Fantasy – Page 13 – M J Mallon YA Author and Poet

#Blog Battle: Ryder’s Feast of Unsuspecting Legumes

This week I’m taking part in Rachael Ritchey’s Short Story Writing Blog Battle. Here’s a link to her blog if you’d like to take part in this fun community of writers: http://rachaelritchey.com/blogbattle/

Week 25 Theme is Legumes

Date to Post: Tuesday, September 1st, 2015

This was a tough one, Legumes, huh, not the easiest of themes but I enjoy a challenge so why not?

The Genre of my entry is a New Adult Fantasy story, (for the purposes of this post I will try to keep it PG friendly!) This is a continuation of an idea which I have already started to develop on #Blog battle if you’d like to see the previous posts I’ve done then follow the following links: https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2015/08/04/blog-battle-week-21-writing-theme-eye/ and https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2015/08/11/blogbattle-week-22-time/

Ryder’s Feast Of Unsuspecting Legumes

The cupboards were practically empty apart from a few sorry almost forgotten tins of vegetables. Ryder picked them up, checked their sell by dates, and shrugged. A week or two past their sell by date wouldn’t kill him! He set them out on the kitchen counter and proceeded to open all of his flatmate’s cupboards looking for a large enough frying pan to create his imagined feast. He opened and shut the doors slamming them without any thought for his sleeping flatmates. He found a large wok that didn’t belong to him, but no matter, he decided that no one would notice if he borrowed it for this early morning feast. He set the flame to full throttle, flooding the pan with a cascade of vibrant vegetables, and loud legumes. The sizzling sound made him smile he loved the buzz of riotous noise in the silence of the early morning.

He waited patiently for the moment when someone would burst through the door and discover his antics and somebody always did, today was no exception. Olivia burst into the kitchen, a bleary-eyed look lay crumpled on her face. She scowled at him. Ryder couldn’t help but smile; Olivia was wearing her skimpy pyjamas again. Olivia must have clocked his lecherous look, but it was apparent from the dirty look that she gave him that she wasn’t in the mood for Ryder’s attempts at four a.m. flirting.

“What are you doing Ryder? It’s four o’clock in the morning, I’ve got a lecture at nine.”

“Making you breakfast,” said Ryder with a grin.

“Huh, that’s not funny, Ryder you’re driving everyone crazy with your early morning stir fries.”

“Oh, you’re too pent-up Olivia, you need to learn how to relax. Let me give your shoulders a rub.”

Olivia gave him a look that said that sounds about as appealing as a torturous Chinese burn. “Get lost Ryder, stop being such a creep.”

“I’m only trying to make it up to you Olivia, sit down, I’ll prepare you a very special VIP breakfast.”

Olivia looked at the legumes in the frying pan and pulled a face.

“I don’t eat out of date rabbit food.”

“Ah, but you haven’t eaten my rabbit food, trust me it will be amazing,” said Ryder, his eyes momentarily lifted their attention from the flambéed frying pan, and lingered on Olivia. There was something elemental in that look, Ryder knew it, it came naturally to him, he could turn on charm like a blazing uncontrollable flame.

Olivia’s barriers began to melt; little by little she began to return his look, now it was easy, all he needed to do was stare back, to penetrate the layers of Olivia’s resistance with his wicked eyes. He just hoped she didn’t faint, that would be annoying. He liked girls to be awake; they were far more interesting that way. He’d have to be careful not to employ too much Ryder charm, just the right amount of gentle coercion had to be used, a few words would help too.

“It’s not Rabbit food, Olivia it’s a feast fit for a king.”

Ryder set the food out on the table. It did not bear any resemblance to the simple dish of legumes he had just been cooking. Its centrepiece was an enormous, flat, round Indian delicacy resembling a chapatis pancake, and on the side was a bowl of richly spiced curry sauce with a side dish of fragrant legumes. The aroma would make you feel as if you’d been re-born in curry heaven.

Olivia gasped. Curry was her favourite, Ryder knew that.

“Sit down, Olivia join me,” Ryder said, his words gently caressing Olivia’s unsuspecting ears.

Olivia practically dived to sit down. She acted like she’d been on an enforced hunger strike and was now able to eat again.

But something stopped her from touching a bite. She just sat there staring at the food, her outstretched hand hung in the air as if she was about to pick up a chapatti. The reel of her life waited temporarily suspended for a second.

“Do help yourself,” said Ryder with a smirk.

There were no plates on the table, no cutlery, or napkins. Olivia picked up the chapatti, filled it with curry sauce and legumes and rolled it on the table as if this was the most natural thing to do. She downed that chapatti in a few ferocious bites and licked her lips.

“Don’t you want a plate?’ asked Ryder raising an eyebrow in mock horror.

Olivia blushed. It was obvious from her reaction that she was mortified by her own behaviour. This was so unlike Olivia. Olivia had a reputation for being neat and tidy, and would normally never eat off a table, particularly one in a messy student flat.

She glanced at the table, and her expression said it all. Poor Olivia turned a nasty shade of green, the exact colour of the curry that she had just wolfed down. She ran to the toilet to be sick.

As soon as she fled out the door, Ryder laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh. He could hear her retching, but he did nothing to help her. When he stopped laughing a wretched feeling came over him, what had he done? He felt the crystal in his eye smarting, it was vibrating, sending spasms of guilt throughout his body. That wretched crystal, he wished he could dive a dagger into his eye and rip it out.

But he couldn’t do that, not without blinding himself, the crystal was there for keeps. He had no choice, the crystal fragment acted like a conscience making him want to help Olivia. So he tucked her into bed, and crept in next to her, she didn’t seem to mind. She thought he was a nice guy, but he and the the crystal knew otherwise. Afterwards he shed crystal tears; a deep feeling of disgust filled his being. He was tainted, a lost soul, blinded by the splendour of his own shadow, with no way of being saved.

Rules:
1.1000 words max
2.fictional tale (or true if you really want)
3.PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly!
4.Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related
5.Go for the entertainment value!
6.State the Genre of your story at the top of your post.
7.Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST
8.Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post)
9.Have fun!

I hope you liked my contribution to this week’s blog battle. Do let me know what you think. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite story.

Bye for now.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Edinburgh Book Festival #edbookfest : Cat Clarke, and Kat Ellis

Being an aspiring children’s and YA author I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend the Edinburgh Book Festival talk The Disappeared by Cat Clarke and Kat Ellis on Tuesday 18th of August, as you can see I even managed to get a photo with the two of them, even though I was at the end of the signing queue! Yes, I’m a slow coach, I meandered around, had a cup of coffee, perused the books, and then joined the queue. Kat was occupied signing another book so I spoke to Cat first. Cat delighted me by asking if I’d like to be in the photo too! I was a bit concerned that I might spoil the photo, sometimes I’m not very photogenic, I pull these silly faces, but fortunately this didn’t turn out too badly.

Is this the first time that I’ve seen Cat Clarke?

No, though it is the first time I’ve spoken to her in person. I heard her speaking a year ago at YALC in London, here’s the link to that talk if you’d like to read about it: https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2014/07/18/im-too-sexy-for-this-book-yalc-panel-event/

My experience of the talk

During this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival talk I managed to get a seat fairly near the front, and was about to get my note pad out when I realised I’d lost my pen, so this write up is purely from the powers of my failing memory so if I get any details wrong, Cat/Kat don’t blame me, it’s that missing pen’s fault!

The chair person Daniel Hahn started by saying that it was bound to get confusing with a Cat/Kat in the audience, how do you differentiate? Daniel found a way round this conundrum as all good interviewers do, and the conversation flowed very freely. I was struck by Cat’s friendly disposition, and her tendency to smile and wave at the audience. She had a few members of the audience waving back! Next time I’ll be more than happy to wave back Cat, now I’ve met you in person!

The first question that Daniel posed set the tone for the talk, light and silly, which is great, I like light and silly.

It went something like this: If you had a choice of muffins for hands or squirrels for feet which would you choose? Cat C went for those squirrels, but sounds like she kind of liked the notion of regenerating muffins, (her suggestion.) Kat E stuck with the muffins, like me she must have a sweet tooth, and a few fillings. Cat C was quick to point out that Muffins are not very practical she added that you wouldn’t be able to do the gardening with muffins for hands. True, but you wouldn’t starve either. Oh by the way my favourite muffins are blueberry, yum…. donations on a plate, please….

Talking about squirrels just recently we had a very high fence built and squirrels have taken to running across the top of this new fence at double time, a bit like a trapeze artist balancing on a wire, except they kind of do a manic version of it, I always find it highly entertaining, it’s my own little Squirrel Circus Show what more could a girl ask for ……..

Moving on from squirrels and muffins, and back to the talk, the topic of conversation kind of gravitated towards Welsh, or to be exact writing novels in Welsh and this question was directed at Kat. Kat is Welsh, or at least she says she is. Kat has forgotten how to write in Welsh! Maybe she’s an imposter? Can she sing? That’s normally a good way to tell, Tom Jones comes to mind, the interviewer should have asked her to sing a bar or two of Send in The Clowns. Kat’s a new breed, an author pretending to be Welsh. Only kidding Kat, I’m sure you are Welsh. Yes, I believe you, the penny dropped when you said that if your novels were written in Welsh there would be far more spelling mistakes! Lots of people can’t spell in English so that sounds plausible.

Cat Clark doesn’t write in any foreign languages at least I don’t think she does. She started her writing journey writing non-fiction, but this type of factual writing didn’t allow her an adequate platform for her squirrel like imagination, so fiction was the next obvious path to take. Cat says she thinks like a teenager, and believe me when she said this I didn’t bat an eyelid. So our teenage minded Cat decided to write Fiction, aka stories that lie to the reader, yes that’s how the interviewer sold it to us. A whole new genre: Stories That Lie, it has a certain ring to it doesn’t it? Sounds far more exciting, and interesting if you ask me, great decision Cat…

Both Cat Clarke and Kat Ellis seem to have aspects in common in their recent writing, both of these novels are about disappearing children. Moreover these two authors are drawn to the weird. Cat Clarke admitted that she was a bit of a weird kid being fascinated by child abduction, the topic for her new book, The Lost and The Found. Similiarly Kat E likes to go to circus’s with her niece and imagine what it would be like for the circus performers to befall some horrible accident. Yes, this talk ended up being a bit of a confessional for weirdness, but Cat came out with the most shocking gambit of all. She is fascinated by shark attacks, what it would be like to be attacked, and the scars you’d have. After this particular announcement silence followed, shocked audience silence, possibly Cat might have gone too far? Hope there weren’t any shark attack victims in the audience. Yes Cat, authors are a weird bunch, and by the sound of it, you’ve got this weirdness on pointe.

So the discussion progressed to differences between these two authors. Cat Clarke kind of summed it up when she mentioned the weathervane at the beginning of Kat’s book, she’s in awe of the fantasy world that Kat has created. Me too. Daniel Hahn was quick to point out that Cat’s non fantasy based writing rocks too.

Blackfin Sky (great title by the way,) is Kat Ellis’s debut novel. During the course of the interview it transpired that Kat E did indeed have other manuscripts tucked away, apparently Blackfin Sky leapfrogged past the others, to claim the first spot in the hall of fame of first novels and is one of the nominees for …. Drumroll……..

First Book Award, vote for your favourite here, voting closes at 5pm on Friday 16th October: www.edbookfest.co.uk

There were readings, as there always are at these talks, hey we’re talking books, who wants to come to an author’s event and not hear the author/s talk? Cat C leapfrogged past the first chapter and read from her second chapter and Kat Ellis kept fantasy simple and read from her first chapter.

Here’s some short snippets:

Kat Ellis, Blackfin Sky, 1st Chapter

Silas’ spirit had inhabited the rusting weathervane for many years. From his perch on the school roof he watched the townsfolk of Blackfin through his empty eye socket as they buzzed through their lives beneath him, no more significant than the grains of sand piling up against the shoreline, clinging to the struts of Blackfin pier.

Doesn’t that just grab your attention? It certainly did for me!

and

Cat Clarke The Lost and The Found, Chapter 2

I don’t believe it. I won’t allow myself to believe it. Mum’s trying to stay calm too, but I can see it in her face – something I haven’t seen for years hope. She thinks it’s different this time. They wouldn’t have called her otherwise. They think this is it. After hundreds, maybe even thousands, of crank calls and false sightings and psychics claiming Laurel was living with goat-herds in the mountains of Uzbekistan.

Again, another wonderful snippet that draws the reader in, so looking forward to reading both of these books.

Same topic two very different approaches fascinating isn’t it? That’s why I love books so much, stir a little pot of words, add a dash of magic and just see where those magical words will take you.

There were tips for writers from debut novelist Kat Ellis, her advice is to learn all you can about publishing through social media platforms such as twitter, follow those agents, (she is with the Bent Agency,) and editors. Excellent advice from Kat, yes stalk those agents and editors, don’t let them get a day’s rest.

Neither Cat or Kat write with a particular audience in mind. Apparently Kat didn’t do any research for her novel, sounds like it just evolved, albeit slowly, yes this writing lark takes oodles of energy and time. They tend to write what they themselves would like to read and nowadays YA is read by older people too like …… yours truly and the thoroughly accomplished and entertaining interviewer Daniel Hahn who confessed to being in his forties and reading YA. Ah, this is very relatable, us older YA readers should stick together we should have a convention or something….

So, wonderful talk, enjoyed it immensely, love being at the Book Festival, spent so much time there it began to feel like a home for home. Maybe I should pitch a tent, would have saved on bus fares.

TIP: It’s a great spot for people watching, and generally being nosy – one of my favourite pastimes, a must if you have any aspirations to be a writer……

Take a look at these photos lots of potential for imagined stories:

Maybe you’d like to use one of these photographs as a story prompt and write a story? Please feel free to do so if you’d like by linking back to this post. Thanks.

Links:

http://catclarke.com/

http://katelliswrites.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.danielhahn.co.uk/

Thanks for stopping by.

Have you been to this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival? If you have I’d love to hear about your experiences do leave a comment. Or if you’d prefer to talk about squirrels, muffins and sharks that’s okay, happy to chat about that too!

Bye for now!

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of The Raven Boys By Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads Synopsis:

There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

My review:

I haven’t read any Maggie Stiefvater before. It’s wonderful when you discover a new author.

Why I enjoyed The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle#1):

1. Great Characters

2. Interesting premise – Blue’s kisses will kill off her true love.

3. Clairvoyants, spirits, magic, ley lines.

4 A Quest to find Owen Glendower, The Raven King.

5. Maggie Stiefvater uses foreshadowing very successfully, particularly with regard to Noah.

6. There’s a well kept journal that wants! Loved the idea of this! With its very own shape doodle.

Tip: I did find Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style took a while to get into, but when I did I really enjoyed The Raven Boys. This is a series, there is Book two to look forward to in this quartet: The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle #2.)

The Raven Boys is set in Henrietta, Virginia, a “town known for its ravens.” 94

Blue Sargent has been warned off kissing her true love as one single kiss will seal his fate, and believe you me his fate ain’t nice, one kiss and then he’s a goner. No more kissing, no more breathing, just dead. Quite a powerful premise, a mighty hook, but does the novel take you down this kissing, route to death path? Read and find out!

Blue joins in the church watch, on St Mark’s eve, April 24th, with Neeve, her half aunt who happens to be a famous TV psychic. Blue normally goes with her mother but this time she finds herself having a bit of a weird moment, on this particular St Mark’s eve she sees the spirit of a young man:

“He was so real. When it finally happened, when she finally saw him, it didn’t feel like magic at all. It felt like looking into the grave and seeing it look back at her.” 15

There are a wonderful array of interesting characters to engage with in this novel. This is partly because Blue doesn’t live in your typical household, Blue lives in 300 Fox Way, a clairvoyant household with her mum Maura and her psychic aunts, Calla and Persephone.

The Boys:

There are several Raven boys to take a pick from! I know I have my favourites, I’m sure you will too!

There’s Gansey (Blue initially calls him President Cell Phone).

“Gansey was the boy she either killed or fell in love with. Or both.”

The Raven Boys aren’t quite your usual boy next door type: “There was something odd and complicated about all of these boys, Blue thought – odd and complicated in the way that the journal was odd and complicated.”

Then there’s Adam, who isn’t a rich kid like the others:

“Success meant nothing to Adam if he hadn’t done it for himself.” 132.

Adam has a difficult home life, and he’s trying to rise above his problems but there’s always this chip on his shoulder which he can’t quite shake off. Adam’s home life is certainly no cake walk, I really felt sorry for him.

As well as Gansey and Adam there are two brothers Declan and Ronan Lynch, who have been “at odds for as long as Adam had known them.”

Gansey prefers the company of Ronan and I have to agree I prefer Ronan too!

“Adam suspected Gansey’s preference was because Ronan was earnest even if he was horrible, and with Gansey, honesty was golden.”

There is a villainous side to Ronan but he’s not your stereotypical villian with just one side to his character. He also has a kind, unexpected side, which is demonstrated by his care and attention to a tiny foundling raven :

“You look like a super villain with your familiar,” Adam said. Ronan’s smile cut his face, but he looked kinder than Blue had ever seen him, like the raven in his hand was his heart, finally laid bare.”

More about the mighty raven:

“The raven was Glendowers bird.”

“Legend had it that Glendower could speak to ravens, and vice versa.”

Then there’s Noah who’s the less detailed out of all the Raven Boys, he’s a bit grey round the edges, but there’s a good reason for that.

My favourites out of the boys are Adam, Ronan, and Gansey. I reckon Ronan is going to get very interesting in book 2 – my intuition is telling me! Okay, maybe intuition with a bit of help, the last line of the novel kind of hints that this is the way the series develops.

On top of clairvoyancy, readings, spirits, there’s a four year quest, to find Owen Glendower, The Raven King. But the Raven Boys are not the only ones searching for Glendower, a young man comes for a reading with Blue’s psychic mother, Maura, Calla and Persephone.

As well as all the wacky aunts, we have a very special journal:
“More than anything, the journal wanted.” 84

The Journal is about ley lines and all manner of other details – “invisible energy lines that connected spiritual places ” Glendower, sleeping knights, “sacrificed kings, ancient water goddesses and all of the old things that ravens represented.

The adventure starts to step up a notch when Helen, Gansey’s sister, a helicopter pilot takes them exploring. Blue goes along and directs them to the church on the ley line. They fly over a shape in the overgrown grass that resembles a raven.

Gansey: “If they removed Glendower from the corpse road, I think the magic that keeps him asleep would be disrupted.”215 She said, ‘Basically, you mean he would die for good if he was removed from the line.”

All manner of incredible things happen, but not to spoil it for you by saying too much.

Would I recommend reading the Raven Boys? Absolutely. Highly recommended for readers of Fantasy, Paranormal, YA, Romance, Supernatural, Mystery.

My rating:

4.5 Pentagons

If you would like a Recap of the book, I found this excellent site, but beware as there are spoilers: http://recaptains.co.uk/2013/09/the-raven-boys-by-maggie-stiefvater/

In short, Recaptains is a blog dedicated to spoiling books on purpose. Written by none other than Maggie Stiefvater herself!

Have you read The Raven Boys? Do comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Hi. Welcome to Kyrosmagica.

Time to do a review, what’s on the cards today? A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, that’s what.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.

Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London—but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—trickier than they hoped.

My review:

I’m a huge Victoria Schwab fan so I was expecting to love A Darker Shade of Magic and I was not disappointed.

There are so many appealing elements in this novel:

Magic, of course!

Kell’s fabulous coat.

Different Londons.

Pirate theme.

Kick ass heroine.

Well crafted villians.

Fantasy.

A magical stone.

Cross dressing girl dressed as a sea Captain.

Soul seals! You need to read the book to find out what these are!

TIP: Be aware that this is one of those books that you have to allow time to develop as you read. It starts off with a fair amount of detail about the magical world, introducing the reader to the contrasting world of the different Londons.

Sense of smell is used in a very interesting way to convey the different qualities of the Londons.

Black London is “the lost city,” that had to be sealed off from the other worlds.

After Black London fell the doors connecting the Londons were closed: “Now only the Antari possessed enough power to make new doors, and even then only they could pass through them.”

Grey London is the magic-less city. When Kell, our fabulous protagonist with his very peculiar coat. “It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two which would be expected, but several, which was, of course, impossible. When Kell inhales the scent of Grey London he smells smoke.

Red London is where everybody learns to understand magic, it’s the healthy empire, Kell’s home. Red London smells to Kell of home, but to others it smells of flowers.

White London’s magic is savage It is the starving world, which smells of blood. In Grey, read and white London there is,
“A fixed point,” The Stone’s Throw tavern, though In White London this establishment is called The Scorched Bone.

In this world there are only two magical Antari left: “Now, Kell and Holland seemed to be the last of a rapidly dying breed.”

“And Antari could speak to blood. To life, to magic itself.”

But the characters of Kell and Holland couldn’t be more different. Holland is under the control of the King and Queen of White London, Astrid and Athos Dane whose palace is a fortress with a stone forest of people, that they are rumoured to have killed. Don’t doubt it – these two rulers are EVIL, EVIL, EVIL!!

Holland may be living and breathing but he is under the control of Astrid and Athos : “It was a voice (Holland’s voice) like a shadow in the woods at night. Quiet and dark and cold.”

When Barron and Holland have a confrontation, Victoria Schwab enriches the story by using the sense of smell once again: “Holland smelled of ash and blood and metal.”

Kell shouldn’t be moving between the London’s collecting trinkets but it seems he can’t help himself. He is an adventurer and his princely brother Rhy warns him, “Transference is treason.”

Kell is such an engaging character, poor Kell, he doesn’t really belong, in fact he seems to think of himself as an object: “I feel more like a possession than a prince.”

Though he is fiercely fond and protective of his princely brother Rhy.” Kell has lived in the palace of red London since he was a young boy but he has been marked by a spell that makes him forget, “he suspected that the king and queen themselves had sanctioned it.”

Even in red London Kell’s one black eye, “Marked him always as other. ” Kell’s blood, when paired with the token (given to him by King George), allowed him to move between the worlds.

The story really cranks up a huge notch when we met Lila Bard, she is most definitely my favourite character in A Darker Shade of Magic: “Lila Bard lived by a simple rule: if a thing was worth having, it was worth taking.”

When we first meet Lila she dresses as a man, and nicks a watch off a gentleman. She loves the thrill of living dangerously. Delilah Bard wants to sail away on a pirate ship. She has a wise side to her brought about by her daily life in the school of hard knocks, she sees that “you (Kell) may want for things but you need for nothing.”

The owner of the Stone’s Throw, Barron, appreciates her qualities and seems to have a soft spot for her. Kell takes a while to truly understand Lila: “And for the first time, Kell saw Lila. Not as she wanted to be, but as she was. A frightened, albeit clever, girl trying desperately to stay alive.”

Kell is in possession of the Black London Stone, this Talisman transfers hands many times but Kell is initially divested of it by none other than Lila Bard herself ! She has a moral code of sorts so she doesn’t steal from him and leave him empty handed she leaves behind a token, her kerchief.

This stone in the wrong hands could have disastrous results. The adventure really livens up when Kell and Lila attempt to take the stone back to Black London.

“I’m not going to die, ” she said. “Not till I’ve seen it.”

“seen what?”

Her smile widened. ” Everything.”

There are so many wonderful quotes that I have incorporated into this review but this one is my favourite of all:

“Delilah bard had finally escaped, sailed away. Not with a ship, but with a stone.”

**** Spoilers Below ****

BEWARE!!!!!!

Though I loved this book I did find some difficulties with some of the events towards the end of the book. Holland wanted to die? “It was relief,” that crossed his face. Ok, I sort of got this, he wasn’t his own man he was under Athos and Astrid’s thumb but the way he just kind of gave in at the very last showdown just didn’t seem quite right to me. Also, I was quite surprised by the way in which Lila kills the young guard who is guarding Astrid. The guard asks to die quickly, Lila kills him without hesitating. I realise that she had no choice but I would have liked to see a moment of sadness following his death but somehow she just moves on too quickly and seems a little too brutal for my liking at this juncture in the book. I realise she’s tough, and will kill if necessary but the moral code that she obviously has seems momentarily to have been forgotten. Though I really did enjoy how Kell knew that Astrid wasn’t Lila right at the end “Because she said please.”

Highly recommended for readers of Fantasy, YA, and Magic.

My rating:

4.5 stars.

Have you read A Darker Shade of Magic? Do comment I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Writer’s Quote Wednesday: Dr Seuss

Welcome to my blog Kyrosmagica.

Join in the fun it’s time for Writer’s Quote Wednesday http://silverthreading.com/2015/06/03/writers-quote-wednesday-douglas-Jerrold/

I haven’t been able to do much blogging this week I’ve been without internet for nearly a week, imagine that! I’ve been popping into the library to use free Wi-Fi when I can. So this post is a day out, never mind, that seems quite appropriate given that this post is about Fantasy. Today as Dr. Seuss would say it’s Fox in Socks Day, (Wear Crazy Socks) Thursday instead of Green Eggs and Clothes day, (Wear something Green) Wednesday! Well of the two I prefer to wear crazy socks so a day late is lucky for me now I can wear some crazy socks! Yippeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Just recently I joined a reading group in Cambridge and one of the questions that we were asked was “Do we like fantasy?” I thought this was such an odd question, because for me all writing is a form of fantasy, unless the work in question is non-fiction. Fantasy is the thread that keeps our imagination nurtured, without it surely we will be at a terrible loss? Anyway to cut a long story short I was quite horrified when several people put up their hands indicating that they didn’t like fantasy.

If I was a cat I’d look something like this:

Who were these people? How can you not like fantasy? Did something terrible happen to them when they were children, so that they were unable to live and breathe fantasy?

So this week for Colleen’s Writer’s Quote Wednesday I’m going to focus on fantasy combined with a touch of humour now isn’t that a winning combination?

Definition of Fantasy:

the faculty or activity of imagining impossible or improbable things:

“his researches had moved into the realms of fantasy”

synonyms: imagination · creativity · fancy · invention · originality · vision

Look at those synonyms imagination, creativity, fancy, invention, originality, vision, come on what’s not to like?

Here’s a wonderful quote from a fellow I much admire, Dr. Seuss :

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a Telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”

Dr. Seuss.

Author Profile – courtesy of Goodreads.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, MA. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he’d made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase “Quick, Henry, the Flit!”

In 1936 on the way to a vaction in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship’s engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.

During WW II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar’s for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.

In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel’s publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat, which went on to instant success.

In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn’t write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham. Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.

Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.

Also worked under the pen name:
Theo Le Sieg

What about you do you feel fiercely protective of the fantasy world? Do you look at the world through the wrong end of a telescope? Do leave a comment. I’d love to find out your opinions. Thanks for stopping by, do come again I love visitors.

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My Kyrosmagica Review of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Goodreads Synopsis:

A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly re-imagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, Miller’s debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights. Fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.

Awards:

Orange Prize for Fiction (2012), Gaylactic Spectrum Award for Best Novel (2013), Chautauqua Prize Nominee (2013)

My review:

I loved The Song of Achilles, which didn’t surprise me because I love Greek mythology and I adore a well crafted love story. In fact I enjoyed reading it so much that my copy was stuffed choc a block full of my tiny post it notes. I use a system of post-its to mark passages that I want to return to later, maybe to quote, or in this case just to re-read. So when this happens it is a sure sign that the novel I am reading is a 4 star or a 5 star read.

It is astonishing to me that The Song of Achilles is Madeline Miller’s debut novel. Miller writes with such effortless style, she grabs the reader by the you know whats and mades you purr. Given her background, maybe this is what I should have expected, she has a BA and MA from Brown University in Classics and is an accomplished student from the Yale School of Drama, specialising in adapting classical tales for a modern audience.

One of the novel’s great strengths is its ability to make Greek legends accessible to all readers even those with little or no knowledge of classical history. Miller chooses Patroclus as a first person narrator rather than the more obvious choice: Achilles, giving the story a powerful human touch. The reader is so blinded by Patroclus’s love for Achilles, that he or she is unable to see Achilles faults, right up until the end.

This tale of love and betrayal is set against the backdrop of the agonisingly long Trojan War. The developing love story between Patroclus and Achilles is crafted wonderfully, you sense the gentle tread of their initial attraction, from their first kiss when Patroclus calls upon the gods:

“Dear gods, I think, let him not hate me. I should have known better than to call upon the gods.”

Followed by the full on progression to them becoming lovers. The sexual act between the two is not graphically described, and in my opinion it is better that way. In so doing Madeline Miller ensures that this is a sensual delight, rather than blatant titillation. Some might argue that she is treading sensitively with this portrayal but anything else would have in my opinion jarred with her style of writing.

Achilles must avoid killing Hector, Patroclus sums up the dreadful prophecy with these words:

“And Hector must live, always, he must never die, not even when he is old, not even when he is so withered that his bones slide beneath his skin like loose rocks in a stream.”

Madeline Miller attributes Achilles with God-like characteristics, his beauty is without question, yet it is his lack of awareness that makes him all the more appealing to the reader and to Patroclus:

“Perhaps most remarkable was his un-self-consciousness. He did not preen or pout as other handsome children did. Indeed he seemed utterly unaware of his effect on the boys around him.”

Achilles has a tender side to him, it appears that his human side is stronger than his goddess mother Thesis would like, after witnessing the sacrificial death of a young woman he is distressed:

“I was close enough. I could have saved her.”

When Patrolus watches him sleeping he reflects : “His face is innocent, sleep-smoothed and sweetly boyish. I love to see it. This is his truest self, earnest and guileless, full of mischief, but without malice. He is lost in Agamemnon and Odysseus’ wily double meanings, their lies and games of power.”

Miller engages the reader’s interest by showing Achille’s human side, his ability to love another human being. She demonstrates that being the son of a Goddess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, what with all the prophecies, and the potential crises of angering the Gods.

It is clear that Achilles could have had any young man, so why indeed did he choose gawky Patroclus to be his lover? Achilles is so near perfect as it is possible to be, so why would he want a mirror image of himself?Patroclus cannot compare in looks, or courage, or ability to Achilles, but I think the answer lies in Patroclus’s human characteristics. Patroclus is kind, and caring. It is Patroclus’s human weaknesses that attract Achilles. Patroclus is flawed. In the beginning, young Patrolus is exiled to the kingdom of Phthia because he killed a boy.

“In exchange for my weight in gold, they would rear me to manhood.”

There, his is fostered by King Peleus, who happens to be the father of Achilles, a youth the same age as Patroclus. Patroclus could have pretended that the boy’s death was an accident, yet he did not.

“If I had lied, I would still be a prince. It was not murder that had exiled me, it was my lack of cunning.”

He cares deeply for the welfare of others, and ends up attending to the battlefield victims. He feels such pity for Deidameia, the mother of Achille’s son:

“She did not know that I almost asked him, to be a little kinder to her.”

Patroclus is especially fond of Breisis, Achille’s war prize, claimed under Patroclus’s influence to save and protect her from the lecherous clutches of Agamemnon. In fact it is clear that Patroclus loves Breisis, albeit in a platonic way. Breisis pays a very pivotal part in the story and Agamemnon’s actions towards her in the latter part of the book have dire consequences.

The character of Thesis, Achille’s sea goddess mother scares the pants off of Patroclus and no wonder:

“She leaned closer still, looming over me. Her mouth was a gash of red, like the torn-open stomach of a sacrifice, bloody and oracular. Behind it her teeth shone sharp and white as bone.”

Patroclus and Achilles spend some time in an idyll with the centaur Chinon, before they have to grow up, become men and fight in what seems like a never ending war:

“There was something in Chiron’s face, firm and calm and imbued with authority, that made us children again, with no world beyond this moment’s play and this night’s dinner.”

***** Spoiler Alert Below in Italics******

The tender aspect of Patroclus’s character leads to the story’s final tragic outcome, he wishes to protect Achille’s reputation. Breisis is taken forcibly by Agamemnon. Patroclus wishes to protect her from Agamemnon’s carnal desires, Achille’s resents Patroclus’s caring so much for Breisis, but more than anything he resents Agamemnon’s actions, the insult to his honour, he has become vain. Can a God be conflicted? Can a God feel pain and jealousy? In the end it is Patroclus who leaves in Achille’s armour, adopting his persona, promising that he will not fight. In donning Achille’s armour he becomes a God-like warrior for a brief moment of exquisite triumph, but ultimately he can’t sustain this as he is not Achilles, he is a human, not a God. When he realises what impact his well meaning actions will have upon Achilles he knows that he has made yet another terrible decision. This time the outcome will be tragic for all those he loves, his first thought is Achilles, but by the time he realises this, it is too late.

Highly recommended for Fantasy, Historical, Mythology, Romance, GLBT, and War readers.

Well, it’s got to be a definite 5 stars, and it’s most certainly one to grace my favourites shelf.

Authors Website: http://www.madelinemiller.com/

Excellent interview with Madeline Miller: http://blog.booktopia.com.au/2011/07/20/madeline-miller-author-of-the-song-of-achilles-answers-ten-terrifying-questions/#comment-187225

Have you read The Song of Achilles? Do leave a comment below I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Goodreads Synopsis:

An extraordinary new novel from the author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day.

“You’ve long set your heart against it, Axl, I know. But it’s time now to think on it anew. There’s a journey we must go on, and no more delay…”

The Romans have long since departed, and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased. The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl and Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years.

They expect to face many hazards – some strange and other – worldly – but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark and forgotten corners of their love for one another.

Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge and war.

My review:

Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant is an ambitious endeavour which combines elements of fantasy with literary and historical fiction. It is a philosophical tale replete with deep insights regarding family love and loyalty, trust, forgiveness, old age and memory loss, marital love, and war. At the heart of this story the premise is this: in a long life our memories will not always be happy ones, free from any hurt, or guilt. All human beings make mistakes and do hurtful things, therefore, is it better to leave these painful memories buried? But if you do so how will you ever learn from the tragic historical mistakes of the past? Moreover, if you are unable to remember your family, the people you love, the life that you live, then what do you truly have? One only has to consider a victim of Alzheimer’s to understand the devastation that this brings. This gift of remembrance comes with a price, it is a double-edged sword as you will find if you read the book.

The Buried Giant, as its name suggests, is a slow almost laborious read to begin with. In fact I almost felt as if the mist of forgetfulness was engulfing me as I was reading! Some might find the development of the story line to be too slow for their taste, and may be switched off the book because of it, this is most definitely a novel that will divide opinion. If you like a deeply thoughtful close read, I would recommend this, but prepared for the slow start. The true meaning of the book’s title, The Buried Giant, remains a mystery hidden in the mists of the story right until it is time to reveal its true meaning.

The time period is mythical old England. The Buried Giant features an elderly Briton couple, Beatrice and Axl, who set of on a journey from the village in which they live, an underground habitat connected, “one to another by underground passages and covered corridors,” to their son’s village to find him. This sounds a simple enough quest but this isn’t just an ordinary reunion, no, Beatrice and Axl can hardly remember what their son looks like, nor can they even remember recent life changing events that have happened to them. In fact the past has now taken on the qualities of a mist: “I mean that it had somehow faded into a mist as dense as which hung over the marshes.” Axl feels the pain of this lack of remembering particularly when it is about their son: “Many things I’ll happily let go to it, but its cruel when we can’t remember a precious thing like that.”

They are joined on their quest like adventure by an injured boy, Master Edwin, and a Saxon Warrior, Master Wistan. The warrior appears to be a man of great character who is able to withstand spells. All four of these characters, Axl, Beatrice, Edwin, and Wistan, are looking for something or someone. Edwin, Axl and Beatrice are all wishing to be reunited with a much-loved but mostly forgotten, family member, in Edwin’s case it is his mother. The warrior Wistan sees a special quality in his protégé Edwin that he feels sure will lead him to the She Dragon Querig : “I chose you above others, Master Edwin, because I saw you had the hunter’s gift to match your warrior spirit.”

They meet an aged knight, Sir Gawain, the “nephew of the great Arthur,” and his elderly horse, Horace. The once mighty Sir Gawain has been given the task of slaying Querig, but it appears that in his enfeebled state, Sir Gawain has failed in this endeavour and the She dragon still lives. Sir Gawain continues to defend the honour of Arthur who he believes has brought a lasting peace to Britain.

Sir Gawain reflects on Edwin’s injury: ‘That’s no ogre’s bite the boy carries.” The Villagers superstitions’ lead them to believe that Edwin will turn into a fiend himself. The reader begins to wonder is this an ogre’s bite or a dragon’s bite? The young boy’s behaviour becomes stranger the closer that he gets to the She dragon’s lair, this mimics an earlier episode in the book when Wistan pretends to be an idiot, this device connects these two characters, suggesting Wistan’s hold over Edwin.

On the quest we are introduced to a rich array of characters in keeping with the fantasy, (magical realism,) element of this story, to name a few there are: ogres, monks, sprites, a beast, pixies, a bird like old woman, a she dragon, and the all important boat man, who ferry people to the island of the dead. When we meet the bird like old woman she is clutching a rabbit that she intends to kill.

**** Some minor spoilers below in italics****

This bird like old woman appears to be taunting a thin unusually tall boatman. But nothing is quite as it seems. At first glance it appears as if the boatman is the victim of this strange woman’s hideous behaviour. But could it be that the woman has suffered an injustice at the hands of the boatman? The old woman recants a tale of being questioned by the boatman about the bond between her husband and herself. This bond is deemed too weak by the all-knowing boatman. She is tricked and forcibly parted from her husband and offered a rabbit as recompense for her first night of never-ending solitude. Can you imagine? What a wicked thing! Beatrice is fearful that the loss of memory that she and her husband are currently experiencing will lead to their enforced parting too. She fears that they may let some less than perfect confession slip when answering the boatman’s far-reaching questions about the worthiness of their love.

Later it is suggested that the weary old couple, Axl and Beatrice, will defeat the she-dragon with a poisoned goat given to them by abandoned children whose mother has forgotten them. Again, the theme of forgetfulness, and loss permeates the many layers of this novel. This seems ridiculous at this point in the novel, yet it isn’t as far fetched as it seems, as Axl and Beatrice are now as enfeebled as the dragon.

As for the warrior Wistan, he has been taught by Lord Brennus to hate Britons. Now Wistan hopes to ensure that his protégé, Edwin, hates Britons too. Later Edwin questions whether this should apply to all Britons, even to their fair-minded companions, Axl and Beatrice. Will the circle of hate continue if Querig is destroyed and the mist is lifted?

Superstition plays an important role in this tale, the She dragon Querig is attributed with having caused the mist. It is suggested that Merlin placed a spell on her breath. Gawain states that,”Without this she-dragon’s breath, would peace ever have come?” But there are others who think that the mist is God’s forgetting, or possibly God’s punishment for man’s evil. When Axl and Beatrice are sheltered by Ivor, Ivor says to Beatrice,”The stranger thought it might be God himself had forgotten much from our pasts, events far distant, events of the same day.”

There is a sense of a past laying below the surface waiting to reappear, like the mist clearing, and little by little Axl begins to recollect days of wars. He recalls the slaughter of women, children and elderly. “A slaughterer of babes.”

When finally the reader is acquainted with the once mighty Querig, one wonders whether this creature is now to be pitied? This once fearsome creature has aged like three of the characters who seek it: Axl, Beatrice, and Sir Gawain. The warrior and Sir Gawain at this point in the novel have utterly opposing views, “Leave this place, sir, I beg you.” Wistan considers that,”what kind of god is it, sir, wishes wrongs to go forgotten and unpunished?” When they fight, their blades lock in what initially appears to be a matched battle, suggesting they both believe in the true justice of their contrasting opinions. The rest you must learn by reading the book.

Ultimately, if the dragon is indeed slayed will the result be peace and happiness for all? What impact will this have on Beatrice and Axl? Will their memories be restored? If they are, will this bring them joy or pain? Will the Britons and Saxons be divided once again?

The final conclusion is heart breaking, a powerful ending. I waited a long time for this emotionally charged moment, it came right at the end but it was worth the wait. I liked this novel, and appreciated the thought that went into its crafting, but somehow it didn’t quite reach the heady heights of my favourite shelf. The slow progression of the novel, and some of the slightly irritating habits of the characters dragged it down, Axl’s constant referring to his wife, as his “princess” comes to mind. Yet, The Buried Giant left me thinking….. Yes, it is a deeply thoughtful novel, one to ponder on and consider.

Highly recommended for readers of: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Fantasy.

Note for fantasy readers: the fantasy element in this novel is used “as a means of distraction from realities too painful to face.” See http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/08/kazuo-ishiguro-rebuffs-genre-snobbery

My rating:

4 stars. A hard one to rate, the slow start, though possibly unavoidable, meant that it dragged a bit for me, so didn’t quite hit the giddy heights of a five-star read, so I’d say, a very solid 4 stars.

Have you read The Buried Giant? Do leave a comment below I’d love to hear from you.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Goodreads Synopsis:

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends — one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena — Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

My review:

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and The Olympians #1) is the first novel in the Percy Jackson and The Olympian series. The series consists of five novels: The Lightning Thief (2005), The Sea of Monsters (2006), The Titan’s Curse (2007), The Battle of the Labyrinth (2008) and The Last Olympian (2009). It has since been followed by a sequel series of five books titled The Heroes of Olympus.

The Lightning Thief received mostly positive reviews and won awards including the School Library Journal Best Book of 2005.

The Lightning Thief has all the elements to make me purr like a kitten but somehow it left me slightly disappointed. I enjoyed The Lightning Thief but I didn’t love it and that surprised me.

So, a little recap of the story, as I see it. Percy is always getting into trouble. Typical twelve year old boy if you ask me! He thinks his problems are caused by his dyslexia and ADHD playing up. But this isn’t the case, Percy is no ordinary guy, he’s a demigod. He sets off on a quest with a disguised satyr, and the half-blood daughter of Athena, to settle a feud between Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Poseidon has been accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt, and unless Percy can return the bolt, there will be a war between the gods. Along the way Percy discovers who his father is, no ordinary mortal of course, and Percy and his companions meet the Furies, Medusa, the motorcycle thug Ares, and various other immortals….

REASONS Why I should have loved it:

Greek Gods.

I just love myths, and legends. But somehow at times this just seems too far-fetched. Can I say that? When I’m talking about fantasy? Well, I just did! Greek Gods in the 21st Century – Some of it works and some of it fell short of perfect. Can you envisage a modern day Mount Olympus on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building? The door to Hades right there at DOA Recording Studio, somewhere in LA, really? I see what Rick Riordan’s trying to do, giving Greek mythology a modern day voice to entice the younger reader into an awakening interest in Greek mythology. I applaud him for that but maybe for me it was a bit too much…… modernising.

Characters and Narrative Voice.

I struggled to get emotionally involved in Percy’s quest. He’s had a hard life but I’m just not feeling it. Sometimes (not always) he sounds older than a twelve year old. To be fair maybe demigods abandoned by their fathers grow up too quickly, that would explain it.

Parallels to Harry Potter

There are many parallels between The Lightning Thief and Harry Potter, and I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter, so this kind of irked me a bit.

Here are some of the similiarities:

Percy’s closest friends are a girl, the half-blood daughter of Athena, Annabeth, and a boy, Grover, a disguised satyr, rather like Hermione and Ron, but in costume.

Percy goes to Camp Half Blood were he trains, this reminded me of Hogwarts, but just different setting.

The camps are divided into different houses which compete against each other in a Capture the Flag tournament. Percy realises his powers in water, and how water can heal him. The Capture the Flag tournament is a dead ringer for Quidditch. Of the two I preferred the fast pace and excitement of Quidditch.

One of the houses has kids who Percy doesn’t get along with, so Slytherin.

Percy and friends use an invisibility cap – invisibility cloak in Harry Potter.

********Spoiler************ Look Away.

***At the end Evil Kronos might be returning – kinda like Voldermort.***

The aspects of the story I liked:

Incorporating dyslexia into the storyline. This is great. This makes dyslexics cool! Dyslexics can read and understand ancient Greek. It’s about time that dyslexics get the attention and recognition they deserve.

The ADHD. Again. Clever. Stop slagging off those kids that can’t concentrate in class. They have advanced reflexes, and are battle ready!

What else did I really enjoy?

The humour. Made me chuckle. Humour rating, 5 crazy stars :

Medusa. I loved this part. Stop staring! Serves you right haven’t you heard it’s rude to stare. Medusa grabbed me by the scruff, while I clamped my eyes tight, shut. You would wouldn’t you? Medusa rating 5 stars !

The Three Furies, especially Mrs Dodds.

The nasty step dad got his comeuppance. Enjoyed this. He deserved it.

The twist in the tale at the end. Of course I saw this coming but nice twist.

My overall conclusion:

This first book in the series is middle grade fiction. I sense that as the story develops the characters will grow older, and find their emotional voice and depth. I would be interested in reading more of this series to see how it progresses. If I don’t I’ll be in trouble as my daughter is a huge Percy Jackson fan!

Highly recommended for readers of Middle Grade, YA, Fantasy, Mythology, Adventure and anyone who enjoys a good laugh. Oh, that’s me!

My rating:

Difficult to rate. I’m going to settle for 3.75 stars…………

Author Website:

http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx

Found this interesting piece of information about the development of the novel on Wikipedia to share with you:

– “Development for both The Lightning Thief and the Percy Jackson series began when Riordan began making stories for his son Haley who had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. His son had been studying Greek mythology in second grade and asked that his father come up with bedtime stories based on Greek myths. Riordan had been a Greek mythology teacher in middle school for many years and was able to remember enough stories to please his son. Soon Riordan ran out of myths and his son requested that Riordan make new ones using the characters from Greek myths while adding some new ones. Riordan created the fictional character Percy Jackson and his travels across the United States to recover Zeus’s lightning bolt. After Riordan finished telling the story his son asked that his dad write a book based on Percy’s adventures.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lightning_Thief

Some of my favourite quotes:

“My name is Percy Jackson.
I’m twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.
Am I a troubled kid?
Yeah. You could say that.”

“How did you die?”
“We er….drowned in a bathtub.”
“All three of you?”
“It was a big bathtub.”

“Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment,as if the garment was stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades’ underwear?”

Grover didn’t say anything for awhile. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, “Can I have your apple?”

“The real world is where the monsters are.”

“The sea does not like to be restrained. ”

“Your uncle,” Poseidon sighed, “has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would’ve done well as the god of theater.”

“Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.”

Have you read The Lightning Thief? Do comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Goodreads synopsis:

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

My Review

If you start Snow Like Ashes and decide to stop reading it I shall have to kill you, no seriously I will have no choice but to find, borrow, or steal Meira’s weapon, a lethal Chakram, and hurl it at you because you will undoubtedly be missing the best part of this wonderful debut novel.

It starts a bit slow, there’s a lot to take in, Sara Raasch fills us in on the details and if you’re not careful you can start to feel you’re eyes clouding over a bit. There’s an information, over-telling overload. But don’t be fooled. It is forgiveable because this is one heck of an exciting read, so stick with it. Boy, does she know how to write a strong female character, as well as interesting supporting characters and those thrilling battle scenes, well you might just find yourself wincing in parts. You can just feel super pumped high adrenalin charging through your veins!

Main character – Meira

Meira is one of eight of the surviving Winterians characterised by white skin and white hair. She lives in Primoria, a land of eight kingdoms. This orphan may be only sixteen years old but she is used to hardship and warring and sparring with warriors. This struggle will help her to understand and overcome the obstacles in her way to ensure that her defeated land Winter is once again a powerful kingdom. She learns who to trust and whom to avoid, and she discovers that freedom to choose a suitor is not always a gift that we can all have when political circumstances stand in the way.

The Seasons and The Rhythms

There’s four Season Kingdoms: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, as well as the Rhythms, whose four seasons occur naturally in a typical cycle: Cordell, Ventralli, Yakim and Paisly. The Season of Winter is as you would expect a chilly, frozen landscape of snow and ice. The thought of this just sends my teeth chattering. In contrast, Summer is a smouldering land of eternal sunshine. Like the sound of this one. Autumn is a kingdom of fallen, crisp, autumnal leaves. Spring is a place of awakening blooms, but instead of gentle flowering, evil lurks in this one. You get the picture? It’s interesting that Sara Raasch chose Spring to be the season of evil, rather than the more typical choice of harsh, unforgiving, Winter.

Evil King Agra

Spring may sound like a nice gentle season but don’t be fooled. No, sixteen years ago, Spring’s evil king Agra, stole the magical conduit and brutally conquered Winter, destroyed their magic, and enslaved most of the Winterians in the process, all except Meira, our heroine, Sir, her guardian, Mather, the heir of Winter, and five other Winterians. The two halves of the magical conduit are useless until they can be joined together, in a magical version of yin and yang. Yes, the clue’s in the wonderful cover of the book itself, you couldn’t get more conflicted yin and yang if you try.

The Former Queen of Winter, Hannah

Meira starts dreaming of the former queen of Winter, Hannah. To begin with she can’t understand these visions. But in time these dream sequences act as a device to explain, and fill us in on details in this great world-building, magical fantasy.

Winter are Tough Cookies

Winter may be a tough old season, and its people are too. The Winterians have taken one hell of a bashing, and some of them have just about given up. Our heroine Meira along with her seven other surviving Winterians are tough cookies but can they, and Meira in particular, save and restore Winter to it’s former glory?

Mather and Theron

Mather is introduced to us as the heir to the Winter kingdom, but unfortunately The Winter Kingdom is a matriarchy, where magic is passed on through a female-blooded conduit. So Mather may be a well meaning type of guy, but he just isn’t going to be the one to save the kingdom.

But can our heroine Meira save the kingdom? She spars with the men, is as fierce as the next guy, but there are times when her female side comes to the fore. No more so when she finds herself in amongst several warriors sparring with their tops off. Ok, so this kind of hormonal brain activity brings her down to normal mortal level, rather than kick ass heroine. But is it a bad thing? Not altogether in my opinion if the ……. yes, you guessed it …… love triangle is done well, and is shirts off, entertaining! This trio of love entanglement consists of our heroine Meira, her first love Mather, and Theron the Prince of the Cordell kingdom, who she is forcibly engaged to, an alliance reluctantly arranged by Mather himself. All’s fair in love and war!

Poor Mather you can’t help but feel sorry for him particularly when it becomes apparent that Meira starts to feel a bit of a smouldering attraction to Theron. Who can blame her? In my opinion, Theron comes across better, than Mather. The love interest is undoubtedly a cute well written diversion but it didn’t inspire me or fire me up quite as much as Meira’s fierce determination, bravery, and compassion in the face of adversity. As to the battle scenes these were thrilling, I never realised I was so blood thirsty! Meira sets out to find a solution to save Winter, and well let’s just say this young lady sure fights for what she believes in.

My Recommendation

So to sum up, great characters, wonderful world building, and magic. Just love that word, MAGIC, it just rolls of your tongue. I loved the idea of the seasons, the rhythms, oh and the decay was just fantastic too. There are a couple of unexpected twists at the end of the novel, maybe not too surprising a turn of events, but I won’t say anymore on that, no spoilers! This sits beautifully as a stand-alone novel but I do believe there is more to come. A sequel. Fantastic. Definitely looking forward to reading more from Sara Raasch.

As to the criticism that Sara Raasch shouldn’t have made the Winterian’s pale skinned, I think this is taking political correctness just a little too far, thank goodness we’re talking about a magical kingdom here, not real life slavery. Oppression is oppression whatever the colour of the person’s skin. So if it’s dudes with white skin, and white hair, being enslaved, let’s rise up against it! I’m with you Meira!

So highly recommended for readers of high fantasy, fantasy, young adult, romance.

My rating:

4.5 stars.

My favourite quotes:

The descriptions of winter just make you shiver inside!

“It’s so cold that foreigners have to wrap in layers of fur to walk from building to building, while our natural Winterian blood keeps us warm even in the worst conditions. And snow is everywhere, always, so much that the grass beneath it is white from lack of sun. An entire kingdom wrapped in an orb of eternal winter.”

You just can’t help supporting Meira, she’s strong, STRONG, STRONG!!!!!

“I don’t need made-up strength. I’m strong enough on my own—me, Meira, no magic or conduit or anything.”

“No matter what happens, no matter who turns on me, no matter what pompous swine thinks he has power over me, I am still me. I will always be me.”

This is just so poignant!

“Someday we will be more than words in the dark.”

She wants to be kick ass but also wants to be a woman. GREAT!!!

“I wanted to be a soldier. Someone who would earn standing in Winter. Someone Sir would look at with pride. Someone Mather would look at and —”

“I’m at the center of this, a weird possessive feud between the Winter king and the Cordellan prince.”

These simple words are so visually compelling

“Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake”

“Fear is a seed that, once planted, never stops growing.”

For those amongst us who can’t resist a bit of well-toned bare skin!

“But I just stand there, eyes narrowing to hide the fact that my initial reaction is to gape at Theron’s bare expanse of glistening skin. He’s shirtless — and it’s clear that Cordell subjects its men to rigorous chest exercises.”

“But everything I want to say dies the instant I see him. Because –mother of all that is cold– he’s shirtless too, with only the locket half dangling around his throat and his freckled skin reflecting the sheen of a good workout. “

Have you read Snow Like Ashes? Do leave a comment below I’d love to hear from you.

Bye for now,

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

My Kyrosmagica Review of Puppet by Pauline C Harris

Goodreads Synopsis:

Penelope lives in a world of advanced technology but many claim society has yet to catch up. Marionettes have advanced in the form of robots; lifelike creations remote controlled to perform super human tasks.

When Penelope makes a deal with Jed, a marionette-obsessed scientist, she doesn’t fully realize what she’s getting herself into. In order for Jed to take her away from the orphanage she lives in, she must first agree to undergo his experiments and tests, ultimately creating something no one ever dreamed possible; the first living marionette.

As Jed shows off his scientific creation to the world, concerns arise surrounding Penelope’s abilities and what she’s capable of doing. Ordered to somehow lessen her abilities, Jed makes a desperate attempt to change Penelope to make her more human, more vulnerable. After Penelope lies to the officials about her past, Jed makes sure it’s the last one she’ll ever utter. The truth is now the only thing she is capable of telling.

As Penelope struggles with her past, her disturbingly new present, and her uncertain future, she is thrust into a magically twisted world of mayhem in search of the one thing she wants, but knows she can never have. The chance to be just a girl again. To be normal. To be real.

My review:

I received a copy of Puppet via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Even though I enjoyed Puppet there were a few issues with the book. Initially I felt that the first two chapters told us too much about Penelope too early on. These ‘facts’ could have been fed into the narrative slowly rather than been thrust into the opening chapters of the book. In some ways, chapter three felt like the perfect place to begin the narrative, suddenly the story took me by surprise, and began to capture my attention. Also there was a definite tendency for Pauline C Harris to tell rather than show which is a typical error that new writers, myself included, often make when beginning to write. So in my opinion, I do think that Pauline could have benefited from tighter editing from a professional in order for this novel to reach its full potential.

On the plus side I do think that the premise for Puppet is an interesting concept, an imaginative twist on the Pinocchio tale. Penelope is a troubled teenager living in an orphanage when Jed, a mad scientist offers to take her away in exchange for agreeing to be his experimental guinea pig! Under Jed’s scientific care Penelope becomes a human marionette and “her strings” are not physical attachments controlling her but the result of a drug administered to give her the ability to exert super human powers. When the “Administrators” find out about her abilities, and her lying, they threaten to take her away from Jed and James, so in desperation Jed takes away her ability to lie to compensate the Administrators. I found Penelope’s reaction to this interesting, she was distressed that this freedom which we take for granted is no longer something she is capable of. The pain of this loss is intense because in Penelope’s eyes lying is evidence of the last scrap of her humanity. Can you imagine never being able to lie? Lying isn’t always necessarily a wicked thing to do, sometimes we lie because we want to protect people’s feelings, e.g. when someone asks us if we like the way they dress! Ultimately the “Administrators” and in particular the evil Edelin’s intentions towards Penelope become clear. Her powers are forcibly used in a way that she finds abhorrent and distressing. She no longer has any control over her body’s potential for cruelty. The plot twists at the end of the narrative are unexpected and a welcome aspect of the fast paced story line, characterised by short punchy chapters.

I didn’t quite buy into the romance between Penelope and James, somehow it seemed a bit forced to me. Also it seemed a bit odd because I had considered them to be more like brother and sister, up until the point when they kissed each other!

I was surprised that Penelope didn’t have more qualms about participating in Jed’s experiments, after all who would want to? I know that she felt grateful for being released from the Orphanage and her debt to them, but somehow this just didn’t seem enough cause for her to allow Jed to inject her with a cocktail of unknown and potentially dangerous chemicals. Somehow she just seemed a little too compliant. In addition, I think that the characterisation of the characters could have been developed more as could the setting and background to the story. More detail about the science in the story and world building in this futuristic land would undoubtedly have made the story a richer read.This novel had a lot more to give and I was a little disappointed that it just didn’t quite get to the giddy heights that I had expected.

Having said all of this, I did enjoy the premise for the story, and the pace of the novel. I found it a quick read, gripping at times, and I do think this author has such potential. Pauline C Harris is a young writer, she is the same age as my eldest daughter who also loves to write! So well done to her for publishing at such a young age. Incidentally this is not her first novel she has already written a trilogy in 2013: Mechanical, Perfect, and Flawed, as well as children’s/middle grade fiction, The Secret’s of Evelyn Taylor, and another fairy tale retelling is coming out in 2015, Hourglass. Oh and she loves Star Trek and tea, so she gets a high five for that!

So if you like a quick read, and an unusual re-telling of Pinocchio pick up Puppet. For readers of Young Adult, Romance, and Fantasy.

Favourite quotes:

“We won’t kill you,” the administrator repeats. “But …if you forgive the pun…” he trails off, smiling to himself at some internal joke. “There will be strings attached.”

Being forced to tell the truth doesn’t make me better than a criminal with a lie detector. Choice is what matters and my choice has been taken away.

I can feel panic slowly pulsing through my veins like venom.

The marionettes’ bodies are indestructible. They are capable of shuffling and dealing cards faster than the eye can perceive, of crushing rocks in the palms of their hands, of darting across rooms in the blink of an eye.

And now I am too.

It scares me more than it empowers me.

My rating:

3 stars.

Book Trailer on Pauline C Harris’s WordPress Blog: paulinecharris.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/puppet-book-trailer

Have you read Puppet? Do leave a comment below I’d love to hear from you.

Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx

Ryder’s Feast Of Unsuspecting Legumes

“What are you doing Ryder? It’s four o’clock in the morning, I’ve got a lecture at nine.”

“Making you breakfast,” said Ryder with a grin.

“Huh, that’s not funny, Ryder you’re driving everyone crazy with your early morning stir fries.”

“Oh, you’re too pent-up Olivia, you need to learn how to relax. Let me give your shoulders a rub.”

Olivia gave him a look that said that sounds about as appealing as a torturous Chinese burn. “Get lost Ryder, stop being such a creep.”

“I’m only trying to make it up to you Olivia, sit down, I’ll prepare you a very special VIP breakfast.”

Olivia looked at the legumes in the frying pan and pulled a face.

“I don’t eat out of date rabbit food.”

“It’s not Rabbit food, Olivia it’s a feast fit for a king.”

Olivia gasped. Curry was her favourite, Ryder knew that.

“Sit down, Olivia join me,” Ryder said, his words gently caressing Olivia’s unsuspecting ears.

Olivia practically dived to sit down. She acted like she’d been on an enforced hunger strike and was now able to eat again.

But something stopped her from touching a bite. She just sat there staring at the food, her outstretched hand hung in the air as if she was about to pick up a chapatti. The reel of her life waited temporarily suspended for a second.

“Do help yourself,” said Ryder with a smirk.

There were no plates on the table, no cutlery, or napkins. Olivia picked up the chapatti, filled it with curry sauce and legumes and rolled it on the table as if this was the most natural thing to do. She downed that chapatti in a few ferocious bites and licked her lips.

“Don’t you want a plate?’ asked Ryder raising an eyebrow in mock horror.

Olivia blushed. It was obvious from her reaction that she was mortified by her own behaviour. This was so unlike Olivia. Olivia had a reputation for being neat and tidy, and would normally never eat off a table, particularly one in a messy student flat.

She glanced at the table, and her expression said it all. Poor Olivia turned a nasty shade of green, the exact colour of the curry that she had just wolfed down. She ran to the toilet to be sick.

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Here’s some short snippets:

Kat Ellis, Blackfin Sky, 1st Chapter

Cat Clarke The Lost and The Found, Chapter 2

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