Tag Archives: fantasy

Review of “Mortal Coil” by Derek Landy

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Title: Mortal Coil
Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #45
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 604
Published: 2010, HarperCollins
My Grade: 4 out of 5 remnants

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Following the shocking revelations of DARK DAYS, get ready for the fifth instalment of the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series — guaranteed to contain at least 40% humour, 50% action, and 100% thrills!

The blonde girl with the black lips turned to Valkyrie. ‘We know,’ she said. ‘We’ve seen the future. We know you’re going to kill the world!’

Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are back — just in time to see their whole world get turned upside down! While they struggle to protect a known killer from an unstoppable assassin, Valkyrie is on a secret mission of her own. This quest, to prevent her dark and murderous destiny, threatens to take her to the brink of death and beyond. And then the body-snatching Remnants get loose, thousands of twisted souls who possess the living like puppets, and they begin their search for a being powerful enough to lead them. Facing such insurmountable odds, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Ghastly and Tanith can trust no one. Not even each other!

MY REVIEW

Not even halfway through this series and it is already going very very badly for everyone. How will it end?

It took me almost a month and a half to finish this. Perhaps I wasn’t in a reading mode this summer, or I actually might have gotten a little tired of it. I enjoyed it and I smiled widely at some remarks but I found it hard to concentrate. Was it too much action? Too much going on all the time? I generally feel that fighting scenes in books are hard for me to follow. And there were a lot of them in this fifth book in Skulduggery Pleasant series. I will take a break now from it because another book was just released and other books that I’ve been meaning to read for a while. But, Landy is so good at writing cliffhangers. It’s insane. The last one, in the fourth book, was intense and very surprising. And so was this, not as strong though.

Many people died and one thing that bothered me was that it was so casual. As a reader, I barely even noticed that they died. Some books have made me cry out in the open while reading about someone who almost died. But this, with characters I liked, nada. Neither did the characters left alive feel anything. It felt unreal.

Something Landy is really good at, is connecting everything. I didn’t really look for plot holes, but it is very obvious that he has put in a lot of thought into everything. Everything written has a meaning and that is very enjoyable. There most likely are some plot holes, but they are hidden and not very noticable.

I will take a short break in this series and read a couple or three other books. I hope I will have something more constructive to write about #6 when I haven’t almost straight-read all previous ones.

It gets a four out of five.

Review of “Dark Days” by Derek Landy

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Title: Dark Days
Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #4
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 419
Published: 2010, HarperCollins
My Grade: 3.5 out of 5 villains

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Skulduggery Pleasant is lost on the other side of a portal, with only some evil gods for company. Can he possibly survive? (Yes, all right, he’s already dead. But still.)

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: detective, sorcerer, warrior.

Oh yes. And dead.

Skulduggery Pleasant is gone, sucked into a parallel dimension overrun by the Faceless Ones. If his bones haven’t already been turned to dust, chances are he’s insane, driven out of his mind by the horror of the ancient gods. There is no official, Sanctuary-approved rescue mission. There is no official plan to save him.

But Valkyrie’s never had much time for plans.

The problem is, even if she can get Skulduggery back, there might not be much left for him to return to. There’s a gang of villains bent on destroying the Sanctuary, there are some very powerful people who want Valkyrie dead, and as if all that wasn’t enough it looks very likely that a sorcerer named Darquesse is going to kill the world and everyone on it.

Skulduggery is gone. All our hopes rest with Valkyrie. The world’s weight is on her shoulders, and its fate is in her hands.

These are dark days indeed.

MY REVIEW

My general feeling about Dark Days is that this is mostly an in-between-book. That this book is only taking you from the previous and transporting you to the next. Som big reveals, recurring characters, but nothing really new.

I did really enjoy the first part, where Valkyrie tries to save Skulduggery in the dimension of The Faceless Ones. That was new and interesting and fun, after that it basically only felt lika a transportation from book 3 to book 5.

Still very entertaining and I smiled several times while reading. As usual.

Review of “The Fates Divide” by Veronica Roth

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Title: The Fates Divide
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Carve the Mark #2
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 450
Published: 2018, Katherine Tegen Books
My Grade: 4.5 out of 5 stars

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Fate brought them together. Now it will divide them.

The lives of Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth are ruled by their fates, spoken by the oracles at their births. The fates, once determined, are inescapable.

Akos is in love with Cyra, in spite of his fate: He will die in service to Cyra’s family. And when Cyra’s father, Lazmet Noavek—a soulless tyrant, thought to be dead—reclaims the Shotet throne, Akos believes his end is closer than ever.

As Lazmet ignites a barbaric war, Cyra and Akos are desperate to stop him at any cost. For Cyra, that could mean taking the life of the man who may—or may not—be her father. For Akos, it could mean giving his own. In a stunning twist, the two will discover how fate defines their lives in ways most unexpected.

With the addition of two powerful new voices, Veronica Roth’s sequel to Carve the Mark is a chorus of hope, humor, faith, and resilience.

 

MY REVIEW

Carve ther mark might not have been my favorite book, but I really liked the plot and I knew I would instantly give The Fates Divide a chance when it was released. I waited a couple of months to read it. And I have to say that it kind of felt that Veronica read my previous review and did something about it. It was so much easier to read, the distinctions between the different characters writing style made it easy to see who was in the spotlight at the moment (if you somehow forgot what the chapter name was). The world got more colorful with more and more thorough descriptions. I had no problem seeing everything in my head.

The plot continued in the same way as Carve the Mark left it. Still as good, still not unecessarily twisted or complicated.

It was a great end in this duology and it raises the grade by 1.5 points up to a 4.5 out of 5.

Review of “The Time Paradox” by Eoin Colfer

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Title: The Time Paradox
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl #6
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 391
Published: 2008, Puffin Books
My Grade: 4 out of 5 monkeys

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

After disappearing for three years, Artemis Fowl has returned to a life different from the one he left. Now he’s a big brother, and spends his days teaching his twin siblings the important things in life, such as how to properly summon a waiter at a French restaurant.

But when Artemis Fowl’s mother contracts a life-threatening illness, his world is turned upside down. The only hope for a cure lies in the brain fluid of the silky sifaka lemur. Unfortunately, the animal is extinct due to a heartless bargain Artemis himself made as a younger boy.

Though the odds are stacked against him, Artemis is not willing to give up. With the help of his fairy friends, the young genius travels back in time to save the lemur and bring it back to the present. But to do so, Artemis will have to defeat a maniacal poacher, who has set his sights on new prey: Holly Short.

The rules of time travel are far from simple, but to save his mother, Artemis will have to break them all.and outsmart his most cunning adversary yet: Artemis Fowl, age ten.

MY REVIEW

Another Artemis Fowl book devoured but different than the rest. I think I was a little bit afraid that all the books would be the same. The young, criminal master mind who was selfish like no other, always coming up with new schemes, the next one more thoroughly thought through than the last. But no. This was what I assume that I thought after reading The Arctic Incident three years ago. I am glad I was wrong and took up this series again. It is really good!

The Time Paradox is kind of obviously about time travel to save his dying mom. And for once, he dives headfirst into this adventure without having a real plan. I am guessing that he is truly stressed about his mom and therefore acts recklessly. It turns out well in the end anyway, obviously, but it takes a while and many events to get there. It was entertaining to read about an Artemis who didn’t have a plan yet still solved everything, after many ifs and buts. I also like how he is developing into a young adult who have feelings.

Even if it was good, it does not quite feel like a five, so it gets a 4.

Review of “The Lost Colony” by Eoin Colfer

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Title: The Lost Colony
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl #5
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 385
Published: 2006, Puffin Books
My Grade: 5 out of 5 demons

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear that they could not win, all of the faeries moved below ground—all except for the 8th family, the demons. Rather than surrender, they used a magical time spell to take their colony out of time and into Limbo. There they have lived for decades, planning their violent revenge on humans.

Now the time spell is unraveling, and demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth. If humans were to find out about them, all faeries would be exposed. To protect themselves, the faeries must predict when the next demon will materialize. But in order to do so, they will have to decipher temporal equations so complicated, even a great brain like Foaly can’t understand them. But he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl.

So when a confused and frightened demon imp pops appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him. But he is not alone. Someone else has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world and managed to solve complex mathematical problems that only a genius could. And she is only twelve years old…

MY REVIEW

Goodreads says that The Lost Colony was shorter than The Opal Deception, yet I really got the feeling that this was a longer book. Maybe because it contained so many events and so much action? The other books have so far focused on a few happenings, while this one took place in other dimensions and through time travel. Quite different as well. For once it felt like Artemis wasn’t in control the whole time and is so great to se him develop sympathy feelings and actually becoming a good guy.

As usual, Eoin Colfer is very throrough with details but for the first time I got the impression that he writes, and whenever he stumbles onto something that could be a plot hole, he gives the characters the ability to deal with it. Either the characters are extremely detailed and have a long list each of stuff they can do or have, or Colfer comes up with solutions as he goes. Although, it works and it doesn’t feel like a last resort.

The ending was great and I will start with the next one right away. The Lost Colony gets a 5!

Review of “The Opal Deception” by Eoin Colfer

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Title: The Opal Deception
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl #4
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 416
Published: 2005, Puffin Books
My Grade: 5 out of 5 probes

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

The evil pixie Opal Koboi has spent the last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled her attempt to destroy the LEPrecon fairy police. And Artemis Fowl is at the top of her list.

After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis had his mind wiped of his memories of the world belowground. But they have not forgotten about him. Once again, he must stop the human and fairy worlds from colliding—only this time, Artemis faces an enemy who may have finally outsmarted him.

MY REVIEW

This was a really clever book. A  lot of thought must have been put into it. The whole thing is about Opal Koboi, the pixie who started the goblin rebellion in the second book, and her way to revenge after Artemis stopped her. It constantly looks very dark for the usual gang, but it was fun to read about another mastermind who had everything planned out and seemed to succeed. Spoiler alert! Of course she didn’t, then that would have been the end of the series and we all know that there are several more.

Because it felt so thorough, it actually gets a 5.

Review of “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sarah J. Maas

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Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.5
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 272
Published: 2018, Bloomsbury Publishing
My Grade: 5 out of 5 snowflakes

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated–scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.

MY REVIEW

I have missed Feyre and co. Since the first chapter of this series, I knew I would love it, the colorful world, the deep descriptions, the realistic characters. Even if this story was “just” an in-between-story, it was long and had development, almost as much as a whole Skulduggery Pleasant book or Artemis Fowl (which are approximately the same length, if perhaps a little bit longer).

It was noticeably a short story in one way though, that it was rather uneventful in comparison to A Court of Wings and Ruin where there was a big fight and stuff happening all the time. But it was a cozy story, a nice look into the now “everyday” life inbetween the big war in Wings and Ruin and what I can only guess will happen in the next installment in this series.

I also really enjoyed the Acknowledgements section at the end. It was very beautiful.

The book/novella gets a 5 out of 5.

Review of “The Faceless Ones” by Derek Landy

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Title: The Faceless Ones
Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #3
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 395
Published: 2009, HarperCollins
My Grade: 4.5 out of 5 ecplises

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

The third bone-breaking, belly-busting adventure in the series that puts the “funny” back in, um, funny series. That didn’t really work, did it?

If you’ve read the previous Skulduggery books then you know what the Faceless Ones are — and if you know what the Faceless Ones are, then you can probably take a wild guess that things in this book are going to get AWFULLY sticky for our skeletal hero and his young sidekick. If you haven’t read the previous Skulduggery books then what are you doing reading this? Go and read them right now, so that you know what all that stuff in the previous paragraph was about. Done? Good. So now you’re on tenterhooks too, desperately awaiting the answers to all your questions, and instead you’re going to have to wait to read the book. Sorry about that.

MY REVIEW

I think this description from Goodreads is very good. And is totally what I feel. Writing reviews on books in a series is harder than writing a review on a stand-alone novel. I think I am fairly good at not writing any spoilers, at least I try really hard not to do it.

The only thing I can really say about it, is that it feels like Landy is getting more into this world he has built and his writing style. It feels like he has landed and found something that works. I also see kind of a pattern now after three books. The endings are true cliffhangers with something going terribly in the wrong direction right after a small victory. At first I thought that they always saved the day at the end, but not really. And I like that. The books float together and is just spiraling downwards. How will it end? I get more and more hooked after each book. I wouldn’t be surprised if I finished them all before 2019.

It was slightly sharper than the first two, therefore it gets a 4.5.

Review of “The Eternity Code” by Eoin Colfer

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Title: The Eternity Code
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl #3
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 352
Published: 2003, Viking Press
My Grade: 4 out of 5 wings

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Artemis Fowl has constructed a supercomputer from stolen fairy technology. In the wrong hands it could be fatal for humans and fairies alike. But Artemis has a plan. He’s not going to use the computer – he’s just going to show it to an American businessman with Mafia connections. What could possibly go wrong?

MY REVIEW

I can’t remember why I didn’t finish this series exactly three years ago. Oh my, it has been three years since I read the first two?! No wonder I can’t remember them. But I am glad that I decided to continue.

Artemis Fowl has always been a child series to me. But just because the main character is a kid, doesn’t mean the book does not suit grown-ups (or young adults as I still see myself as a 27-year old).

It was not hard to pick this series up again after three years. Most authors are great at doing a short recap at the beginning of a new book in the series. Which can sometimes be annoying when you read them back to back, but in this case it was perfect. There are still some questions though, but a quick search on google cleared that up.

The language is very well-written. Easy, but sophisticated. It must be hard to manage to grown-upify a story about high technological fairies and dwarves and a kid who is overly smart. What really made me realize this was when Mulch, the dwarf was going to rearange a CCTV camera with a very concentrated fart. How is it even possible to write that without making it sound ridiculous? Colfer does it.

The Eternity Code (I can’t remember if it was the same with the first two) circulated around basically one event. And it doesn’t make it boring or less interesting because of it. First an introduction to the plot, then the master plan, Artemis then getting “caught” but it then turns out that that was planned all along. I think the other two were similarly built. It works brilliantly and never gets boring or dragged out. It is full of details and humour hidden behind the well-written language.

It’s definitely a 4.

Review of “Playing with Fire” by Derek Landy

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Title: Playing with Fire
Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 389
Published: 2008, HarperCollins
My Grade: 4 out of 5 ecplises

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Skulduggery and Valkyrie are facing a new enemy: Baron Vengeous, who is determined to bring back the terrifying Faceless Ones and is crafting an army of evil to help him. Added to that, Vengeous is about to enlist a new ally (if he can raise it from the dead): the horrible Grotesquery, a very unlikable monster of legend.

Once Vengeous is on the loose, dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland. Now pretty much everybody is out to kill Valkyrie, and the daring detective duo faces its biggest challenge yet.

But what if the greatest threat to Valkyrie is just a little closer to home?

MY REVIEW

The second book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series was very similar to the first one except that it didn’t need the whole introduction to the world. The action came right away because the characters were already known.

I think the level of sarcasm was a little bit lower than the first? It felt more serious. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the thing that sold me to this story, was the sarcasm and witty dialogue. So that was a small bummer.

On the upside though, the story is very much alive and I was extra surprised in the second half when I actually realized that Landy doesn’t write about details. Like for instance, Valkyrie wears a dress, but there is not a single descriptive word about it. Yet, he totally makes it realistic and visible somehow. Very good job, Landy!

This sums up to a grade of 4.

There was also this short story Gold, Babies and the Brothers Muldoon. Refreshing short story of 26 pages with lots of funny dialogue. I guess it is easier to make a short story incredible with 85% sarcasm. In a whole novel, it shoulnd’t take over. What good would a book be if it was only great because it was funny? There has to be a great story to be told as well. But in a short story, it wors perfectly.