Always Buy The Book

Favourite author feature: #1 Shannon Hale I have been reading books for a very long time. Longer than I can remember. But what I've found is that some authors have stuck in my memory much more vividly than others, and so I wanted to start this series to focus on some of those authors who have made my life to date so much more fun. I'm hoping to post a new part to the feature every six weeks or so. I haven't seen nearly enough people who've read Shannon Hale's books. She specialises in fantasy and fairytale retellings, and her books mostly revolve around women who don't rely on men and support each other as much as possible. These are the types of women young girls can aspire to be. And that's without mentioning the time and commitment she has dedicated to creating multiple fantasy worlds- it's exhausting enough to create a world with its own history, culture, political system etc once, let alone multiple times. Yet each new land feels fresh ...

A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula LeGuin Rating: 4.5/5 The short version: This isn’t a story for someone looking for escapist fiction, but it is perfect for people who like fantasy which acts as a metaphor. This review will contain spoilers. A Wizard of Earthsea is very different from the fantasy I’m used to reading. There are wizards and dragons and it’s about the journey the protagonist takes, but the way the story is told wasn’t what I was expecting. LeGuin doesn’t go into detail about all the events of Ged’s life, but only focusses on the most important parts. That simplicity puts the focus on Ged’s character and how he develops, and that makes the themes the book explores more compelling. As a young boy, Duny uses simple magic taught to him by his aunt to repel invaders from his home town. This impressive feat draws the attention of Ogion, a magician, who takes him in as his apprentice- and gives him his true name, Ged. He becomes impatient with Ogion’s teachin...

My Favourite Fantasy Locations Photo by  Artem Beliaikin  on  Unsplash One of my favourite things about reading fantasy fiction is that it revolves around creating entirely new worlds. I'm sure I'm not alone in having wanted to escape to a lot of fantasy worlds while I was a child, and I haven't entirely grown out of that. I have so much admiration for the authors who put time and effort into creating worlds with incredibly detailed landscapes and histories for their worlds, so I thought I'd highlight some of tha fantasy locations I'd most like to visit. 1. Cair Paravel- Narnia Honestly, I'd happily live anywhere in Narnia. I'd live in a cave in Narnia if I could. But the location that's stuck in my mind the most clearly is Cair Paravel. That's partially thanks to the films, but I'm also enchanted by the idea of a castle overlooking the sea and backed up by a forest. It's probably the most romantic location I can imagine, and the ...

Cold Magic Kate Elliott Rating: 3.5/5 The short version: The depth of the characters makes up for a very complicated setting. This review will contain spoilers. Before I read Cold Magic, I’d dragged my way through another fantasy book which didn’t really make sense to me. So I picked this up hoping for something I would enjoy a bit more. It took a while for me to get into it, but by the end I wasn’t disappointed. It wasn’t a masterpiece of fantasy, but it was a good way to spend a few hours. Cold Magic is set in Victorian Europe, on the edge of an industrial revolution, but with the addition of magic and all the complications this brings. Catherine Hassi Barahal, known as Cat, thinks her biggest problems are keeping her and her cousin Bee out of trouble. Then a member of a powerful political family comes and claims an old deal, and Cat is forced to leave her home for a dramatic adventure. The book starts off seeming to go in one direction, Cat trying to fi...

Favourite Character Feature March 2018 DEATH. I realise that that's an ominous way to start a blog article, but anyone who's ever read Terry Pratchett will know what I mean instantly. Terry died three years ago this week, so the character I'm highlighting this month is one of his most recognisable and most original.  Okay, so it's not like Death is a new concept. But it is, the way it's portrayed in the Discworld series. Probably the most memorable aspect of the Discworld Death is HIS VOICE . Pratchett points out that i t would be quite unrealistic for a skeleton to be able to speak like a normal person, i.e. using vocal cords, so instead the use of small caps shows that his voice is only heard inside a person's head. That perfectly captures Pratchett's skill at skewering stereotypical depictions of death and separating Death from the rules of the world around him. As a character, Death is no less intriguing. Death doesn't show up f...

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Ransom Riggs Rating: 3.5/5 The short version: The use of pictures to supplement the text is inventive, and the mythology created around them is very imaginative. However, certain parts of the plot are neglected or superfluous. This review will contain spoilers. I wasn’t spooked by Miss Peregrine. The consensus amongst reviewers seems to be that this book gives off a moderate horror vibe, partially thanks to the eerie photo on the front cover and others scattered throughout the book. That wasn’t a let-down for me, though. I don’t enjoy scary books, and this worked well as YA fantasy. Miss Peregrine is about a boy named Jacob, who sets out to explore the island where his grandfather grew up after he brutally killed in mysterious circumstances. He begins to realise that contrary to what he’s been taught, the wild stories his grandfather told might have been true. He follows a girl to a strange, old-fashioned house and me...

My Favourite Fictional Mums Today is Mother's Day in the UK. It's one of my favourite days of the year, because I get to show my mum how much she means to me. But it's not only my mum who's awesome. Female characters in books still aren't celebrated as much as they should be, particularly not older ones. So this post is my tribute to all my favourite fictional mothers, all of whom nearly match up to my own mum, and all of whom are badass in their own ways. (Be aware of spoilers!) 1. Molly Weasley- The Harry Potter s eries by J.K. Rowling.  Molly has stuck in my mind for a long time because she proves that women have the capacity to both love and be ferociously protective. She manages to bring up seven children and still have the energy to adopt an eighth and love him as fiercely as her own children. And all of those children know that their mother would do anything for them, as she proves in the Battle of Hogwarts.  2. Sally Jackson- The  Percy Jackson ...

The Adamantine Palace- review Stephen Deas Rating: 3/5 The short version: Not a bad read, but not one to go back to either. This review will contain spoilers. There’s nothing wrong with The Adamantine Palace, but unfortunately there was very little that struck me as particularly good, either. Some of the characters and premises were intriguing, but they were let down by a plot which went backwards a little too often and characters who didn’t leave an impact on me. More than anything else, there was little to distinguish this book from other fantasies. The book begins with the assassination of a queen, setting up the tangle of political intrigue which is the spine of the plot. From here, there are two halves to the plot. Several different monarchs are aiming for power, whilst away from the palaces the dragons they have enslaved are beginning to wreak their revenge. There are a lot of different POV characters in this book, which means that the reader has to k...

Book of the Month February 2018 My dad spent ages trying to get me to read Terry Pratchett, and I'm really glad he finally managed it. Guards! Guards!  has become one of my particular favourites so far, and it was absolutely hilarious. There's a lot to love- the inept City Watch, the rather unique dragons, and the hopeless villains. Here are my highlights! Obviously, watch out for spoilers. Favourite character : Carrot Ironfoundersson. I can only think of a few characters I like, in anything, who insist on sticking to the rules, but part of Carrot's charm is that he is unaware of how much of an irritant he is. That makes him funny, and true, he's a huge part of the comedy of the book. But he's my favourite character of this book because his cluelessness makes him utterly endearing, at least to me. And his enthusiasm is never dented no matter what happens to him. The world needs more people like Carrot. Best quote : "Killed by a metaphor....

Books With Good Film Adaptations Photo by Pietro Jeng from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/curve-industry-photography-vintage-65128/ First of all, apologies for not posting on Wednesday! I had an essay to write which took me longer than expected. I'm going to take this as an opportunity to get ahead with my schedule so that (hopefully) it doesn't happen again, and a review will be posted as normal this Wednesday. I will also be posting my book of the month tomorrow! You might also have noticed that the theme of the blog has changed- a good friend of mine pointed out that my comments weren't working, so I've changed my theme to solve the problem.  Now, tonight the Oscars are happening in America! I thought this was a good opportunity to showcase books I think have had good film adaptations, because the good ones are rare enough that they deserve to be credited. Plus, I've found that I can enjoy good movies as much as the books they're based on,...

Favourite Character Feature February 2018 Hi, everyone! This is the first of a monthly feature, where I'm going to talk about my favourite fictional characters. I want to focus on characters who are from lesser-known books, or have smaller parts in their novels. So on Wednesday, I reviewed The Next Together by Lauren James ( here !). The character I'm talking about this month is from that book's sequel, The Last Beginning. Her name is Ella, and she is very mysterious and a lot of fun to read about.  There are spoilers ahead, so don't read if you don't want the book ruined for you! Okay. Here, I have to admit that I am a tiny bit biased. I loved Ella before I even read the book, because she shares my name and she's gay. Those are both, unfortunately, pretty rare things in most books. But there were plenty of reasons for me to fall in love with her throughout the book.  She is a huge fangirl. Throughout the book, we get little glimpses of Ell...

Why "Prince Caspian" is a good film adaptation I love the Narnia books. Like a lot of children, my first experience of them was through the films. Once I loved those, my mum gave me the books, and I discovered new favourites. I still go back to them as comfort reading. It made me a little bit sceptical about the films, though. I'd seen a lot of films which didn't do justice to their source at all, and I had only seen the films as a child. Perhaps they were worse than I remembered? They're not. The first two, at least, are so faithful to the books. They change what they have to, but the spirit of the books is still there. I re-watched Prince Caspian last week and ended up admiring it all over again, and so here are 7 reasons why the film of  Prince Caspian is just as good as the book. 1. It finds new ways to explore the themes of the book. The book focuses on the importance of the Narnians moving away from their past, and from the Golden Age of the Pev...

The Name of the Wind- Review Patrick Rothfuss Genre: Fantasy Rating: 4/5 The short version: It’s frustratingly not a finished story, more of an extended introduction, but it lays out the bones of a fantastic trilogy. This review will contain spoilers. I hated The Name of the Wind. I mean, it’s brilliantly absorbing and well thought out. But I probably wouldn’t have started reading it if I’d known it was only the start of an as-yet unfinished trilogy. And so, I hate it because it made me want more. And there is more! But I probably won’t read The Wise Man’s Fear until I know when the next book is coming out, because otherwise the wait is just going to be infuriating. If the long wait means that the final book is as good as the first, though, I’ll happily eat my words. One of my favourite things about this book was the depth of the worldbuilding, and I fully appreciate that that takes time. And it’s not only the obvious parts of worldbuilding are done wel...

Strange the Dreamer- Review Laini Taylor Genre: Fantasy Rating: 4.5/5 The short version:  Strange is much more than just another fantasy novel- it creates breath-taking new worlds, asks thoughtful moral questions and introduces compelling new characters.  This review will contain spoilers. It took me a while to pick up Laini Taylor’s debut series, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. Once I had read them, though, I loved them, and in fact they’re amongst the first books I picked up when I wanted to read my favourites again. That actually meant that I was a bit apprehensive about Strange the Dreamer. I was scared in case the magic hadn’t carried over to a new setting, plot, and characters. It was a relief to find out that I really shouldn’t have worried!  Strange is similar to DoSaB in its creation of incredibly detailed and fascinating mythologies, worlds to match them, and characters who seem demonic to the rest of the world. But it’s also entirely...