So Very Dark

So, I haven’t given a good bookly update in quite a while, and of course, as time passes and the list increases, the task becomes all the more daunting.  There are, however, some reads I have greatly enjoyed that I would like to share and assuredly a few that are worth a mention for their incredible level of lameness…so, although I am not going to give a rundown on every single book I have encountered in the last however long, I will drop a few highlights your way.

First, the book that made me decide to post this blog:  I’m sure that any of you that have been reading my blog for any amount of time are aware of my cringing feelings regarding the genre affectionately labeled ‘chick-lit’ (when I say it aloud, all I can ever think of is gum.)  My dilemma is as follows:  I am always hoping for something cute, somewhat romantic and probably a bit amusing…a heroine that I can relate to and admire who decides to take her life into her own hands and has a great time doing it, despite pitfalls along the way.  Instead, I almost always encounter some thick bint who gets so caught up in herself that she fails to see the problems she is causing in her personal and professional relationships due to her own selfish behavior (though how she misses the warning signs is rather confusing…they are generally written in garishly glowing neon) until it is nearly too late but in the end everyone ends up forgiving her and it all works out.

The notable exceptions to date have been Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinslea and the ‘Size 12‘ etc. series by Meg Cabot (and the latter is technically classified as mystery, so…)

Well, I am pleased to say that I can add The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne to the list.  The basic premise is that the protagonist, a young British girl from a wealthy but scandal-ridden family, finds herself out of a job…again.  She runs into an old school chum who, upon hearing her troubles,  gives her a card for what turns out to be an escort agency.  She naively believes that the job description is a bit tamer than that of a call-girl, and that she would not be required to engage in anything beyond platonic companionship unless she desired to due to really making a connection with a client…however, she  learns shortly that the clientele looks for a bit more than restaurant conversation in their ‘dates’, and she resigns from the agency.  When circumstances lead her to escorting a confirmed bachelor friend of hers to an engagement a few days later, however, she realizes that she might actually have something to offer the men of London–a proper young woman who can help them organize their lives, spiff up their wardrobes and teach them how to behave around ladies.  Soon she has a booming business acting as a public girlfriend for busy professionals and the occasional gay man who isn’t ready to reveal his leanings to his work colleagues, helping clueless men shop for gifts and even posing as the ‘other woman’ from time to time in order to dissuade clingy and stubborn girlfriends — all in blond-bombshell disguise and with no ‘funny business’.

Modeled on Jane Austen’s Emma much as West Side Story is modeled on Romeo and Juliette (okay, more like Bridgette Jones’ Diary is modeled on Pride and Prejudice), this book was sweet and charming.  I had a few worried moments when it seemed that the heroine was going to blow off her responsibilities due to personal problems and running a business, but the smart and organized heroine managed to juggle a full plate, best friend, romantic interest and truly beastly family like a pro, with a spectacular outcome…fun and interesting, with an engaging enough plot that I didn’t want to put it down.  If you enjoy films starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Sandra Bullock in any fun and romantic combination, you are likely to enjoy this book.

Moving on.

Cell, by Stephen King.

Standard King.  Enjoyable but not his best.  A signal goes through cell phones that makes everyone who uses one become first crazy and aggressive and later…something else.  Protagonist is a graphic novelist away from his family who just got his big break…sucks to be him.  Has zombie-ish elements.

Fables graphic novel series by Bill Willingham:

I believe I that I posted on the first book of these, but not since.  As I am LOVING this series I feel that an update is called for.

Fables continues to surprise me with the depth in the storyline, that on the surface seems fun and fluffy — exiled Fairy Tales living in New York, trying to avoid notice by the human population and all the while deal with their own internal struggles…like Pinocchio, who was a little too literal in his wish to be a ‘real boy’ and is now stuck as one forever despite a much more mature libido, and Beauty and the Beast who run into a problem with his curse still being active whenever they get into a quarrel and he reverts to beastlyness to whatever extent Beauty is angry at him.

Well, Pinocchio’s problem isn’t quite as funny as it sounds, as it makes him rather unpleasant.  And Beauty and the Beast–though they managed to escape the homelands, their fortune didn’t.  And anyone who isn’t ‘human’ enough to pass has to go live on the Farm upstate if they can’t afford to purchase a quality glamor from a witch or wizard.  Those who live on the farm are resentful and with the right leadership will rebel against what amounts to captivity.  Prince Charming is a charming cad who continues to get up to his old tricks in a new land and irritates exes with his very presence, all the while trying to sponge money out of them.  And though a general amnesty agreement was signed due the refugees now having to live and work together somewhat harmoniously stating basically ‘what happened in Fairy stays in Fairy’…that doesn’t keep old resentments from bubbling up, or in some cases never really being pushed down at all.

And we can’t forget The Adversary–the reasons that the Fables had to flee their homes in the first place.  He conquered realms and realms of the fantasy world and not everyone escaped slaughter or enslavement.  Some dear friends and lovers were slain in battle and some simply lost.

Underneath bright colors, ironic nods at famous stories and a layer of fairy dust is a seething pit of personal and political hostilities and power-plays.  This series gets my awesomesauce stamp of approval and I can’t wait to get a hold of the next issue.

Mistborn – The Final Empire by Brian Sanderson:

This author and this series were fervently recommended to me by both co-workers and patrons when I worked at Joseph-Beth.  I picked up the first book in the series and it has been in my stacks, waiting.  Last week I decided I was in the mood for a bit of rollicking fantasy, so I picked it up.

It was as advertised.  Unfortunately, I do not have the next book in the series.  I am dying to know what happens.

A brief outline:  The land/time/place of this story is in a world where volcanic ash falls from the sky almost all the time, the night is full of swirling mist that many fear to enter,  and society is heavily segregated.  There are the Skaa–basically a slave race who are regularly whipped and worked to death, and the noble classes who hold glittering, oblivious balls and consider the skaa sub-human…worth no more than livestock.  The land is ruled over by a God-king who is consider by almost all people to be an actual fragment of the Divine (not without reason…there have been unsuccessful attempts to kill him a number of times, and he seems to have a Rasputin-like immunity to death). The ruler is in charge of a fleet of priests with supernatural powers who keep nobles and skaa alike in line through fear.

Into this scene steps Vin, a young scaa girl in a thieving crew and the man who saves her, Kelsier, who has an ambitious plan that will turn the whole world upside down.

Scar Night by Allen Campbell:

A steam-punky fantasy book loaned to me by my friend Dan.  Rife with religious and political corruption, a city suspended by massive chains is suspended over an enormous chasm in the middle of the desert.  Among the key players:  A young Angel, meant to be guardian of the church, but lacking the training to do so, and the attention he needs, and banned from even using his wings as airships are now the only church-sanctioned form of aerial transportation.  An equally young assassin, equally neglected and sent to take charge of the angel, a task she doesn’t relish and takes to with ill grace.  The city Poisoner–a man who crafts devious forms of chemical warfare to ‘cleanse’ the desert of the tribes who dwell there, whose wife died working with the toxins and who sees his own health failing rapidly due to contact with his work.  Another Angel who roams the skies of the city in madness every new moon, seeking blood to slake a craving she doesn’t fully understand.  And a peasant man who lost his daughter, but refuses to give up on finding justice   All of whom will come together in a climactic way that will shake the city to it’s foundations.  And since those foundations are less than secure…

Okay….what next, what next…

skipping down….

The Garth Nix Abhorsen trilogy.  Enjoyable.  Not phenomenal, but worth a read if you are in the mood for YA fantasy.

Graceling by Kristin Kashore:

Very enjoyable.  YA Fantasy.  Set in a world where certain people have eyes of two different colors, and those people have what is known as a ‘grace’ …a special skill that they excel at.  Some are cooks, or gardeners, and others have somewhat more…mercenary skills.  They are valued for their talent, but feared and avoided for their strangeness.

Katsa has a Grace and her uncle — the king of the land she lives in — uses her to enforce his actions.  She hates her life and is sickened by the deeds she preforms in his name, but sees no way of defying him.  Her life changes one night when, on a mission of the underground resistance she and a few friends formed, she rescues a prisoner from a neighboring kingdom.  That night, she meets Po, another Graceling, who shows her that she can stand up for what she believes in.  Together, the two of them end up facing an enemy that they never could have imagined.  Great world, great characters, wonderful story.  I have heard that this is the first in a series but haven’t been able to confirm that one way or the other…but it stands alone whether or not it has a sequel.

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman:

Just a quick blurb here, but definitely a book worth reading.

A book that I have been intrigued by since I first saw it on a shelf a few years ago, SIWBI follows, in alternating chapters, a mad scientist super-villian recently escaped from incarceration and preparing his newest genius plan and a young cyborg superwoman who got drafted into the superhero league to help fight the new menace.  I won’t share all the underlying secrets, but Doctor Impossible has very interesting goals and being a member of a super team isn’t all shiny victories and comradery in the War Room.  I really enjoyed this book.

Of course, while I was reading it, ‘Everything You Ever‘ from Doctor Horrible kept getting stuck in my head.

Alright…moving down, moving down…not doing that one….

A quick comment on this one–

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

This is a good book, but it’s also a very depressing book.  It is the story of a German girl living in Germany during the holocaust, and told by Death, who has encountered her three times in her life.  She caught It’s eye specifically.

The story is very interesting because most often stories of the holocaust are about Jewish people and the horrors that they and their families and friends suffered.  This book had the perspective of people who were not Jewish, and how they suffered as well — the requisite membership in Hitler Youth and the consequences of failure to attend and failure to participate with proper enthusiasm, the memberships and loyalties that adults had to be careful to express as well, the cost of showing sympathy and why some didn’t and how others did, despite the repercussions.

Very good.  But like I said, also very depressing.

Finally,

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst

I really really liked this book.  I really really want the sequel.

No, it’s not the one about camping or whatever that got made into a movie.

By now, y’all are probably aware of my love for things fairy-tale based.  I grew up with Grimms and Anderson, and the blood and violence therein.  I love the combination of innocence and horror in fairy-tales.

Into the Wild is another YA fantasy, and so definately a little lighter than the Fables series, but not an empty-headed Disney romp, either.  (Don’t get me wrong, I like Disney…I just accept the fact that they re-write fables and legends to make them shiny and family-friendly and usually lacking the substance that contained their real message.  I mean, Hercules, the son of Zeus and Hera?  Are you kidding me?)

Anyway, ItW is about Julie, the daughter of Rapunzel.  She is trying to lead a regular life as a high-schooler, but between her strange ‘family’ and the Wild constantly transforming her stuff….what?  Didn’t I mention the Wild?

The characters of fairy tales didn’t have free will.  They were trapped in the magical Wildwood, replaying their stories (the traditionally tragic and brutal ones) over and over, locked into their roles.  Each time their story reached it’s ‘happily ever’ their minds were erased of all memory of what had transpired, and they were dropped back at the beginning…and even for the protagonists this was less than enjoyable…for the villains it had to be even worse.

But.

Through the use of certain undisclosed magic, the Wildwood was defeated.  It is now being looked after by Rapunzel and has chosen to live under her teen-age daughter’s bed.

Sounds cute, right?

Not so much.  Not only is there the regular inconvenience of having items like school-books and shoes seized and transformed into various magical items, use of those or…well, pretty much ANY magic will give the Wild power.  It may be a large, viney dust-bunny now, but if it were ever to be encouraged, it could trap all it’s previous occupants and anyone unlucky enough to be in the area back in the stories that live beneath it’s branches and brambles.  All the former citizens of the Wildwood live in fear of that EVER happening.  Which, of course…it does.  And one of those trapped inside is Rapunzel.  Julie knows that there is only one thing to do…she has to go…have you guessed it?  Yep.  She has to go into the Wild, before her mom doesn’t even remember her anymore.

A book equal parts fun and angst, pumpkin-colored cars and hard life-lessons wrapped in sugar.