Review of The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

The Sandman series is probably Neil Gaiman's most talked about work, with it's dark fantasy and horror themes.

Volume One tells the tale of how Dream was captured by a mysterious cult, who meant to capture Death and gain immortality. When at last he breaks free, years after the fact, it is to discover that the tools of his trade--a helmet, an amulet, and a bag of sand, have gone missing. Weakened and vulnerable, he must get them back as soon as possible.

 The Dream/Morpheus character is only just being established in this volume, and it's quite obvious that there is more to him than this book let's you see. Equally obvious is the fact that the author had not quite settled on what tone he wanted to go for, and each chapter of the book has a very different feel to it--so it feels a bit disconnected.

Most of the book is a McGuffin Get sort of story, where Morpheus goes to various places and talks to various people in order to get his tools back. For me, the best sequence was when he traveled to hell, and we see demons of all shapes and sizes. Morpheus engages in a kind of duel of imagination with the demon who possesses his helmet, and it is as creative as it is unexpected. The weaker part of the story, for me, came in the sudden appearance of the Justice League characters. As a non-DC reader, they really don't mean much to me, and they're just kind of there. Who are they? I haven't the foggiest...

Overall, while not the strongest of stories by any means, it still stands apart from the usual comic book fair, and it's undeniably entertaining. I highly recommend it. 4 stars.

On Paper: A Review of Cornerstone by Misty Provencher

Sometimes I open a book knowing exactly what I'm getting. More often (because I don't read excerpts and sometimes even skip the blurb) I have no idea what to expect, but I dive in and only discover what I've gotten into a few chapters in. With this book, however, I had no idea what I was reading until far, far into it. I think that's what makes this book special.

Nalena's mom hoards paper, but there's more to it than that. She spends her days scribbling down one sentence stories in tiny writing, covering page after page until the paper fills every corner of the house and there is barely room to sit or walk. Nalena hates this lifestyle, especially since it's made her a target for bullies at school. Still, she loves her mother, and continues to bring her paper and quietly endure the loneliness. But when Nalena starts to develop abilities beyond her understanding, she knows that there's more going on in the world than her mother has ever shared with her. Garret Reese seems to have the answers to Nalena's questions, although he and his family are also somewhat mysterious.

Positive Comments

I liked a lot of Nalena's qualities. Her loyalty to her mother is what hooked me initially. Even when she (and the reader) is given to understand that her mother is clearly mentally ill, Nalena remains as a loving and accepting daughter. I liked how the author captured the dysfunctional family atmosphere between Nalena and her mother, and made it still feel like a loving relationship.

Nalena's dysfunctional lifestyle stands in sharp contrast to Garrets very normal seeming family, representing things she's missed out on. I liked seeing Nalena's reaction to them, and I liked how it effected her development and her decisions. I liked the Reese family as a whole, with their rambunctious and welcoming attitudes.

I liked that Nalena and Garret's relationship is slow building and awkward. It felt real to me, very reflective of how actual adolescent relationships tend to start out.

The plot started out mysterious and kept me guessing up until the climax. I loved that. I really expected the book to go in an entirely different direction, but I'm happy to be surprised.

Critical Comments

Outside of Nalena, the character development is pretty shallow or nonexistant. That's kind of disappointing,  when you consider that the characters themselves are set up to be so interesting. I was especially disappointed that Garret didn't get more of an arc, since he is the love interest. He starts out nice and awesome, and continues on that level throughout the story. Personally, I like more depth than that.

Recommendation

This is a great book for fans of young adult fantasy. It's a fast, suspenseful page turner with a lot of unique elements. 4 stars.

On Wizardry: A Review of The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron

I bought this book on sale forever ago, and it's sat in my TBR for probably over a year (many books do). I finally pulled it out this month at random. This is an obscure book, even by my standards. I haven't seen it reviewed or discussed much, and that's a shame, because I personally found it amusing.

What we have here is an epic fantasy setting, humorous characters, and a campy tone. Eli Monpress is a thief who wants to increase the bounty on his head. He does so by stealing increasingly high profile things, and ultimately, in this book, he steals a king. Eli is a wizard, with abilities unlike any other. But the man who takes over the kingdom after the king is stolen is yet another kind of wizard--the most dark and evil kind of all. With a team that includes a swordsman, a demonseed, and an uppity Spiritualist, Eli fights to get his due and save the kingdom.

Positive Comments

It's refreshingly light-hearted. I think if you were to read this with a 100% serious mind, you'd be disappointed. You need to read it with an eye for satire and whimsy, and I promise it will make you smile at least a little.

I really enjoyed the characters. Eli, with his enthusiasm for high stakes plans, his sense of mischief, and his charming manners, was a fun protagonist. Josef, the swordman, is surly and totally focused on his craft. Nico is mysterious and frightening. I loved the group dynamics, and that helped me to get invested in their individual stories and goals.

I found the plot serviceable. I really liked the idea of spirits that reside in everything, and of wizards using those spirits for their own purposes. I was less concerned with the evil wizard/king plot, but I didn't find it boring.

Critical Comments

It never quite achieves the scale or depth that you typically find in this genre. It loses it's "epicness" amidst the whimsy. That lowers the stakes and keeps the reader from ever becoming truly concerned with outcomes. I think that's why I found the plot only serviceable, rather than extraordinary.

Recommendation

For those who like The Princess Bride and things of that nature, where a fantasy setting clashes with a comedic tone. For those of you who like Robinhood, loveable scoundrel type heroes. For anyone looking for a different kind of fantasy novel, I recommend this book. 4 stars.
 

On Godstones: A Review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is another one of those books that just kept getting recommended to me, and I kept putting off reading it because there are too many YAs in my pile already. I finally picked it up on a whim, and now I can say: Yes, you were all right, it's not half bad at all.

Elisa is the less attractive younger princess, the underdog princess if you will, who's one shining trait is that she was gifted with the Godstone--an extremely rare mystical gift. This means that she has some big an important task to complete, though she has no idea what, and she definitely doesn't feel up to the challenge. Elisa is married off to a foreign king in secret, and shuffled off to his kingdom where supposedly she'll be safer. Instead, she is swept up in a war, made an unlikely leader, and has her faith and her abilities tested again and again.

Positive Comments

The characterization of Elisa struck more than one cord with me. He lack of self confidence and general awkwardness could have made her pathetic, but instead they make her easier to like. She's also a stress eater...not just fat, not just unfortunately pudgy by genetic design, but a character who deals with stress by stuffing herself sick. Who among us doesn't know someone with that particular problem? Yet it rarely gets written about with such honesty, unless the book is specifically about eating disorders. So bravo, Rae Carson, for giving your fantasy heroine real life flaws.

I liked the plot and all of the fantasy elements it incorporated. The magic that's used is kept simple, which is nice because it means the author didn't have to info-dump in order to keep us informed. The reality of the Godstone creates an honest purpose for our heroine, as well as a dilemma as she struggles to identify what God wants from her.

I thought that the faith element of the book was very interesting. Interesting, for example, that a heroine with clear, indisputable proof of God's existence could still go through a crisis of faith. As a whole, the book handles the question of religion simplistically, but hints at a larger scope that I would like to see more of.

Critical Comments

I was a little disappointed by how Elisa's "marriage" was handled, and the characterization of the Alejandro overall. I say "marriage" in quotes because it is absolutely just a plot device that amounts to no human connection whatsoever. They never consummate their union (I guess that doesn't matter in this culture?), they never have more than a handful of interactions, and it's all pretty meaningless. It felt like the author just really wanted her heroine to be the queen, but also to remain a virgin and available for any romantic connections she may have planned for future books. It came across to me as contrived. Furthermore, it was disappointing because I really wanted to understand Alejandro's character better, but he sort of ends up as a secondary character at best.

Recommendation

This is a good young adult novel for those who prefer "classic" style fantasy. The heroine is highly sympathetic, the plot is engrossing, and the end will leave you wanting more. 4 stars.