Book Cover Every once in a while, I try to get in a review of a classic. Something that some of my readers are likely to have read themselves. I do this, mostly, to help readers calibrate my taste... That is, it seems likely enough that some readers are likely to disagree with everything I like, and might find it compelling to read a book that I really didn't like....
Book cover This is the second book that I've reviewed by Naomi Novik, the first was Uprooted. At a high level, there are some parallels between these books, but they are definitely different worlds. Here's a quick overview of the setting: A Jewish girl of about 16 named Miryam lives in a medieval small unwalled town with the name of either Pakel or Pavys, but the residents simply called it town which is a third of the way between two larger cities in the Kingdom of Lithvas....
Issue 1 cover If you read my review of the book, Oracle Year, I mentioned that Charles Soule writes for comic books, this is one of them that I've kept up on, and have read from start to finish, as this run ends at #25, though Charles Soule will have more to write for Marvel in the Star Wars world. This series starts moments after the end of Star Wars episode 3, Revenge of the Sith, and tells the story of both Darth Vader becoming the Dark Jedi Master under Palpatine, but also tells of the growth of the Empire during that time....
Book cover The book starts in a very promising place. It offers a map. All of my favorite fantasy novels have included a map, and this leaves me excited for a tale with some traveling. The first very short chapter introduces some world building back-story, a short story about gods. Then, on page 19 (or the third page of story) the novel lands in a fantasy space that I find very overused and tired....