I just want to start this off by asking if anyone reasonable, who isn't on "Team" anyone, can tell me if this series is even worth completing? I am approximately 3/4ths of the way through the The Iron Prince (Book 2) and I have seriously put it down and picked up another book or two, twice. This morning I went for shot number three and made it through about 4 pages before I had to stop and re-evaluate, and try to remember things I planned on reading next. Even though it is starting to happen more and more often recently, it takes a lot for me to put a book down… I mean… for crying out loud, I've completed the existing Celestra series because the first book was .99 cents!! Which was one of the worst series I have, literally, ever read. If not the worst.
Honestly the first book wasn't so terrible. You've got your protagonist, a one, Megan Chase. She really isn't awful from the start. She's in high school, from a poor family, and has worked for most things in life up to this point. Her father disappeared when she was younger, but she doesn't totally sulk over it all the time in an annoying manner. So really she's not half bad, with the exception of her initial, and way too middle school crush on the captain of the football team… really? And then she has her BFF "Robbie" who is clearly in love with her, but of course she is completely clueless to something so obvious. Surprise, Surprise!! She's not just any girl, but a half faerie half girl! And not just any half faerie half girl, but the half faerie half girl daughter of the Summer King, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Who saw that coming??! Anyway, turns out her BFF Robbie is actually a faerie as well, and not just any faerie, but the famed Robin Goodfellow AKA Puck of Shakespearean legend. I find this little piece of the puzzle a little awkward to take in at first, it didn't really seem necessary at the time, but I suppose she is trying to work together myths and legends about faeries into the story, but give it another spin, which I can admire.
Once they decide to go to the Nevernever to rescue her step brother, things start to get a little too Alice in Wonderland-y for my taste. She even meets up with what is pretty much the Cheshire Cat, who calls himself Grimalkin instead (cliché aside, this cat turns out to be probably the best character in the series so far) This style is something that I generally don't appreciate, however, eventually things slip away from the amazement and discovery, and get back to the actual problems at hand. Princess, as I will here to for refer to this Megan Chase, is brought to the Summer court by this cat, and ends up meeting the Winter Prince, Ash, who has seriously already tried to kill her and Puck once. Anyway she dances with this dude and all hell breaks lose in the form of dragons with multiple heads. Red flag anyone? Anyway… she escapes again with kitty to continue on her quest to find her little brother. Eventually they meet back up with Puck, and this Ash dude who has promised to help them find her brother, if she goes with him to the Winter court upon his return. Soooo… they keep hearing about this Iron King guy everywhere and decide that’s where they need to go. Apparently humans really fucked up when we started dreaming up computers and shit and inadvertently created this race of evil faeries that not only are immune to the effects of iron, but thrive on it instead. There we go screwing everything up again.
Overall once I got to the actual meat and potatoes of the first book I found that I did enjoy it quite a bit. It was well written, and did nice job of weaving in the legend and lore of faeries with present times, and turning it into an original story. The love story was quite a different thing altogether, but I was able to put it on the back burner through the first book. The second book however, has been just straight up terrible! If I were able to ignore for one second the ill-founded love story, it would be perfectly fine. But it has gotten to the point where Princess is soooo consumed with love, that it has become nearly unreadable. Seriously… every other thought is, "but I love him so much"… "I can't think without him" … "all I think of is him"… "I would die for him" … blah blah blah blah. This is terrible anyway, but even worse when the him in question has made it clear many times that he cannot make the sacrifice needed to be with her. I mean… ugh… just move on already and get the hell over it. So as I have said, 3/4ths of the way through the second book I have had to finally give up on it, unless someone can convince me that things are going to get better. I feel like perhaps if the first book had just been a stand alone novel and was wrapped up in the end, I may have enjoyed it better. But, you know, there is always the possibility that I am wrong. Ha!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Rant
You know what I am straight up sick and fucking tired of? Even more than I am sick and tired of entirely this whole played out love triangle business, I am sick to death of the "intelligent", independent, and generally quick witted heroine choosing the asshole over the caring person that loves her and would do anything for her. I mean, occasionally I get it, everyone wants to find the bad boy, and bring out the good in them with your love etc etc blah blah blah. Okay… well I don't really, but I can see the allure, I suppose. However, sometimes a bad guy is just a bad guy, and there is no point in trying, and an intelligent, independent heroine should immediately recognize something like this, rather than even consider the asshole a viable romantic interest. Not to mention that as many books as I have read where this ends up being how the series ends, I am soooooo sick of it. It has now become completely predictable, instead of the twist that clearly some writers still think that it is. I'm looking at you Cassandra Clare. I assumed that you of all people would know, that when writing a spin off series that exists within in the same universe as a previous series, it would be best not to go with the same general sequence of events within the romantic storyline. So far, Will is an even bigger asshole than Jace was, which I didn't even think was possible. I can say that I hated Jace for most of the Mortal Instruments Series, and still never really came around to liking him. The emo/teen angst thing is played, and I have trouble feeling sorry for a character continuously comes back to how tormented they are, I instead end up hating most things about them and scenes involving them. The only reason at all that I came around to the Clary/ Jace relationship is because I rather started to dislike Clary in the same vein, and cared more about what was going on with the Simon or even the Alex and Magnus parts of the storyline. And although I am only 80% of the way through book one of Infernal Devices, things seem to be shaping up in much the same way. I will be soo, soo, sooooo disappointed if this turns out to be the case, and I really had higher hopes for Clare as well. With one successful series already under her belt, and a universe that has already been created and well defined, I was expecting more creativity and variance, within the romance especially. I plan on reviewing the book itself separately, but I needed to vent about that specific aspect. My agitation is furthered even more by the occurrences in the other series I am currently working on, The Iron Fey, which I will also review at a later time. But mostly I am disappointed, I thought that Cassandra Clare specifically was going to bring more to the table, not the same thing that she has already given us. Hopefully she will prove me wrong, but as I am almost never wrong where these kinds of things are concerned, I tend to doubt it. I realize this sounds really cocky, haha, however I usually have a sixth sense for when series are not going to end the way that I would like.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wicked Lovely.... Not the Fever Series
I've had a hard time the past couple of weeks, really getting settled into a series, thus my absence from blogging about them. I know that all of my tens of readers (or less) have been sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting my next exciting move. Generally, I have been trying to complete the available series, or at least come close, before going ahead with my review. However, I have been so discontent recently, that I have read the first book or so of a series and moved on to something different. Questing for something I like better. So perhaps I will go out on a limb and review the first books of these series, and perhaps this will lead me to a conclusion about why I haven't been able to invest fully in either. I will also say that lately, with all of the movie hype for The Hunger Games, more and more friends are reading it and getting me all excited, which consequently is making me long for something better rounded and a little bit deeper, rather than the superficial, supernatural love triangles, or love squares as the case may be.
First up to the plate - Wicked Lovely
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before. Sidhe-seer chick with powers that she isn't even aware of, is wary of trusting a Faery Prince. Okay, so maybe it isn't an exact match, but it does feel strikingly close to a small piece of the plot line in the Fever Series. Which, even just the first book of, is so drastically better than this one, perhaps that can explain my lack of commitment to this series thus far. Here we have our protagonist, Aislinn. She is descendant from a long line of sidhe-seers, and has been beaten over the head with strict rules of how to act regarding the fae by her grandmother (who of course raised her, because no one is raised by their real parents anymore, duh!) her whole life. For those of you who don't know what a sidhe-seer is, and failed to pick on context clues, a sidhe-seer is one who can see the sidhe or fae or faeries or any of that kind of shit. It is generally assumed that faeries are hidden from the general publics eyes by glamour, but sidhe-seers can see through all that like (insert awesome simile for seeing through things here) Aislinn has spent her whole life closing herself off from things to avoid being found out by the fae… translation - she's pretty fucking boring. She's all like, "wah, I see things, but I'm afraid to tell anyone or let on that I do because faeries will kidnap me if they know, wah, I am extremely closed minded for someone who sees things others can't, wah, I only trust my best friend, who is a dude, and who I will inevitably do it with but am going to try to push it off as long as possible just to make it abundantly clear how boring I am beforehand."
Aislinn, as it turns out, is also being pursued by the literal faery king, who is having quite a rough go of it as she, of course, knows he is a faery, and therefore does not trust him. This guy's name is Keenan. For real. Clearly someone did not watch All That, or the instant cinema classic Good Burger. Aside from having a hard time imagining him as something other than a chubby black dude in a bubble bath speaking bad French, Keenan, to me, was actually the most interesting character in the book. He's the King of the Summer fae, but the majority of his power is being withheld by his bitch of a mother who happens to be the Queen of Winter. The deal is Keenan can't access his powers until he finds his true Queen. So pretty much he's just been going around for centuries banging everything he can get his hands on and trying to convince them to touch some special winter stick (that's what he likes to call it, ha.) to see if they are the Queen. Clearly, up to this point, none of the girls he has convinced to "touch his stick" have been the true queen. Did I mention there's a catch? No? Well there is a catch. When a girl touches said stick, and isn't the Summer Queen she gets the chill of winter or some shit like that and has to live as an ice bitch until the next girl touches the thingy. Keenan thinks that Aislinn is his queen however, he's thought the same about all of his other conquests. Is she indeed the one? Will she become his next ice bitch? Or will she simply refuse to do anything and continue living her boring ass life?
Oh, I almost forgot about Seth, the best friend that wants to be more than just besties. Oh that’s right... I forgot about him because he is forgetful. Blah blah blah, I was bored with him. And was so disturbed by the idea that he had a naval ring that anytime he was mentioned in a romantic manner I cringed in disgust. Eww. In fact, I am cringing in disgust at this exact moment, just at the mere thought. There is also Keenan's previous muse, Donia, who was the most recent to touch the winter thingy and is now a frigid winter lady person. She's also still clearly in love with Keenan, against all odds, which thus completes our love square. There you go folks. We're you sick of reading about love triangles? Well we have just the thing for you! Its new! Its improved! Its… a love… square? That's right folks! All of the angst and drama of a love triangle with the added bonus of a 4th side! Call now to get yours!! BUT WAIT! There's more! Act now and we'll throw in a irritatingly wrapped up conclusion and the inability to shake the image of a dude with a naval piercing!
Anyway, overall it was just alright. My lack of excitement for it, combined with the fact that the other books in the series move on to follow different characters within the same world, led me to move on to another series before moving forward with this one. Perhaps one day I shall return.
First up to the plate - Wicked Lovely
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before. Sidhe-seer chick with powers that she isn't even aware of, is wary of trusting a Faery Prince. Okay, so maybe it isn't an exact match, but it does feel strikingly close to a small piece of the plot line in the Fever Series. Which, even just the first book of, is so drastically better than this one, perhaps that can explain my lack of commitment to this series thus far. Here we have our protagonist, Aislinn. She is descendant from a long line of sidhe-seers, and has been beaten over the head with strict rules of how to act regarding the fae by her grandmother (who of course raised her, because no one is raised by their real parents anymore, duh!) her whole life. For those of you who don't know what a sidhe-seer is, and failed to pick on context clues, a sidhe-seer is one who can see the sidhe or fae or faeries or any of that kind of shit. It is generally assumed that faeries are hidden from the general publics eyes by glamour, but sidhe-seers can see through all that like (insert awesome simile for seeing through things here) Aislinn has spent her whole life closing herself off from things to avoid being found out by the fae… translation - she's pretty fucking boring. She's all like, "wah, I see things, but I'm afraid to tell anyone or let on that I do because faeries will kidnap me if they know, wah, I am extremely closed minded for someone who sees things others can't, wah, I only trust my best friend, who is a dude, and who I will inevitably do it with but am going to try to push it off as long as possible just to make it abundantly clear how boring I am beforehand."
Aislinn, as it turns out, is also being pursued by the literal faery king, who is having quite a rough go of it as she, of course, knows he is a faery, and therefore does not trust him. This guy's name is Keenan. For real. Clearly someone did not watch All That, or the instant cinema classic Good Burger. Aside from having a hard time imagining him as something other than a chubby black dude in a bubble bath speaking bad French, Keenan, to me, was actually the most interesting character in the book. He's the King of the Summer fae, but the majority of his power is being withheld by his bitch of a mother who happens to be the Queen of Winter. The deal is Keenan can't access his powers until he finds his true Queen. So pretty much he's just been going around for centuries banging everything he can get his hands on and trying to convince them to touch some special winter stick (that's what he likes to call it, ha.) to see if they are the Queen. Clearly, up to this point, none of the girls he has convinced to "touch his stick" have been the true queen. Did I mention there's a catch? No? Well there is a catch. When a girl touches said stick, and isn't the Summer Queen she gets the chill of winter or some shit like that and has to live as an ice bitch until the next girl touches the thingy. Keenan thinks that Aislinn is his queen however, he's thought the same about all of his other conquests. Is she indeed the one? Will she become his next ice bitch? Or will she simply refuse to do anything and continue living her boring ass life?
Oh, I almost forgot about Seth, the best friend that wants to be more than just besties. Oh that’s right... I forgot about him because he is forgetful. Blah blah blah, I was bored with him. And was so disturbed by the idea that he had a naval ring that anytime he was mentioned in a romantic manner I cringed in disgust. Eww. In fact, I am cringing in disgust at this exact moment, just at the mere thought. There is also Keenan's previous muse, Donia, who was the most recent to touch the winter thingy and is now a frigid winter lady person. She's also still clearly in love with Keenan, against all odds, which thus completes our love square. There you go folks. We're you sick of reading about love triangles? Well we have just the thing for you! Its new! Its improved! Its… a love… square? That's right folks! All of the angst and drama of a love triangle with the added bonus of a 4th side! Call now to get yours!! BUT WAIT! There's more! Act now and we'll throw in a irritatingly wrapped up conclusion and the inability to shake the image of a dude with a naval piercing!
Anyway, overall it was just alright. My lack of excitement for it, combined with the fact that the other books in the series move on to follow different characters within the same world, led me to move on to another series before moving forward with this one. Perhaps one day I shall return.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Divergent -- Oh yes, there will be badassery
Future dystopian Chicago. Not so hard to imagine. The world officially sucked, but then decided to think things over and try to get its shit together. So they formed 5 factions of people each representing a different quality that they hold above all others: Amity for peace, Erudite for knowledge, Candor for truth, Abnegation for selflessness, and Dauntless for bravery. Things have been going okay for a while, so we all know the shit is going to hit the fan anytime now. And of course, timing it perfectly in the shit fan hitting equation is our protagonist, Beatrice or "Tris".
Children are born and raised within their parent's faction, but rather than a Sorting Hat deciding their fate, during their 16th year a choosing ceremony takes place in which they are able to choose which faction they want to belong to. If they choose a faction different from their parents, they are expected to disassociate themselves from their family and hold their faction above all else. So naturally choosing a faction outside of the one in which you were raised is not very common. But Beatrice, Beatrice doesn't give a fuuuck. She throws caution to the wind and chooses outside of her faction (+ 10 Badassness) But surviving her new faction's initiation process may be easier said than done. Dun dun DUUUUUN.
After wading through the steaming pile that was the Celestra series, which wrapped up the most recent book with a magnificent flourish of shit, I was quite ready to move on to something better. And although almost anything would have seemed better than that, I would not have been disappointed with Divergent either way. Strong female protagonist that isn't stupid, shallow, or irritatingly self sacraficing… check. No sign of super irritating continuous love triangle plot… check. Love interest that is not a douche bag, and is independently important to the plot… check. Actual definable conflicts and resolutions are happening here… check. These most definitely aren't the only things that make Divergent one of my favorites that I have read in the past year, but they are definitely a contributing factor. I am beginning to see a trend of the dystopian future societies in Young Adult books now, and I have to say that I'm for it! What its able to do is take the things that I love about Young Adult novels (a quickly propelled plot, generally a romance etc etc) and combine it with something deeper that sucks you into the characters and the story even more. Aaand also allows you to ask yourself questions of philosophy and ethics, rather than the same hum drum, silly questions like "What if faeries really are real?" …… but seriously guys… what if faeries really are real? Anyway, my point is that Divergent was an actual really great book, that you should probably read at some point. It looks like it is going to be a trilogy, and so far only the first of the series has been released. The second is set to come out on April 30, 2012, at which point I will begin the painstaking process of waiting for the 3rd book to come out, because there is no doubt in my mind that the 2nd of the series will not wrap up so nicely as the first book does. Be prepared.
Children are born and raised within their parent's faction, but rather than a Sorting Hat deciding their fate, during their 16th year a choosing ceremony takes place in which they are able to choose which faction they want to belong to. If they choose a faction different from their parents, they are expected to disassociate themselves from their family and hold their faction above all else. So naturally choosing a faction outside of the one in which you were raised is not very common. But Beatrice, Beatrice doesn't give a fuuuck. She throws caution to the wind and chooses outside of her faction (+ 10 Badassness) But surviving her new faction's initiation process may be easier said than done. Dun dun DUUUUUN.
After wading through the steaming pile that was the Celestra series, which wrapped up the most recent book with a magnificent flourish of shit, I was quite ready to move on to something better. And although almost anything would have seemed better than that, I would not have been disappointed with Divergent either way. Strong female protagonist that isn't stupid, shallow, or irritatingly self sacraficing… check. No sign of super irritating continuous love triangle plot… check. Love interest that is not a douche bag, and is independently important to the plot… check. Actual definable conflicts and resolutions are happening here… check. These most definitely aren't the only things that make Divergent one of my favorites that I have read in the past year, but they are definitely a contributing factor. I am beginning to see a trend of the dystopian future societies in Young Adult books now, and I have to say that I'm for it! What its able to do is take the things that I love about Young Adult novels (a quickly propelled plot, generally a romance etc etc) and combine it with something deeper that sucks you into the characters and the story even more. Aaand also allows you to ask yourself questions of philosophy and ethics, rather than the same hum drum, silly questions like "What if faeries really are real?" …… but seriously guys… what if faeries really are real? Anyway, my point is that Divergent was an actual really great book, that you should probably read at some point. It looks like it is going to be a trilogy, and so far only the first of the series has been released. The second is set to come out on April 30, 2012, at which point I will begin the painstaking process of waiting for the 3rd book to come out, because there is no doubt in my mind that the 2nd of the series will not wrap up so nicely as the first book does. Be prepared.
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