The Invisible Library is Genevieve Cogman’s debut and the opening of a new series in fantasy. Told in the third person with a focus on Irene, a Junior Librarian sent to retrieve a specific iteration of Grimm’s fairy tales.
Shuttling between alternate dimensions, Irene and other Librarians are bound to protect individual works of fiction by collecting them to a secret library that rests between all the dimensions available. This work reeled me in almost immediately, as it would for any bibliophile or fantasy aficionado. Cogman uses distinct and intelligent language without putting comprehension beyond the reader’s grasp.
Evocative of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and The Dresden Files stylistically, The Invisible Library is adventurous, magical, and fun. I sincerely look forward to the next book in the series.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Red Rising is a first person dystopic adventure reminiscent of Ender’s Game, Legend, and The Hunger Games series. This type of story has been in vogue for about a decade, but still Brown managed to hook me in on page one.
Darrow was a Helldiver. A Red. A miner of precious minerals needed for humanity's expansion into the space. What he finds out after the death of his father, his wife, and himself is that he’s a slave of the lowest rank.
Under the wings of those who helped him die, the Sons of Ares, he becomes Gold and infiltrates their most prestigious academy. Brown has set up the academy like trials that can end in glory, shame, or death. This faux war changes Darrow, draws his mind into a dark place. When he is reminded of his purpose, of his wife and his family, he makes an unprecedented move against the administrators.
This is the making of Darrow. He’s a Red Rising.
Darrow was a Helldiver. A Red. A miner of precious minerals needed for humanity's expansion into the space. What he finds out after the death of his father, his wife, and himself is that he’s a slave of the lowest rank.
Under the wings of those who helped him die, the Sons of Ares, he becomes Gold and infiltrates their most prestigious academy. Brown has set up the academy like trials that can end in glory, shame, or death. This faux war changes Darrow, draws his mind into a dark place. When he is reminded of his purpose, of his wife and his family, he makes an unprecedented move against the administrators.
This is the making of Darrow. He’s a Red Rising.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
War of the Cards
Dinah wants to be queen. She NEEDS to be queen, but In order to get her crown from the tyrant she thought was her father, she must fight everyone, including herself.
In this conclusion to The Queen of Hearts trilogy, I was not disappointed. Colleen Oakes has further outdone herself with the continuing magic that created Wonderland and the characters that occupy it. I started this book and could not put it down until I was finished.
Dinah’s internal struggles, her conquest of her puppet masters, and her stepping into her true place are things many young women can identify with. Though it is a fantasy novel, its ability to connect with readers through Dinah holds it above YA realism with similar themes.
In this conclusion to The Queen of Hearts trilogy, I was not disappointed. Colleen Oakes has further outdone herself with the continuing magic that created Wonderland and the characters that occupy it. I started this book and could not put it down until I was finished.
Dinah’s internal struggles, her conquest of her puppet masters, and her stepping into her true place are things many young women can identify with. Though it is a fantasy novel, its ability to connect with readers through Dinah holds it above YA realism with similar themes.
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