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thefrozensea

The Frozen Sea

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky, my pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I'll have a long beard by the time I read them!

SPOILER ALERT!

Shadowfell: A Trilogy

 

Book One: Shadowfell (5 stars). 

 

 

This book was absolutely fantastic. It was full of adventure, wonderful, original fantasy, and intrigue. I didn't know who to trust; whether the Good Folk themselves could be trusted, or if Flint was a triple agent. The setting was strongly influenced by ancient Scotland and Scottish mythology, and the magical Good Folk were wonderfully three-dimensional. It has such a sweet love story too, which was simple, understated, and utterly lovely. I cannot wait to read the second book.

 

Book Two: Raven Flight (4 stars). 

 

 

This sequel to Shadowfell was thrilling, engaging, sweet, and at times, heartbreaking, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to say that I wasn't AS in love with the story as I was with the first book, but I can chalk that up to my own inflated hopes for what would happen. I loved every single moment that Flint's name was mentioned, and I am really glad for the insight into why Tali was constantly belittling Neryn and Flint's feelings for one another, because that was really starting to anger me. I didn't think Juliet would want to put across the idea that love is weakness and now I definitely understand why that character keeps re-stating this time after time. I cannot wait for the third book - the last quarter of the book really started to pick up the pace with the upcoming war in Alban and it seems like the war they've been planning and scheming for for so long is finally about to happen.

 

Book Three: The Caller (5 Stars). 

 

 

A wonderful way to end the trilogy - Neryn was courageous and yet retained her sense of morality, and Flint was wonderful as always. I was satisfied with the way it ended and the way everything tied neatly together. I do have a number of questions that only the author could possibly answer, such as whether Flynn or Neryn will actually go back to the mainland, or why Tali thinks Flynn and Neryn actually owe Alban anything after all they've sacrificed. I'm really going to miss this world, these characters, Neryn and Flint's lovely, understated relationship, but especially Flint himself. If you haven't read this trilogy, do yourself a favour and do so immediately.

 

 

Among Others by Jo Walton

What can I say about this book, other than that I loved it? It kept me enthralled - I read it in about 3 or 4 hours. It was original, and written in wonderfully honest diary-style prose that I thought only Sonya Hartnett was capable of.

 

 

 

The magic and the creatures of this world are so hard to define that often you wonder if they're actually real, or if Mori just has a really impressive imagination. At the same time, they remind me so much of the creatures in Neil Gaiman's THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, or some kind of Germanic myth. There's even a line about roads travelled only by children that adults miss that reminded me strongly of Neil. It's a brilliant coming of age story, magical and also quite bleak in places, just like a proper fairytale. 

 

I read books like this and it's like childhood all over again. I don't want it to end, and when it does, I want to do it all over again. Read it and tell me that you don't feel the same way. 

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker.

 

I thought this book was amazing. I loved the turn of the century New York setting and the melting pot of cultures and religions, and how it provided the perfect place for the Jewish Golem and the Arabic Djinni to meet, become friends, and maybe even something more.

 



The insights into the Djinni's past were fascinating, and both the Golem and Djinni's daily lives enthralling. You could feel their boredom, despair, curiosity, fear, and the slow gradual contentment they found in one another's presence. 

Admittedly I wanted the epilogue to have a more decisive and conclusive ending - leaving things up in the air wasn't as satisfying! - but I can definitely see why the author went that way. Now we make up our own minds about their future together and as individuals, and whether or not they're both safe from Crazy Evil Pants, Reincarnated.