Category: Fantasy

Ten Reasons Why You Should Read…The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim

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When E.K. Johnston, aka Kate, read a little of The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim aloud at the Fourteenery retreat, I couldn’t stop giggling and knew this was just the kind of book I needed in my life. Fortunately, reading the whole book gave me pretty much that same feeling, plus a lot more. Here are a few of my reasons why you should read The Story of Owen.

1. Here There Be Dragons
Seriously, you tell me you don’t want to read a book about dragons and I don’t trust your judgment in general. The dragons in The Story of Owen are intense and dangerous and therefore awesome. While a lot of series feature paranormal characters that have lost a major sense of threat, I love that Owen keeps them as majorly life-threatening giant beasts.

2. Revised History
Owen and Siobhan’s world is pretty similar to our own–cars, high school, hockey–but living among dragons means that the world has been a little different. The passages about world history (plus dragons) made me laugh and smile, and I love that Kate has thought about her characters’ world so thoroughly.

3. Musical Theory
As someone who’s totally not musical, I love getting to see characters who have that talent, and being inside musical Siobhan’s head was a real treat. Not only does she play multiple instruments, compose music, and enjoy pieces, but she also thinks of the world in terms of music. Getting to hear someone described as a “a tuba to the core” felt so right.

4. Humor
As I mentioned above, it’s hard to read The Story of Owen without laughing out loud. It reminded me of reading The Enchanted Forest Chronicles back in the day (the first book series I remember really making me laugh). Kate’s humor is delightfully wry and her characters make wonderful quips with still feeling grounded.

5. Friendship
I’ve heard a lot of people mention how they’d like a YA novel that focuses less on romance and more on friendship, and now I know I can hand them The Story of Owen. Siobhan and Owen’s friendship reminds me so much of my friendship with guys in high school, and characters like Emily and Sadie feel so genuine as well. This is a group I want to spend time with, and a group that reminds me of my own friends. (You know, if we fought dragons.)

6. Family
Similarly, The Story of Owen does a wonderful job depicting the intricacies and love of family. From Owen’s Aunts Lottie and Hannah to Siobhan’s parents to Owen’s mother and father, the adults populating the world feel real and thoughtful and loving, even if they don’t always make the best decisions. (Also, I really want a piece of Hannah’s smithy pizza.)

7. Last Battle
Oh my gosh, Siobhan in the last battle. In a book that has a lot to do with bravery, this scene killed me. I’m not going to leave anymore details here, but it’s so well written and captivating. The feels!

8. Oh, Canada
Growing up, my experiences with Canadians in children’s lit were pretty limited to the Anne of Green Gables series and Susan Cooper’s The Boggart. I’m glad to add The Story of Owen to the list. Canada’s a beautiful country and I loved getting to see a little more of it in book form (okay, Canada plus dragons).

9. Good Common Sense
One of my personal reading favorites is a set of characters with good common sense. The cast of The Story of Owen so delivers there. And now I kind of feel like it would be a good idea to keep a sword in the trunk of my car in case of dragon attacks.

10. Kate the Great
Kate’s the kind of person who can write a whole novel in her sleep (literally). Who will find out you’re terrified of giant spiders and tell you exactly when you should look away during The Desolation of Smaug and when it’s safe to look back. Who’s a dedicated bookseller/sharer of stories. Who’s a writer you’ll be hearing about long into the future.

Ten Reasons Why You Should Read…Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

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Thiefs. Assassins. Knights. Warriors that ride giant, man-eating wildcats. Yeah, it’s easy to get excited about Midnight Thief by fellow Fourteenery member Livia Blackburne. I was so psyched to dive into Kyra’s world and it was even better than I could have expected. But in case you need a little more info, here are my reasons why you should read Midnight Thief:

1. Morality and Mortality
Kyra is a smart, complex heroine who’s confronted with major moral choices–and I mean major. I don’t want to do into too much detail here because hello spoilers, but I loved seeing her grapple with doing what’s right and doing what can help her (and the people she loves) survive.

2. And Action!
Fight scenes and chases may pull a reader along at breakneck speed, but they are so hard to write. Major kudos to Livia for constructing exciting scenes and compelling action scenes that also move the plot and develop the characters.

3. Climb On
Because of this awesome action, I’m inspired to go do cool things like rock climbing. You know how Katniss inspired a lot of kids to take up archery? I’m thinking Kyra will do the same with climbing.

4. In Which I Want to Write Midnight Thief Fanfic
Let’s count all the minor characters I loved in Midnight Thief–Flick and Bella and Lettie and Idalee and Brendal and Pashla and James and oh my lord, everyone. Even if they get less page time than Kyra and Tristam,  they’re all well-crafted characters with rich lives of their own. Seriously, guys, I’m ready to start writing Flick fanfic.

5. Real Romance
Midnight Thief has some romance, but it comes naturally from the characters and doesn’t feel like an unnecessary addition to the plot. I love seeing this in YA–characters getting to know each other and falling for one another gradually in a way that makes sense for who they are as people.

6. Stuck Between a Rock and a Giant Man-Eating Wildcat
Kyra’s in the middle of a struggle between the palace and the Assassins Guild and the Demon Riders–and can’t really trust any of them. I love that each side makes valid points about its reasoning and still has major flaws. It’s not an easy case of good vs. evil, and that makes for some awesome conflicts for Kyra.

7. The World at Large
Livia’s crafted a cool world in the Forge and its surrounding areas. The city, with its walled-off class-restricted areas, feels real and I love the glimpses at the world beyond (especially through songs and traveler’s tales). The world feels expansive without wasting a lot of reader time mapping things out.

8. Alanna and Kyra
On her Goodreads page, Livia said Midnight Thief is an “homage to the medieval fantasies I grew up reading…notably, Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness…” I definitely got that sense reading Midnight Thief and I mean that as the highest compliment. Just like I fell in love with Tortall and Alanna, I’m already attached to Kyra and her life in Forge. I’m so excited that there are new readers who get to grow up with both Alanna and Kyra.

9. Livia Is Made of Awesome
Things Livia Blackburne knows about: neuroscience; jujitsu; writing awesome fantasy novels. In Fourteenery email threads, you can count on her to share useful information and hilarious quips. If she were also secretly a wizard, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

10. Poison Dance
My reaction to finishing Midnight Thief: “Wait…no. More pages! I want more pages!” Fortunately, Livia’s got me covered–she’s written a prequel to Midnight Thief! Poison Dance is a prequel novella about James, who’s captivating in Midnight Thief as the leader of the Assassins Guild. Even better–it’s available right now. So go buy it already!

Midnight Thief is due for publication in 2014, so make sure to add it to your Goodreads list.

Update #3: 48 Hour Book Challenge

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Plowing through my “mid-read” pile this afternoon. Glad I can finally put these back on the shelves!

photoUpdate #3:

  • 1.5 hour reading time (6 hours total)
  • 196 pages read (697 pages total)
  • 0 cups of tea consumed (2 cups total)

The Books

Review #3: I was a little less than halfway through Dirty Little Secrets when I picked it up for #48HBC. It’s one I’ve meant to read for a while, since it deals with a big family secret and a mother with some emotional/mental problems (in this case, hoarding). My heart broke for Lucy through this one, as she feels a strange hope in getting to move on with her life if she can just clean out the house. Omololu manages to make Lucy’s mom into a real person, not just someone defined by her hoarding, and I liked those glimpses of her outside of the house (at work, as a child). I also liked that crush-worthy Josh Lee is revealed to be dealing with his own family problems; I love that “everyone has secrets” theme and it’s one I tend to use in my own work. The ending felt a little rushed for me, and I would have liked a little more of an emotional build there, but overall a great read for anyone interested in YA contemporary family drama.

photo-1Review #4: I was almost at the end of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and so glad to finally finish this one. It’s a tome, so even though I started it a while ago, I’d inevitable leave it at home and take another book with me. Then I’d want to finish the other book and, well, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell suffered for it. But it’s an excellent novel–fake British history plus magicians is a winning idea, and Susanna Clarke gets the tone perfectly. I loved seeing the various plot threads eventually come together, and the ending is surprisingly bittersweet.

Prom Night Is Dark and Full of Terrors

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By now, you’re probably already obsessed with the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (All. The. Feelings!) But we’re winding down in the P&P plotline–Lizzie and Darcy have come to feel more about each other; Jane and Bing have reconciled; and Lydia has overcome the potential scandal of the heinous Wickham. I was really sad to imagine an end in the near future.

Fortunately, it looks like we’ve got another modern literary web series to latch onto–starring a few favorites from LBD! Although A Game of Thrones might be set in a medieval-ish fantasy world, looks like things translate pretty well to a contemporary high school setting in School of Thrones. I especially like the retro-hipster Starks.

And it’s only just started! Check out the first episode here:

Is it weird that this might actually inspire me to read beyond the first book?

Links Galore

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A few links to round out the week:

Links Galore

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A few more cool links for this week: