So I’m a little delayed with my post this week. Mostly because it was my best friends 25th on Saturday. Which then turned into a two day hangover. And a whole new set of bruises…
This is the trouble with wine. It is delicious, we have so much fun when drinking it, but quite often, the next day is a little more painful than desired. Having said that, it was a great night of the old hits (the benefits to knowing your best friend your entire life – you know all of the same music) and one of the guys pretending to be Chewbucca for half the night.
On the writing front for the last week – na da. I am so unbelievably behind in all of my studies, that doing anything for pleasure beyond sleeping, studying and working has been completely beyond me. Also the other reason why this rambling post is a little delayed… it’s hard to concentrate on writing about my week when all I can think about is all of the things that haven’t happened over the past week.
On a positive note though… SPRING IS HERE!!!! Today my windows are opened, the curtains are flung wide and my dogs are not covered in mud and clay for once. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stay here! Not only because it is just far more enjoyable to be awake in this weather, but the warmth and the sun always seems to give me such a great energy boost. Which I am now going to use to continue with my studying for the day…
Title: Barrio Girls Author: Charles De Lint In: Under My Hat (Jonathan Strahan) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Easy reading, Fantasy, Witches Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Hot Key Books Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: They keep it up for hours.
Ruby & Vida consider themselves “vampire-girls” due to the popularity of a book/movie series featuring vampires. Until they meet a “vampire witch” one night and decide they don’t like her — now they’ll be witch-girls and deal with this nasty thing.
I’ve never quite understood the teenage obsession with Twilight. Sure, I read it when I was a teenager, I didn’t mind it (back then), but I was never obsessed with the idea of a vampire boyfriend. Or being a witch, or really any of the books that I read – I just liked the stories. So, reading about Vida and Ruby’s disenchantment with this world was really quite enjoyable. The obsession annoys me, so their departure from it was fun.
Gangsters, vampires and witches make a really interesting combination in this story and the idea of growing up in a trailer park just helped to make it a little more enthralling and dark. An interesting late night read that gave me some very twisted and creepy dreams… after all, the girls ended up killing with kindness.
From two of the best editors working today … These are the legends of Australian fantasy – eleven of Australia’s best-loved and most widely read writers … Gathered together by equally legendary editors Jack Dann and Jonathan Strahan to produce an entirely original compilation … Celebrate the legends of Australian fantasy. Extraordinary voices … extraordinary worlds. Come to Erith, to a faerie tale with a sting, or to Obernewtyn, long before the Seeker was born. Revisit a dark pocket of history for the Magician’s Guild or get caught up in the confusion of an endlessly repeating day in the Citadel. Cross the wall, where Charter magic is all that lies between you and death. A trip with a graverobber can be gruesome, and it’s hard to share the fear of a woman who must kill her husband if her child is to rule … A mysterious tale plays out in Sevenwaters. Catch up with Ros and Adi as they prepare for the greatest change of all. Other twists in these fabulous tales bring us to demonic destiny and an alternate WWII.
I love pursuing Australian authors – after all, I would love to be one one day, and they are my people. So, discovering that there is a book that features not one, not two, but nine of these phenomenal people made me break out in a huge grin. And I wasn’t disappointed. Actually, the main disappointment came when I finished the last novella and had to find a new anthology to go and read.
The pace of each of these nine novellas was entirely unique and, in most cases, quite unexpected. The only tie that they had to one another was that they are all fantasy stories, and they tied into a series or world created by the author. Which, ultimately means that I have another seven series to go out and buy (I already owned two). Sometimes, this kind of variety doesn’t really work. The stories don’t flow well and it is really just feels haphazard in how they’re collected. But, the short author introduction at the beginning of each story and the rationale behind the story worked brilliantly and made it a cohesive whole.
If you want a taste of the brilliance that some of Australia’s finest fantasy authors have to offer, I’d definitely recommend that you buy this book. Or borrow it, whatever tickles your fantasy. It was a fantastic welcome to a few new worlds and I’ve got a couple of new books to add to my shelves now.
‘The Spark’ sits midway along the timeline of the ten linked fantasy novels in the Change series – the Books of the Change, the Books of the Cataclysm, and most recently the Broken Land. Inspired by the landscapes of Williams’ childhood rather than European or indigenous Australian mythologies, Sean had no conception when he set out on this journey that the places he revisited would become such an enduring obsession. The people who occupied them, also.
His young protagonists Ros and Adi were left somewhat hanging at the end of the Broken Land trilogy, as had Sal and Shilly years before them, because the conclusion to their story lay beyond the purview of a series for young readers. Williams always intended to return, to see their knot tied, but the deeper he dove into their story the less, perversely, it became about them, or even about the landscape that originally inspired their world.
Yet in a very real way, ‘The Spark’ is the capping stone on the entire series. All the characters Williams loved are present, in one form or another, and all the motifs too. Loss, the passage to adulthood, the nursing and healing of old wounds – for me, that’s always what these stories have been about.
And love, too, with which all can be endured.
I can’t get this story out of my head. And not in that irritating, it won’t leave and details are niggling away at me way. But that holy crap. That was amazing. I need to get more of these books! I want to know more about Adi and Ross. This story is epic. So now I just have to wait until I have some spare money to buy more of Sean Williams’ books…
I don’t often feel crazy about four act storylines, and the romance aspect of stories often feels tedious when I’m reading the tale. After all, boy meets girl, they fall in love, there is a problem, everything is resolved is the most standard storyline. And even the best stories do tend to read like this. But, it’s all about the journey. And for Adi and Ross, it is about the hunt for one another and true love. Reigniting the spark that has burnt between them for years.
Words that could describe the happy, warm fuzzy feeling that this novella left me with are pretty much impossible to come by. There is that feeling of happy contentment that you get when you finish a really good story. And The Spark not only left me with that, but also made the other stories I tried to read afterwards feel completely inadequate. I’m sure the feeling will eventually fade away though.
Title: Rowan and the Travellers Author: Emily Rodda Series: Rowan of Rin #2 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Easy reading, Fantasy Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Scholastic Press Year: 1994 5th sentence, 74th page: “Ogden does not know everything, it seems,” said Zeel.
A mysterious danger threatens Rowan’s village, Rin. But who is the enemy? And what is the strange spell that is putting all the townspeople to sleep?
The Travelers, a roaming people who are friends of Rin, might be able to help, but Rowan isn’t sure he can trust them. Especially since they tell him that to find the answers to Rin’s problems, Rowan must go to the legendary, noxious Pit of Unrin, from which no living thing has ever returned.
The pride of the past could prove to be Rin’s undoing. That, and their unwillingness to accept anyone else of a different calibre and tradition than themselves. But, luckily for all of Rin, Rowan is there to save the day again. Again, he proves that strength and blustery courage isn’t everything, and that sometimes it is the very fear that can be someone’s best companion, and a people’s saviour.
The pride of the villagers of Rin is kind of grating in Rowan and the Travellers, but it is a good vessel through which to move the story. After all, it is their unwillingness to share and impart their gifts on their Traveller friends which leads to such distrust. In turn, the horrors that lurk in their home almost overcome the village as Rowan and Allun pursue the Travellers in an attempt to save their friends. Yet, it isn’t until Rowan willingly joins with a Zebak-Traveller that the key to the past is unearthed.
But, since this is a beautifully constructed story, discovering the horrors of the past isn’t the final step. Even when you know what lurks in the dark, how can you stop it from killing? You’ll just have to read the story to find out…
Title: Rowan of Rin Author: Emily Rodda Series: Rowan of Rin #1 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Easy reading, Fantasy Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Omnibus Books Year: 1993 5th sentence, 74th page: “Marlie,” he said again.
Bravest heart will carry on when sleep is death, and hope is gone.
Rowan doesn’t believe he has a brave heart. But when the river that supports his village of Rin runs dry, he must join a dangerous journey to its source in the forbidden Mountain. To save Rin, Rowan and his companions must conquer not only the Mountain’s many tricks, but also the fierce dragon that lives at its peak.
Fear is a good thing. I’ve always been told it tells us we’re alive. But, really, it also is a way to keep us alive. Yet, for the people of Rin, fear is shameful and courage is the leader of the day. Which is why I love the irony of the most fearful boy of the village being the hero of this story. After all, the very thing that they all take pride in is the thing that unravels them all.
Rowan of Rin is your typical misfit story. A young boy in a village that he truly doesn’t fit in. Struggling to figure out what his place is in the world. And just generally feeling insufficient and confused. Which really, we have all felt at one stage in our lives. The added complication of a heroic dead father, a possible new romance for his mother and the fact that no one quite wants him around just helps to compound the struggles that Rowan is forced to face. And makes his eventual triumph all the sweeter.
I love poetry – it is a great way to give a double sided meaning to the words that we use. And the riddles that Rodda employs throughout Rowan’s journey up the mountain are both wonderfully similar, and intricately difficult to decipher. After all, everything in them comes true, just not in the way that you’d expect. There’s something ridiculously enjoyable about sitting there, trying to guess what’s going to happen next from a few lyrical lines. And, as often as not, kind of guessing what is about to happen, but not being able to entirely predict the next move. After all, if you could guess everything that is going to happen, what would be the fun in that?
Title: City of Rats Author: Emily Rodda Series: Deltora Quest #3, World of Deltora #3 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Easy reading, Medieval fantasy Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Scholastic Press Year: 2000 5th sentence, 74th page: And almost at the same moment, without warning, Reece’s body began to writhe and twist.
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine must venture into the terrifying City of the Rats in the third action-packed Deltora adventure.
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine–three companions with nothing in common but their hatred of the enemy–are on a perilous quest to recapture the seven lost gems of the magic Belt of Deltora. Only when the Belt is complete can the evil Shadow Lord be overthrown.
They have succeeded in finding the golden topaz and the great ruby. The two gems’ mysterious powers have strengthened them and given them courage to move on in their search for the third stone. But none of them can know the horrors that await them in the forbidden City of the Rats.
I’ll admit – I’m a total neat freak. Just to sit down and read this book, write this review, I had to vacuum the lounge (where I’m nesting for the day), and put away the dry washing. To be fair though, my living room floor was also covered in chewed up dog toys. But I digress… the point is that I am a neat freak, but this is also tempered by the knowledge that there is such a thing as too neat. Which, is exactly what happens in City of Rats.
Lief, Barda and Jasmine begin their journey to the next destination on the map, get turned around and then, finally, eventually arrive at a very creepy, abandoned city. Yet, it is the secrets of Noradz that really give us a hint as to what happens when we go a little overboard with our cleanliness. And how the routines that we unwillingly get into can ultimately lead to foolishness and just genuine evil.
Rodda’s stories, especially the journey of Deltora Quest are riddled with puzzles. City of Rats has one of the greatest puzzles yet – what happened to the people of the city? How did Reeha overtake them? Lief, as usual is able to find the source of these problems, but only in those last final moments. And only with the help of the belt and his companions. This mystery not only helps the trio to move forward in their quest, but shows Jasmine that not everyone is as brilliantly headstrong and independent as her.
It is at this point in the journey that Lief, Barda and Jasmine are not only coming into their own pace and understanding of one another. But they are also beginning to recognise the ways in which they can all be as difficult as one another.
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine must outwit the monster-sorceress Thaegan in the second action-packed Deltora Quest adventure.
Lief, Barda, and their unpredictable new companion Jasmine are on an urgent mission to find the seven stones from the magic Belt of Deltora. The golden topaz has already been found. But only when all the stones have been restored to the Belt can their land be freed from the dark power of the evil Shadow Lord.
To find the second stone, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine must travel through territory ruled by the monster-sorceress Thaegan and overcome their biggest challenge yet–the hideous guardian of the enchanted Lake of Tears
The next step in Lief, Barda and Jasmine’s journey is just as good as the first. It’s a perfect sequel to follow up the beginning of their adventure, and begins to show the hand of fate on everything that they’re doing on their epic journey.
The Lake of Tears hints at the emotional aspect of the site of true evil that the trio is forced to face. As Lief and his companions eventually end up on the shores of the lake, they are confronted with the dangers and perils that true evil can create. It is now that the penalties of the Shadow Lords’ rule start to be felt, and the difficulties of the next journey (to the City of Rats) will only increase the feeling of overarching horror at the presence of evil throughout Deltora.
Although the trios final destination is incredibly miserable, and a shadow of what it once was, The Lake of Tears also leads to Lief, Barda and Jasmine finding their first allies. The Ralads are such a sweet folk, and one of the ancient races of Deltora, something that becomes immensely important throughout the remaining series (if I remember correctly).
I can’t wait to travel to the next destination with Lief, Barda and Jasmine.
Title: The Forests of Silence Author: Emily Rodda Series: Deltora Quest #1, World of Deltora #1 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Easy reading, Medieval fantasy Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Scholastic Press Year: 2000 5th sentence, 74th page: His voice was casual, but Lief was sure that the question was a test.
The evil Shadow Lord is plotting to invade Deltora and enslave its people. All that stands against him is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven gems of great and mysterious power. When the gems are stolen and hidden in dark terrible places throughout the kingdom, the Shadow Lord triumphs, and Deltora is lost.
In secrecy, with only a hand-drawn map to guide them, two unlikely companions set out on a perilous quest. Determined to find the lost gems and rid their land of the tyrant, they struggle towards their first goal – the sinister Forests of Silence.
I haven’t read the Deltora Quest books since I was a kid and they were a series that I loved dearly. But, it’s something I’ve been reluctant to return to. After all, sometimes revisiting something that is held dearly in your minds’ eye just isn’t as good when you have had a few more years of experience. Luckily for me, this wasn’t quite the case.
Although this is very much my just before bed, I’m exhausted but can’t quite get my mind to turn off read. It was still really enjoyable and, well, fun. There’s a reason that I loved it so much as a kid. The mistakes of the parents are to be fixed by those of the child. Not only is this the beginning of a coming of age story, but it is also a great tale about the ways in which pride and ignorance can have some incredibly powerful impacts. Not only on ourselves, but also those of the people who rely on us.
The first section of this book powerfully investigates the evils of blind obedience, but it is only when Lief is forced to undertake the quest that his father can no longer face that the true evils become known. The Shadow Lord’s hand is upon the whole of Deltora, and Barda and Lief are forced to overcome obstacle after obstacle to make the first, dangerous step in an epic journey.
Yes, there’s a reason why I loved this so much as a kid.
So, this week’s been real fun… I’ve been sick. For the whole week. But not the so-sick-you-just-sleep sick. Or the can-soldier-on sick. No, it was the I-feel-fine-oh-no-I-don’t sick. And the nausea. The nausea has been super fun.
Although, on a positive note.. I have managed to finish off a few books that have been on my TBR list for a while. And I got to get some great puppy cuddles throughout the week as well. Nothing better than curling up with my fur babies to make me feel better when I just want to go cuddle the porcelain.
I’ve also been able to do a little editing on Aishe’s Arrival, which is something that I really need to develop some discipline with. After all, if I want to be a writer, I actually need to get my work up to a standard that I’m ready to share…
But mostly, this week has been sick, sick, sick. Which has been accompanied by Sex and the City (cliche much?) and a restless revolving through of numerous books. I’ve actually reduced it down to only reading three at this very moment! I’m sure that that will change in the next hour though…
The only other thing of note is that I have started playing around a little with the format of my website. Because, well, why not?
So I’m a little delayed with my post this week. Mostly because it was my best friends 25th on Saturday. Which then turned into a two day hangover. And a whole new set of bruises…
Title: Barrio Girls
Title: Legends of Australian Fantasy
Title: Rowan and the Travellers
Title: Rowan of Rin
Title: City of Rats
