eyeing brought even more to my attention.

Like the Androma saga.

It was on my radar but at the time I was distracted by other books. Namely, the Red Queen series. We had a special event, though, an author signing where one of the authors came for the launch of the second book in the series. Nexus.

A few days after, curiosity got the better of me and I picked up the first book, Zenith, to read the back. I was IMMEDIATELY hooked. I mean, come on, female space pirates. What more do you need?

The Story

I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I started out but I had a feeling it would be good. The people who recommended it to me can be a little picky when it comes to stories. Also, the premise sounded incredibly promising.

The story ended up bouncing back and forth more than I expected, and I’m not just talking about different narrators. We do switch perspectives in the current story. It goes around the people on the ship and even switches over to the main villain. It also steps back in time to visit a woman named Klaren, a young girl in a tower, and briefly dips into Androma’s past.

We start off, though, looking through the eyes of a mysterious man named Valen who has been imprisoned in darkness for an indefinite period of time. He has been tortured, but for what purpose we do not know. You almost can’t help but feel sorry for him, as well as for whoever made the mistake of capturing him. Because he is angry and will stop at nothing to get his revenge.

Soon after we meet the Bloody Baroness, a woman named Androma who has been on the run for some time now. I won’t go into why she is on the run (spoilers), but along the way, she collects some other females from across the galaxy. They are a bit of a ragtag group, but they are a family. And I absolutely love it.

Things quickly start to go sideways after one of their jobs goes a little bloodier than planned. They try desperately to escape and are quickly captured by what turns out to be an old friend of Androma’s. A man who broke her heart when he tried to turn her in. That man is Dextro “Dex”. He has a fun story too.

He is the one who gets Androma and her crew roped into a plan to rescue the captured man we mentioned earlier. It is a bit of a tricky situation, of course, and if they fail there is no one coming to rescue them. Androma is put in an impossible situation and she is NOT happy about it. Cue the exciting extraction plan complete with shenanigans and hijinks.

One of the things I love about this story is how character focused it is. I absolutely love the found families trope and that is very much what this is. The crew of the Maurader are all women who are running from something and they have created their own little family. You find yourself growing very fond of this odd little group. Even the slightly useful AI nicknamed Alfie.

Thankfully, this story does not embrace the trope of AI going rogue and taking over the world. Sorry if that is your thing, but I am sure there are plenty of books out there for you. I can even name a few movies, like Eagle Eye.

This story almost lulls you into a sense of comfort. For the most part, things go according to plan. Then things start going sideways. It’s small at first, but then things start escalating.

After a certain point, I found myself inching towards the edge of my seat. It’s like I was waiting for the shoe to drop. The pieces of the story from the girl in the tower and the mysterious Klaren leave this sort of nagging sense that there is something else going on but you are never quite sure what.

Things keep building and building before they explode into a drastic conclusion. One that I definitely did not see coming, yet it made sense when we got there.

The Moral

This story is very much about family, but not in the biological sense. As I said, it leans on the found family trope. Sometimes family is who you chose, not who you are related to. There is also a lot of talk about mistakes. About people having to make difficult decisions that hurt those around them.

Things aren’t as perfect as they seem. Sometimes good people have to make bad decisions.

And there are two sides to every story. History is written by the winners, but that doesn’t mean the losers have given up.

The Rating

This book reels you in slowly. By the time you realize you are hooked, it is too late. There is no getting out now. The only way to go is forward.

I spent most of the book figuratively looking at the sky, waiting for the big shoe to drop. It came out of nowhere and smacked me in the back of my head. It started building things up on page one and I didn’t even realize it.

If you want a book that will surprise you, this is perfect. I am still reeling from that ending. I cannot WAIT to see what happens in Nexus.