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Book Reviews - Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction - By an Adult for Adults

The Selection, Strange Semi Dystopian Fantasy with Romance by Kiera Cass

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I liked The Selehttps://amzn.to/3RDkkXYction although I did not like the characters.  How odd is that?  I found the heroine, America Singer, whiny and all too immature.  Her two love interests, Aspen, a lowly Six, and Maxon the prince were OK, but I found it impossible to believe that Maxon could be as clueless as he was described.  (I could believe that Aspen was a sexist jerk.)

The Intriguing Parts

The most interesting parts of the book were the caste system, which was downright puzzling, and the idea that a big country (apparently a combination of the US, Canada, Mexico and part of Central America) could be governed by a king with a tiny lot of ministers.

The caste system allocated people to jobs by caste, into which one was born.  Apparently a woman could marry up and join the higher caste, but if she married someone below then she moved down.  People in castes Five, Six and Seven are poor with unpredictable livelihoods.  Eights are wanderers, homeless people.  Sixes and Sevens go to school while higher castes are home schooled / private schooled? / tutored.

The really goofy thing is that Fives are all artists. Huh? That makes no sense whatsoever. Sixes are servants. Fours work in factories or farm. I can go along with servants and factory workers being hereditary roles but artists? You either have artistic talent or you do not. The heroine’s brother has zero interest in art or music and wants to be a scientist. So in our mythical country he can’t be a scientist, however talented and good he might be, but he can be an artist, however untalented?

The government part was stupid. No congress or Imperial Senate or even a House of Lords, no governors, just the king and his family rule the country. No way, that simply would not work. There are hints that the Twos have political clout but no details.  When I read dystopia I want details:  How does it work, who gets what and why does it hold together.

I found it incredible that Prince Maxon would be so unaware of the realities in his country that he did not realize the lower castes went hungry. Then he announced that the girls in the Selection would get a lower allowance with the difference going to feed the poor for oh, maybe a week or two. He made an appeal on television for the upper castes to donate, but how long will that last?

Lots of Pretty Clothes and Hunky Guys

I think one reason I enjoyed this was that I read it when traveling in the evenings after long days of yucky business meetings.  Something light, fluffy and with lots of clothes and hunky guys filled the bill.

Another reason was that the book reminded me so much of two books I enjoyed, A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith and The Hunger Games. The girls compete as in The Hunger Games but losers don’t die, they actually get rewarded with higher status. The winner gets to marry our clueless friend, Prince Maxon.

Just as in A Posse of Princesses the contestants include the requisite selfish beauty, Celeste, the narrator/heroine, the heroine’s good friend. What we don’t have are any of the other characters or real interesting relationships. The characters act like sixth graders at their first school dance.

I enjoyed this while reading it, but as I was writing this review it struck me how incredibly silly it was and how very poorly written. None of the characters were believable and the dialogue was horrible. I will probably read the sequel, The Elite but I’ll wait for another business trip where I need something brainless with pretty clothes and hunky guys.

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Faerie Wars Chronicles Ruler of the Realm, Faerie Lord Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy

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The Faerie Wars Chronicles started off with a bang with Faerie Wars and its sequel The Purple Emperor. Both were excellent with interesting characters, fast plots, evil villains, well-written dialogue and conflicts that felt real.

You can read my reviews here:

The Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy Fiction Book 1 Chronicles

The Purple Emperor Faerie Wars Chronicles Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy Review

Sadly the next two books in the series, Ruler of the Realm and Faerie Lord were disappointing and did not come close to the fun and enjoyment of the first books. Both were boring, with little character development and even less plot tension. Both were unconvincing and worst of all, left me feeling like I really didn’t care what happened next.

The whole series is aimed at younger readers but the first two books were satisfying for me, and based on reviews on Amazon, many adult readers enjoyed them too. These next two books have all the shortcuts we expect in YA fiction that can turn off adults. The characters just do things without drawing out why they act as they do. Wonderful results happen to save the day, without any reason as to why.  Very likely younger readers will enjoy these two novels although I did not.

Ruler of the Realm

Ruler of the Realm wasn’t bad, just not very good. I did not enjoy reading it.

Just Blah

It felt pedestrian, with the characters acting out a script vs. acting like real people. For example, Henry, the hero from our world, is kidnapped by the aliens also known as demons, and implanted with a device to control his thoughts and given false memories. He believes he has been turned into a demon and ordered to produce a faerie/demon child with the Purple Empress Blue. Really? Henry has taken biology classes in high school and should know it doesn’t work this way. Even had he been changed into a demon he cannot produce a demon child. That may seem like a trivial point that only a pedant would care about, but I have a hard time believing that someone as smart as Henry would fall for a lie like that.

The Good Parts

The only good parts of the book are the settings, which are well done and the ending. Brennan introduces several parts of the Faerie World that we’ve not seen before and gives excellent descriptions.  When  you’re in the desert you feel hot.

Not to spoil it for readers, but the finale is excellent with Blue managing to overcome the demon king by herself. What I do like with Herbie Brennan’s books is that they stand on their own without cliffhangers in between novels.

Overall Just OK

Ruler of the Realm dragged. So Henry is back in England and confused. Yes, and why should I care? The previous two books gave you a reason to care, but Ruler of the Realm does not.

I managed to finish this but it was a close call.

Faerie Lord

I did not get past the first 30 pages or so of Faerie Lord then skipped to the end. I was glad that they rescued Hodge but that was about the only thing I liked in the book.

Based on Amazon reviews, I am in the minority not liking this. Maybe I tried to read it too soon after the first two books and just had enough of the series.

I see there is a fifth book now, The Faeman Quest, with Henry and Blue’s daughter Mella which I will not read.

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The Purple Emperor Faerie Wars Chronicles Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy Review

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The Purple Emperor (The Faerie Wars Chronicles) begins immediately after the end of Faerie Wars. As the title implies, Herbie Brennan has turned this into a several book series, with five books as of May 2013.

Excellent Sequel

So often a series bogs down in book 2. The first book moves fast, with intriguing characters and setting, interesting challenges and threats. The second often spends extra time setting up new characters and side plots to explore later, with the main plot or characters suffering from slow pace. The good news is that The Purple Emperor breaks that jinx; it is as good or better than the first book. I have a reserve in for the third book and look forward to reading it.

Character Development

I mentioned how interesting the villains were in my blog review for Faerie Wars. (You can read that blog post here: The Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy Fiction Book 1 Chronicles.)

The villains are truly villainous, rotten to the core and happy with themselves in their vileness. Book 2, The Purple Emperor spends more time on these amazing villains and we get to know (but not love) Brimstone, Lord Hairstreak, and Chalkhill. I actually developed a mild fondness for Chalkhill, the cowardly, despicable former glue factory owner, cat killer and now symbiotic host to a talkative Wyrm.

The younger characters, Pyrgus, Henry and Blue develop as would real people and we get to know Pyrgus and Blue’s younger half brother, Comma better and meet the forest Faerie Nymph. Pyrgus seems to become less central to the action during the story and Harry gets a more prominent role. All three continue through the typical coming-of-age struggles, but what sets The Purple Emperor apart from so many YA fantasies is the coming of age part just happens. It’s the background, the normal side effect from teens having to act as adults in the grown up world. There is nothing boring or pretentious here, just a good story with plot and tensions that force three young people to mature.

Setting

Brennan has some wonderful settings that could be built into the story more. We go from England to the Faerie capital city to the deep forest, back to the city, in the palace, in Lord Hairstreak’s mansion in the woods. Brennan could capitalize on these a little more.

Plot

Just like its predecessor, The Purple Emperor moves fast with challenges, surprises and traps. Brennan has mastered the YA fiction plot elements and spends just the right amount of time on each one. Yet the book has more nuances and layers that make it enjoyable for adults too.

Overall

I liked this book very much, even more than the first book. Brennan wrote a tight story with fascinating characters, dastardly villains, interesting settings and intriguing moral problems. Adults and older teens will enjoy the full novel while younger teens will like the fast plot and good-guy/bad-guy story.

5 Stars.

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The Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan YA Fantasy Fiction Book 1 Chronicles

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Faerie Wars is the first book in The Faerie Wars Chronicles by Herbie Brennan. When I started this book some of the scenes were familiar, but I don’t think I read the full novel before.

Faerie Wars was a treat to read. It starts off with hero Henry Atherton recognizing that his parents are having problems and suspecting his Dad of an affair. Although the family troubles are a background note to the series and frame some of Henry’s choices, they are not a key part of the plot and Henry’s family are side characters.

Characters are Grand

The important characters are Henry, his eccentric employer Mr. Fogarty, the Faery crown prince Pyrgus and princess Blue, the Purple Emperor and several wonderfully rotten villains. The villains don’t have many redeeming qualities – in fact none – but they are not cardboard cutouts either. You understand what motivates them (money and power), their goals (power, money and survival) and although the depth of wickedness is stunning, it is reasonable for characters who value power and money above everything.

Faerie Wars could have been a classic coming-of-age story. All three young characters, Henry, Pyrgus and Blue, grow during the novel and Henry develops the backbone to assert himself with his parents and creepy sister. But this too is a side note, a secondary plot, and does not detract from the serious story.

The heart of Faerie Wars is how the Purple Emperor can keep his realm together and overcome deep divisions between faeries of the dark and faeries of the light.  War looms. The faeries live in the Purple Empire in an analogue world to Earth. They are human. The two sides have different religions, eyes and the dark faeries have a far greater tolerance for demons and a propensity to seek power and money.

Plot Moves and Captures Interest

Pyrgus needs to take refuge in the Analogue World (our Earth) but someone sabotages the portal. Pyrgus ends up in Mr. Fogarty’s backyard, with wings and about 6 inches tall. Henry rescues Pyrgus from Mr. Fogarty’s cat. When Pyrgus reverts to his natural shape and size the two boys help Mr. Fogarty (former particle physicist and bank robber) build a portal from our side. Unfortuately Pyrgus is impatient and instead of waiting for Mr. Fogarty to test the portal, he plunges in and ends up in the other analogue world, Hael.

Demons live in Hael and seek entrance to Faerie world or Earth to wreak destruction and misery. Their leader is Beleth who captures Pyrgus and devises a tormenting death for him. Henry manages to rescue Pyrgus with help from Blue.

Highly Recommend

Faerie Wars is fun and fast to read. The characters are sympathetic and interesting. I even found myself hoping a few of the lesser villains would survive another book, despite their vile actions and nasty attitudes.

Faerie Wars is listed as YA Fiction. I would categorize it as a book that younger people could enjoy for the plot and characters, which adults would enjoy too. We adults also realize the the Purple Emperor faces a real dilemma, one that we face in our world too, and that adds depth to the story that we enjoy.

4 Stars.

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The Monstrumologist, Rick Yancey, YA Fantasy Fiction Review

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I liked Rick Yancey’s Alfred Kropp series so much I looked for more books he wrote. The Monstrumologist was disappointing. I could not get past about page 40.

Maybe I started The Monstrumologist with my expectations set too high after the Alfred Kropp series. Or maybe it simply just is not as good as the Alfred Kropp books.

I could not get interested in the main character, Will Henry, nor did the plot or style interest me. I did not finish The Monstrumologist and cannot recommend it.

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The Burning Bridge, The Ranger’s Apprentice Book 2, Fantasy, John Flanagan

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The Burning Bridge (The Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 2) is the second book by John Flanagan featuring young Will and Horace. You can read my review of the first book, The Ruins of Gorlan, here:

Review: Ranger’s Apprentice Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan John Flanagan

Book 1 was fast moving with extensive character development.  The hero and his friends are all young teens but the book shouldn’t be considered YA fantasy as the characterization, setting, theme and plot are all more adult.  This second book, The Burning Bridge has a stronger plot but the characters don’t exhibit as much interest or change during the story.

Will and Horace are sent on a mission to neighboring Celtica to request military assistance in the upcoming battle against the evil Morgarath. They discover Morgarath’s audacious plan to attack their kingdom from behind. For years their kingdom of Araluen has relied on the impassible cliffs and deep gorge called The Fissure, to protect them from Morgarath.  There is only one pass and Araluen controls it.

In fact Morgarath has enslaved miners and workers from Celtica who have built a secret tunnel and bridge to get his troops across The Fissure and attack the king where he least expects it. Will, Horace and the young ranger Gilan realize that Celtica has been attacked and its forces have retreated to the south. The young Evanlyn meets up with them after having her entire party of armed guards and her mistress killed by the semi-human Wargals. Gilan leaves them and races to inform the king that Celtica is under attack.

Will, Evanlyn and Horace are supposed to make their way back to Araluen but on the way they foll a party of Wargals herding captive Celtica miners. They are horrified to discover that Morgarath has built an enormous bridge across the Fissure and decide to burn it to prevent the surprise attack from Araluen’s rear. Will and Evanlyn are captured by mercenary Skandians while Horace escapes to warn the king.

The Burning Bridge is fast moving and fun. In some ways it’s not as good as the first book was, but it was easy to finish and enjoyable. John Flanagan created a rich environment with interesting setting and political backdrop. It’s well-written and even without the character development we saw in Book 1, The Burning Bridge is well worth reading.  There are a few scenes featuring Will’s friends Alyss that could have been eliminated to produce a tighter book, but presumably we will see more of Alyss in future stories.

I recommend it with 4 stars.

Barely OK: Witch and Wizard Fantasy YA Fiction, Magic, Dystopian

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Witch and Wizard by James Patterson combines magic with a frightening future. The heroes are Wisty and Whit, both 15.

Witch and Wizard has gotten good reviews and has been well-marketed. The Science Fiction Book Club offered it in hardback. However, this is one YA fantasy that is best enjoyed by younger teens, not adults.  There isn’t any substance or meat to the plot, characters, setting or dialogue.  Think of this book as eating cotton candy at the fair; OK while you’re in the middle but when you finish you wonder why you bothered.

I found the book good enough to finish, but not good enough that I care to read the sequels. For one thing, you know right from the first page that there will be sequels. How many books begin with the main characters tied up and ready to hang? You then spend the next 200+ pages reading how Whit and Wisty and their parents got to that point, or at least far enough towards it that the author could bring the book to a cliff hanger ending.

The dialogue is silly, banal and ridiculous. The characters don’t seem like real kids and the villain is an amalgamation of Lord Voldemart with Emperor Palpatine. It’s not enough fun that you can ignore the fake conflicts, ridiculous plot and tepid characters.

I’ll give it two stars just because it is a fast read that didn’t waste too much time.

The False Prince: Masquerades, Treason in Teen Fantasy Fiction YA Jennifer Nielsen

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Here’s another book aimed at teens who like fantasy that adults will enjoy too. I kept getting “you’ll like this book too” emails from Amazon recommending The False Prince: Book 1 of the Ascendance Trilogy so I decided to try it. Yes, it is a little predictable but the intriguing plot twist is the reason why. The reason for the subterfuge is so different from other books yet believable.

The False Prince is fantasy because it is set in imaginary countries but there is no magic, no dragons, vampires, ghosts, faries or zombies. The imaginary country looks much like our world, no strange animals or bizarre customs.

Our hero is an orphan in a small kingdom surrounded by larger more aggressive neighbors.  The entire royal family is either dead or missing and one of the ministers concocts a plot to insert a substitute for the missing younger prince.  He selects four orphans about the right age and looks and sets out to train them to be that missing prince.  The minister murders one of the orphans right away to cow the remaining three into obedience.  Our hero, Sage, isn’t cowed but he is frightened.  He knows that he too will be murdered if the minister doesn’t choose him for the masquerade, yet the alternative, to become a puppet prince ruled by the minister isn’t appealing. For if Sage lives, then the other two boys die.

We read how Sage takes control and turns the tables on the murderous minister.

The book is not a coming of age story. Sage grows up a little during the novel but the focus is on the awful choice he faces. how can he force the devious minister to allow all three boys to survive.

The False Prince is the first book of a planned trilogy. It was good, enjoyable enough that I will seek the second book in the series, The Runaway King. I enjoyed other books more but this was good. The characterization was good, not great, plot was intriguing but the challenge facing Sage was excellent.  I’ll give it 4 stars.

Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull by Rick Yancey YA Fantasy Fiction Review

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I enjoyed the first two Alfred Kropp books so much I got this one, Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull, as fast as possible. Like the first two books, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp and Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon, the Thirteenth Skull is fun, fast and enjoyable.

Let’s be clear what Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull is. This is a fast moving fantasy novel aimed squarely at 15 year old boys. Yes adults will enjoy it, but it lacks the nuances and character that made the first two novels satisfying reads for adults.

Alfred Kropp somehow has gotten much more capable in this story and has lost his introspection and the bumbling worry that are so typical of 15 year old kids. The character instead is capable of wrestling a fully grown thug on the back of a flat bed truck going 70 miles an hour on the expressway carrying lumber, tying a rope around the thug’s neck and throwing him off the truck. Can you imagine the Alfred Kropp in the first two books being able to physically overcome a grown man or being willing to kill someone? The first Alfred Kropp was gentle, unassuming, the natural target for bullies and mean kids and adults. This Alfred is closer to being James Bond than to the kid next door or the kid we were growing up.

I still enjoyed Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull enough to look out for a fourth book and read it when it comes, but I will do so expecting a couple hours of pure escapism and shoot ’em up plot line.  I won’t expect a book that I’d want to reread or one that will linger in my mind the way the first two did.

3 Stars

You can read my reviews about the first two books here:

Review: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp YA Fiction Rick Yancey
Fast Moving YA Fiction Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon Review

Fast Moving YA Fiction Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon Review

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I’ve had a busy week reading four fast moving, fun books.  It’s fun to read books with interesting characters, intriguing backgrounds and speed of light plots.  Of the four this week Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon was the most intriguing and fast moving.

I reviewed the first book, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, here in this blog post:  Review: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp YA Fiction Rick Yancey.  The Seal of Solomon is the second book in the series.  The third book, Alfred Kropp: The Thirteenth Skull is reviewed here.

Alfred has landed with a couple who are professional foster parents. They have a small house, several foster kids, almost no discipline and less attention or care. After Alfred’s stint on the Most Wanted list he faces even more nasty tricks from his high school classmates. When beautiful blond, tanned Ashley shows up at school and wants to be his friend Alfred falls fast.

Ashley is an operative for OIPEP who saves Alfred from a killer and delivers him to Operative Nine who needs Alfred – badly. A renegade OIPEP agent stole Solomon’s seal and the vessel containing demons from hell and it’s up to Alfred, Ashley, Operative Nine to put stop him from setting the demons free. They fail. Demons are loose and on the hunt for Alfred. They want to control the seal and the vessel and need Alfred to help. In hindsight I’m not sure why they needed Alfred and no one else, but it made for a great story.

Alfred figures out how to trick the demons and once more saves the world. Along the way he inherits tons of money which makes his professional foster parents determined to forcibly draft him into adoption.

Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon is noteworthy for the intricate and interesting backdrop to the story. Who is Operative Nine and why does he have the authority he does. Why is renegade agent Mike so determined to kill Alfred. What would it be like to work for OIPEP. What will the demons do when they control the world.

Those questions swirled around in my mind but only as a footnote to the real questions about Alfred. He is an amazing person, able to ignore the constant nastiness at home and school, determined to grow and to do the right thing. He is believable, the character we all inwardly feel we are – bumbling, not too swift, and somehow responsible for far more than what we want.

Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon had excellent dialogue, a fun, super charged plot, fascinating back story, interesting characters. I highly recommend it. Like the other Alfred Kropp books this is characterized as YA fiction, aimed squarely at 12-18 year old boys, but it’s good enough for adults to enjoy.