Bogormen

Title: Naked Empire (Sword of the Truth #8)
Author: Terry Goodkind
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 660
Date read: September, 2009

Ancient sorcerous barriers have been accidentally toppled, freeing the unpleasant "Imperial Order" to rape, loot and pillage the rest of the world. The Emperor and his chief minion are revolting creatures whose sadism begins where Vlad the Impaler left off. Bandakar, a land of pacifists, has little chance of survival until someone gets the bright idea of giving the admired liberator Lord Rahl - that is, Richard - a dose of slow-acting poison. There is no antidote until he, personally and more or less single-handedly, frees Bandakar from the invading horde while, as pacifists, the natives will stand clear and disapprove of the slaughter. Some lessons in ethics and realism need to be learned here...

I read the first 6 books of the Sword in Truth series years ago and LOVED them. Especially the first three are some of my all-time favourite books. Then I read Pillars of Creation... Terry Goodkind really dropped the ball there. I missed Kahlan and Richard as the main protagonists and it just didn't work for me, so I never got around to reading the rest of the series.

Now that they're all out, I figured it was time to finish up - I owed it to the first books ;)

And with Naked Empire Goodkind got back on the horse. Just as captivating as the first 6 books, it drew me right in, and I finished the 660 pages in just two days. I'm now utterly immersed in the universe and wish I had time to reread the rest of the series.

That's not to say it didn't have its flaws. I certainly don't remember the first books as having this much monologuing, and there were some issues I felt weren't properly explained near the end of the book - it seemed like that was more a case of forgetfulness than because Goodkind couldn't figure out how to explain it though.

So yes, I do see the book's short-comings... but I still loved it.

Title: Pryaer: Does It Make Any Difference
Author: Philip Yancey
Genre: Christian non-fiction
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 395
Date read: September, 2009

Philip Yancey probes the very heartbeat - the most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect - of our relationship with God: prayer. What is prayer? Does it change God's mind or ours - or both? This book is an invitation to communicate with God the Father who invites us into an eternal partnership through prayer.

Interesting book about prayer. Yancey touches upon some important issues like why we pray and how we pray. Do we use God as an automaton and expect him to answer our every prayer as if he were fulfilling requests? Or do we pray in order to get to know God better and align our own thoughts with his?

But though I liked what the book had to say, and really enjoyed the small anecdotes he shared throughout the book, I'm not exactly sure that I learned anything from it. It did bring up some interesting points, but even here - just two days after finishing it - I'm having difficulties remembering what those points were, so they obviously didn't make too big an impression on me.

Title: Secret of the Sirens (Companions Quartet #1)
Author: Julia Golding
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 318
Date read: September, 2009

When Connie is sent to live with her aunt, she knows it's going to be one more place where she doesn't fit in. But soon she realises how wrong she is. The seaside town is full of adults and children who have strange links to creatures. It's the heart of the secret Society for the Protection of Mythical Creatures, a group of people sworn to ensure that mythical beasts are kept safe.

Normally the creatures and their chosen humans work in harmony. But something abnormal is happening here. The Sirens, who for generations have kept their deadly song to themselves, are once again luring humans to their deaths. It doesn't take long for Connie to realise that the victims are oil workers. The Sirens are fed-up with their seas being polluted, but should the Society protect the Sirens or the oil industry?

Connie doesn't think she has a role to play, until it becomes clear that she's a Universal - the first person in over a century who can communicate with every type of beast on earth and in the air. Her power is immense. It corrupted the previous Universal... and now he's back. And he'll use any means he can - from violence to the terrifying Storm Giants - to turn Connie to the dark side.

I was utterly charmed by this very fascinating first book in a new quartet by Julia Golding. I only "discovered" Julia Golding about a year ago, but if she continues in this fashion, she'll soon become a new favourite fantasy author.

What I really loved about Secret of the Sirens is that it's not as much about magic as about special abilities, and it takes place in our world. Too many fantasy authors invite new worlds, and that is occasionally necessary, but I think it takes a special talent to write a believable fantasy novel in our own universe.

Though the first book in a series, Secret of the Sirens can also mostly stand on its own. The complication of the book is resolved, while still leaving threads open to pick up in later books - rather similarly to Harry Potter actually.

I read it in a day - simply couldn't put it down.

Title: Prophecy of the Sisters
Author: Michelle Zink
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook, ~8 hours
Date read: September, 2009

Sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe and her twin sister Alice have just become orphans, and, as Lia discovers, they have also become enemies. The twins are part of an ancient prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. To escape from a dark fate and to remain in the arms of her beloved boyfriend James, Lia must end the prophecy before her sister does. Only then will she understand the mysterious circumstances of her parents' deaths, the true meaning of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and the lengths to which her sister will go to defeat her.

What I wasn't aware of when starting this audiobook was that it is the first book in a trilogy and not meant to stand alone. It does have plot - and indeed enough plot to keep me rivited - but mostly it serves as an introduction for future books.

Despite that, I did enjoy the book very much. It was very well written, and the characters fascinating. The book was read by Eliza Dushku who I felt did a very good job. A good narrator does not draw attention to herself but uses her voice to draw attention to the story, and I thought she managed this very nicely.

I'll be interested in reading the next book in the series.

Title: The Ship Between the Worlds
Author: Julia Golding
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 256
Date read: September, 2009

David Jones loves ships, particularly ships in bottles. His latest, the Golden Needle, is a fine pirate vessel. So when David wakes up to find himself being press-ganged on board, he assumes it's a dream. The only thing is, he isn't asleep!

The Golden Needle is crewed by a motley assortment of fiendish pirates, led by the once-terrifying Captain Fisher. The only thing they have in common is the desire to atone for past misdeeds, and a lot of gold thread. Now, trying to be good, they are desperately attempting to stitch together the many worlds - including our own - that are sliding towards obliteration in Inferno Rim.

But not every pirate in this new dimension is good. Some still have a yearning for gold. In hot pursuit of the Golden Needle is the Scythe, crewed by pirates who live only to steal the golden thread anchoring the worlds. Soon the Golden Needle will run out of time and golden thread - and then her crew will have to turn and face the Scythe. What will David do when the day of battle dawns? Who will win this fight to the death? If it is the Scythe, who will save the worlds? A swashbuckling adventure to shiver yer timbers!

In style the plot reminded me of a mixture of Peter Pan, Treasure Island and Pirates of the Caribbean. A sweet book for kids and YA. I hadn't expected much from it, so I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, I'm quite a bit older than the target audience, but it was charming enough to entertain me as well.

Title: The Demon King
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 508
Date read: September, 2009

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for himself, his mother, and his sister Mari. Ironically, the only thing of value he has is something he can't sell. For as long as Han can remember, he's worn thick silver cuffs engraved with runes. They're clearly magicked-as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Helena, Princess Heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of relative freedom with her father's family at Demonai camp - riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Although Raisa will become eligible for marriage after her sixteenth name-day, she isn't looking forward to trading in her common sense and new skills for etiquette tutors and stuffy parties.

One of the best fantasy books I've read in a long time. Not just because of the plot, but it had good, tight writing, an intriguing atmosphere and strong characters. The Demon King is the first book in a trilogy, and it's very obviously not supposed to stand on its own as nothing is really resolved in this book, but it's so well written that I for once will excuse its cliff-hanger'ness.

The book is told in part by ex-thief Han and in part by princess Raisa. Though I must admit to being a lot more interested in Raisa's plotline, I felt that this split 'voice' worked really well - especially as the two main characters were of approximately the same age but of different sex and station in life, giving interesting perspectives on the various situations.

I definitely want to get my hands on the two other books in this series.