JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie

I swore an oath to be avenged on the killers of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath
Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.

The deceived will become the deceiver
Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.

The betrayed will become the betrayer
Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.

Will the usurped become the usurper?
But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy…

Finally! A fantasy book that isn’t too heavy. I love the fantasy genre, but sometimes a journey doesn’t need to take 200 pages, nor does the description of lineage. And Joe Abercrombie’s Half a King is just over 300 pages, and is fast-paced and easy to read.

When I say ‘easy to read’, I mean that the story isn’t bogged down with too much description and detail, the main character is three dimensional and therefore relatable, and the events that occur in the novel are realistic and believable. Yarvi isn’t the most handsome or skilled protagonist, and that’s what makes the reader sympathetic towards him. We (the reader) are subjected to his thoughts, doubts and his insecurities, and we keep reading the book because of it.

Joe has written the crowded scenes well – when I say ‘crowded’ I mean scenes with around ten characters in it (also known as Yarvi’s oar buddies when he’s a slave on a ship). As a writer, it’s hard to capture ten different voices and make them stand out to the reader. It’s easy to overcomplicate the exchanges and have the reader confused and desperately flicking back and forth through the pages trying to understand who is saying what. I have great respect to Joe for being able to write those scenes in an easy-to-read way.

There is one negative thing I’ll note about the book. Sometimes the point of view jumps into other heads, which is unnecessary. Although the book is written in third person, it’s mostly focused on Yarvi, so we come to understand his thoughts and feelings. However, occasionally, other characters will be focused on and a sentence or two about their feelings will be featured. This jolts the reader a little and makes them detract themselves from the book.

I’d recommend this book not just for fantasy readers, but for YA readers as well. It’s amazing, and deserves a 10/10 rating. I look forward to reading the second in the series, Half the World (coming out in February 2015).

My Score: 10/10
Buy HERE

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.”

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

Finally! A refreshingly unique dystopian novel! Just kidding. This book is like the amalgamation of The Hunger Games and Divergent, with, you know, a different plot and different characters and a completely different premise. But seriously, who cares that all these dystopian YA books are flooding bookstores at the moment – they’re fantastic! And this novel, which is the first in a trilogy, is so well-written and thrilling. I love it.

My favourite genre is dystopian, so if a novel is dystopian, it’s guaranteed to at least get a 5/10. But this book is so much better than the other YA dystopias that I’ve read lately. I actually liked it more than I liked Divergent, but not as much as I liked The Hunger Games (there is such a thing as a dystopian novel hierarchy).

Ruby’s characterisation is really well done – she’s a little too timid at times (to the point where the reader wants to roll their eyes at her) but she’s likeable. Also, the love story between her and Lee/Liam is subtle. Nobody wants to read a dystopian novel where the romance takes up more novel space than the world-building. Also, this trilogy has some amazing book covers. Let’s all stare in wonder at them:

I do think that Chubs is a stereotypical character – he’s like that boy in high school whose personality overcompensated for his lack of intelligence. He’s the fun one to have around. The one who can be serious at times, but is mostly cracking jokes and cheering you up. And Zu is a little confusing and mysterious, but intriguing enough that you want to know what happens to her in the next novel.

I also have to point out one more flaw: Ruby can be a little stupid sometimes. Let’s not mention that trap she fell into at the end of the novel (I’m not going to be any more specific because I don’t want to give it away. For all you know, it could be an actual trap. It’s not, but anyway). I’m hoping she smartens up in Never Fade.

I’d recommend this novel/series to anyone who is loving the dystopian YA novels being released at the moment. If you love The Hunger Games and Divergent, you’ll devour this series (I know I haven’t yet read the rest of the series, but I know I’ll love it, so yes, I’m recommending the whole thing).

My Score: 10/10
Buy HERE

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Occasionally, I come across a novel that is so well-written, and so engaging, that it makes me angry. It makes me angry out of pure jealousy. I get annoyed at how amazing the author is at constructing characters and plot. And right now, I’m angry at Patrick Suskind for his 1985 novel, Perfume.

The protagonist, Grenouille, is tossed aside as a baby and grows up with a sense of smell stronger than any other human being. He becomes fascinated with different smells, and learns about making perfume with the once-great perfumer, Baldini. Soon, Grenouille is not satisfied with the hundreds of smells and perfumes that he has stored within his mind. He needs to attain the smell of a virgin, because it is the one smell that has evaded him thus far.

I must mention that Grenouille’s desire to capture the scent of a virgin doesn’t actually arise until about the 200th page. So, between pages 100 and 200, I kept asking myself ‘Where is this story going?’ But, once you hit the 200th page, the pace quickens and you can’t put the book down. You think you know how the story will end and then Suskind twists the plot and it ends a different way. The ending is actually quite gruesome, in a brilliantly-satisfying kind of way.

The novel is dark, romantic, tragic, and comedic all at the same time. The writing is seamless, and at times, the novel jumps forward a few years (at one point, seven), and yet Suskind has written the transition so smoothly that the reader isn’t jolted at all. I may be jealous of Suskind, but I’ll still recommend Perfume to anyone and everyone.

My Score: 10/10

The Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

I realise that most of the novels I’ve reviewed so far have been given high scores. But, most of the novels I want to read are the ones that I’ve heard of from other writers. They’re either a classic, or they will be a classic, or they’re just amazing in a ‘that’s such a good idea for a novel. Why didn’t I think of that?’ kind of way.

This review is no different. Tolkien could do no wrong. I love The Lord of the Rings almost as much as I love Harry Potter. Although it took me until I was 21 to read the series. I must’ve tried to read The Fellowship of the Ring about 20 times when I was younger, to the point where I had Bilbo’s birthday speech memorised. Sometimes it’s hard to read the book when you’ve seen the movie so many times. And, it just killed me when I realised that most of the female characters in The Lord of the Rings films were created by Peter Jackson, and actually didn’t exist in the novels.

The series – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King – follows Frodo Baggins as he tries to destroy the ring of power, which was forged by Sauron in the depths of Mount Doom. Frodo originally sets out with nine companions, but they soon separate and multiple journeys are documented. Unlike the prequel (The Hobbit) where I felt the journey was rushed, each novel in the series is well paced and the character’s actions are realistic. The setting is described well and can be imagined easily, and the dialogue is representative of each character’s role within the novel. When the journey finally ends, it’s doesn’t feel like one of those TV shows where it’s dragged on (Prison Break and Lost). It’s bittersweet, and Tolkien did the story justice.

My Score: 10/10
The Next Novel on my List? Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

Because I’m studying Nineteen Eighty-Four for my Honours thesis, I’ve analysed it so much that I can’t actually remember what I initially thought of the novel. I remember reading the ending a few times, because I worried that I wasn’t fully grasping its significance. And then, I remember everyone frowning at me when I told them that this was the first time I’d ever read Nineteen Eighty-Four.

“You haven’t read 1984 before? Where did you go to school, the North Pole?”
Or
“You’re a writer, and yet you haven’t read 1984?”

It’s a thicker book, and it’s not an ‘I’ll just read a few pages before bed’ type of novel. It’s an ‘I’m feeling intellectual today and would like some stimulating material’ type of novel; you need to allocate a chunk of time in order to do it justice.

This dystopian novel was written by George Orwell on his death bed in 1948, and is set in the futuristic 1984. The protagonist, Winston Smith, inwardly defies the oppressive state, led by Big Brother. Winston buys a diary so that he can secretly express free will and thought, and starts an affair with Julia, a woman who works in his building. The novel is rife with irony and internal conflict, and Winston is presented as a fractured but defiant character.

This novel is faultless. The characters are fleshed out, and the development of the storyline is gradual, but needed. The final third of the novel – I won’t ruin it for anyone else who went to school in the North Pole – is powerful, in a way that the reader feels they haven’t quite grasped the meaning of it, yet they know they have. You feel like you have to re-read the novel a few times before you feel that you understand it. Nevertheless, if you have the time to read it, I highly recommend it.

My Score: 10/10
The Next Novel on my List? Hamlet by William Shakespeare.