JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

I started the first book in the Game of Thrones series last year, but I only made it about three quarters of the way through before I needed to sacrifice it for my uni work. When I picked it up again on the weekend, I realised that I couldn’t remember anything that happened and I’d need to start again.

Game of Thrones presents a bleak, melancholic setting in the Seven Kingdoms where being a ‘good’ character doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to stay alive. When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die. A lot of people die. A lot. And George R.R. Martin’s writing style is direct, pace-y (not sure that’s a word), and invites the reader into the story. The book changes point of view between Eddard, Catelyn, Jon, Arya, Sansa, Tyrion, Bran, and Daenerys. Despite the vast number of POV’s, Martin has captured a different, unique voice for all of the characters and you don’t ever feel like there’s a cross over. Martin captures Tyrion’s quick wit and humour, but then uses Daenerys to illustrate naivety and fragility.

I do wonder what will happen with Bran, because after he ‘falls’ from the tower and becomes a cripple, his POV seems to set up what is going to happen to him later in the series. At least you know he’s going to live for a while, because after the shock death at the end of the novel, the reader will want to know that their favourite characters are actually going to make it through the Game of Thrones.

I applaud Martin on the world he’s built and the way in which he reveals information. When _____ (that line is intentional – I don’t want to give away the ending) dies at the end of the novel, Martin doesn’t bog the story down with revealing how each character found out about the death. Catelyn’s POV is set after she’s already found out, so the pace doesn’t slow down and the reader doesn’t have to relive ______’s death. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series, A Clash of Kings, although I’ll wait until I have the time to read it, because if I pause even for a few days, I’ll have to start over again, and the book is too long for me to want to do that.

My Score: 9/10

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist & unreliable narrator, a 37–38-year-old literature professor, Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with the 12-year-old Dolores Haze, with whom he becomes sexually involved after he becomes her stepfather.

Ah Nabokov. If only I could bottle up your talent and use it.

There are so many ways that Nabokov could’ve written this story, and so many stylistic techniques he could’ve used to achieve it. The novel is poetic, lyrical, and subtly written and although it’s in third person, it really seems to be written from Humbert’s point of view. You find yourself sympathising with him, and then you become slightly horrified and confused when you realise it.

The reader is given a (disturbing) insight into Humbert’s paedophilic desires and not only is Humbert a richly fleshed out, dimensional character, but Lolita is as well. She almost seems to seduce him at times, and then is quite happy to move on when she feels it is the right time.

“I am convinced however, that in a certain magic and fateful way Lolita began with Annabel.”

Humbert’s paranoia and – at times – murderous desires capture a truly disturbed mind willing to do anything to attain and keep Lolita. And then Humbert believes he’s being followed and he and Lolita roadtrip around to various motels and hotels so that they – but mostly he – can remain undetected.

My Score: 9/10

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Kelsea Glynn is the sole heir to the throne of Tearling but has been raised in secret by foster parents after her mother – Queen Elyssa, as vain as she was stupid – was murdered for ruining her kingdom. For 18 years, the Tearling has been ruled by Kelsea’s uncle in the role of Regent however he is but the debauched puppet of the Red Queen, the sorceress-tyrant of neighbouring realm of Mortmesme. On Kelsea’s 19th birthday, the tattered remnants of her mother’s guard – each pledged to defend the queen to the death – arrive to bring this most un-regal young woman out of hiding…

And so begins her journey back to her kingdom’s heart, to claim the throne, earn the loyalty of her people, overturn her mother’s legacy and redeem the Tearling from the forces of corruption and dark magic that are threatening to destroy it. But Kelsea’s story is not just about her learning the true nature of her inheritance – it’s about a heroine who must learn to acknowledge and live with the realities of coming of age in all its insecurities and attractions, alongside the ethical dilemmas of ruling justly and fairly while simply trying to stay alive…

I picked this up because the book has been in the media a lot lately; Emma Watson couldn’t put it down and now it’s being turned into a movie with Emma as producer and actress. I did enjoy it, to the point where I read it in a couple of days and was anxious to see what happened next. However, the novel is setting up a lot for the sequel and I felt that at times, the story moved a little too slowly. Kelsea didn’t actually reach her keep until about 1/3 of the way through the novel, and the Red Queen (the antagonist of the trilogy) isn’t featured in the novel much.

It’s quite clear that some of the author’s thoughts are coming into the story. I’m guessing that Erika is an avid reader of fantasy. Kelsea is the new Queen of the Tearling, and yet she spends a lot of time trying to build a library in her keep? It seems a little unrealistic that one of her first concerns would be this. Also, the setting is a little strange and conflicting. It’s set in the future (you won’t think this when reading it), but has a medieval feel to it. And then Kelsea talks about how much she loves Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I always try to avoid naming popular books/movies/people etc in novels because it time stamps your book and people reading it in ten years might not relate to it. Kelsea’s love of Lord of the Rings felt strange to me – it jolts the piece and disturbs the setting. It no longer felt like a fantasy tale.

I think the second and third book in the series will be better than the first now that the world and societal relations have been set up. If it weren’t for Emma Watson, I doubt this book would be as popular as it has become.

My Score: 7/10

The Heist by Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon, art restorer and occasional spy, searches for a stolen masterpiece by Caravaggio in #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva’s latest action-packed tale of high stakes international intrigue.

Sometimes the best way to find a stolen masterpiece is to steal another one…

I think this is actually the first ‘spy fiction’ novel I’ve ever read. It’s fast-paced and a globe trotter. This story is not just about stolen artwork. Gabriel Allon, whose wife is pregnant with twins, is asked to help when Jack Bradshaw is found murdered. Bradshaw was known for ‘dodgy dealings’ and stealing and selling expensive artwork. As you can probably guess, Bradshaw is not the only body that’s discovered in this story.

Sometimes I found the novel to be quite confusing, and I think ‘spy stories’ work best as movies because they’re much easier to follow. The plot was fast-paced and the characters seemed to be able to figure out things and come up with these elaborate plans in two pages, and then the reader is left with questions that they feel don’t get answered. A few times I had to backtrack and reread certain pages because their conversations were ripe with lingo I didn’t understand and were almost short-hand.

Although I think the middle section of the novel was unnecessarily complex, I was intrigued by the conclusion of the story. Unexpected events occurred, and the ending was surprising.

This was the first Daniel Silva novel, and I recommend it only to people who have read his work before or people who have read a fair bit of spy fiction previously. Otherwise, it’s a little hard to get used to the pace and you feel like you’re reading the second book in a trilogy without having read the first.

My Score: 7/10

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

Finally. A YA novel about something other than sex, drugs and alcohol – a novel that I could recommend to a 12 year old without their mother needing to read it first to check it’s appropriate. My respect goes to Alice Oseman, who is only 19 years old and managed to write this clever, insightful, and completely-relevant-to-today’s-society story.

The main character is refreshingly pessimistic and enjoys spending time by herself and avoiding social interaction with others. Tori is believable, three dimensional, and realistic to teenagers today. Her ‘too cool for school’ classmates remind me of my high school experience and had me laughing that teenagers still act like that. Do high school girls still talk about which celebrity they find hotter? Is that still a thing?

‘Solitaire’ was a very unique plotline, but the blurb didn’t give any information about that. In case you’re wondering, Solitaire is an online blog that orchestrates pranks on people at Tori’s high school, and then publishes evidence of it on the blog. At first it’s harmless, but then it goes too far and people are hurt.

I read this in only a few hours, because Tori’s voice is conversational and real and I couldn’t quite put the book down. This novel incorporates technology and social media and highlights how dominant it is in a teenager’s life. I recommend this book not just to teens or tweens, but to anyone who has ever attended high school.
My Score: 9/10