Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Published: February 13, 2014
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 978-0091956134Genre: Sci-Fi
I'm stranded on Mars.
I have no way to communicate with Earth.
I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.
If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
So yeah. I'm screwed.
Rating: ★★★★☆
I really, really enjoyed this book. I hope they do it justice when the Film comes out.
I fully expected this to be a boring narration of one mans depressing time stranded on an alien planet. I was sure it would be full of morose soliloquies and fantastical, unrealistic imaginings of how he survives and, eventually, gets himself home.
Instead, I got Mark Watney. Mark Watney is my Hero.
The book is split between Mark's logs and a narrative of what is happening back on Earth. Normally, I tend to favour one POV over the other when this is the case, but not this time. I enjoyed both POVs equally and loved every character that came along, even those who only made a pit-stop appearance. Particularly Mark's Ares 3 crew-mates. Martinez, you're the man!
Mark's personality is wonderful, and I don't think this book could have worked as well as it did if Mark had been any other kind of person. He's optimistic, intelligent, realistic, brave, incredibly funny and very much all-or-nothing. Mark's can-do attitude and restless need to do everything he can to save himself really keeps you rooting for him through-out the book. You can't help but like Mark Watney.
The story itself is great; its the story of how one mans plight manages to bring an entire world together to try to get him home. It's heart-warming. It's how you hope the world would react to a situation like this. It's how you want the world to react to every situation.
It's a very technical story. There is a lot of science in this book - funnily enough, that's probably why it comes under Science Fiction. A lot of the science went completely over my head, and it did eventually come to the point that as soon as I realised that I wasn't going to understand whatever it was that Mark was trying to explain, I started to skim read until we got back to more comfortable ground for me - this is where the book loses a star, as far as I'm concerned. But there was actually so much to learn in this book.
It turns out that there is a hell of a lot about this book that is technically accurate, as far as it can be. I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of research that must have gone into this book. Andy Weir, you are a trooper.
This book had me smiling and laughing and frustrated and gripping the edge of my kindle in suspense. It had it all.
But the thing that really makes this book? The humour. Oh God, the humour is incredible ...
"[11:49] JPL: What we can see of your planned cut looks good. We’re assuming the other side is identical. You’re cleared to start drilling.
[12:07] Watney: That’s what she said.
[12:25] JPL: Seriously, Mark? Seriously?"
Title: The Witch Hunter
Author: Virginia Boecker
Published: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
ISBN: 978-0316327008
Genre: Fantasy
Witches, watch out... Half Bad meets Kill Bill in this incredible new supernatural series.
Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey doesn't look dangerous. A tiny, blonde, wisp of a girl shouldn't know how to poison a wizard and make it look like an accident. Or take out ten necromancers with a single sword and a bag of salt. Or kill a man using only her thumb. But things are not always as they appear. Elizabeth is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia and a member of the king's elite guard, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and bringing those who practice it to justice. And in Anglia, the price of justice is high: death by burning.
When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch herself, she's arrested and thrown in prison. The king declares her a traitor and her life is all but forfeit. With just hours before she's to die at the stake, Elizabeth gets a visitor - Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in Anglia. He offers her a deal: he will free her from prison and save her from execution if she will track down the wizard who laid a deadly curse on him.
As Elizabeth uncovers the horrifying facts about Nicholas's curse and the unwitting role she played in its creation, she is forced to redefine the differences between right and wrong, friends and enemies, love and hate... and life and death.
The first book in an incredible new series set in a fantastical medieval world.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Wow, guys, this was a really fun.
Elizabeth Grey is part of an elite force of Witch Hunters in medieval Anglia when her life starts to go horribly wrong. Found in possession of witch's herbs, she is sentenced to death by her own mentor and thrown into Fleet prison. Desolate and alone, Elizabeth is sure she is on the verge of death when she is given a last minute reprieve by Nicholas Perevil, a wizard and the most wanted man in Anglia. Suddenly, she now finds herself in hiding with a motley crew of witches and wizards (and a recalcitrant ghost)- none of whom know about her previous position as a witch hunter- and in the midst of a prophecy that she doesn't want any part of but cannot help being caught up in.
This was an incredibly enjoyable and addictive read; I couldn't put it down. The writing is strong, clear and immersive, the world building is first class and the characters are interesting and well-fleshed out.
I can understand some people's concerns regarding the Harry Potter connection given that the story centers around Witches but this is nothing like Harry Potter. Although, Nicholas does have something Dumbledore-y about him. But I can honestly say, this is completely different from the Harry Potter series.
I think one of the things I liked most about this book was that you didn't spend ages trying to force your way through the beginning of the book whilst the author did the necessary world building. Things get crazy pretty fast and you learn everything you need to along the way. BUT there's no info dumps either. It's seamlessly done.
I loved Elizabeth as a character. She's exactly the kind of plucky, prickly female MC that I usually hate, but there's something really different about her. She hasn't had an easy life and she's had some pretty horrific things happen to her. I love the way Boecker uses Elizabeth as a device to address the ideals regarding innocence in women and I love that regardless of the horrors that Elizabeth has faced, she doesn't allow them to rule her life nor do they become a constant feature of her thoughts throughout the book. The pity train can only be ridden for so long before it becomes painfully annoying, but with Elizabeth this trip is short and pain-free.
The supporting cast is equally fantastic. I love Elizabeth's relationship with John and the antagonistic friendship that she picks up with George. It was great watching her friendship with Fifer blossom, and Fifer in and of herself was a very entertaining character to read. Blackwell inspires all of the hatred and anger that he's supposed to, and Caleb - well, the less said about him, the better!
This whole thing was just really well done. I can't wait for the second book.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Title: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Published: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
ISBN: 978-1595148032
Genre: Sci-fi and Fantasy
Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.
What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.
For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.
When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy.
Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.
But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.
Rating: ★★★★☆
“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”
This book had some serious hype to live up to. Thankfully, it was up to the challenge.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have an unbridled passion for anything remotely related to ancient Greece and Rome. So when the blurb for this book was released it automatically went to the top of my 'Most Anticipated' list. It was, perhaps, less Rome-like than I was hoping for, but there is absolutely no doubt that it draws heavily upon Roman culture from the naming conventions to slave brutality.
This book definitely has a lot going on. We follow two main characters - Elias and Laia - in alternating chapters in which we come to learn their stories and meet the supporting casts of both their lives. The alternating narratives gives us a wonderful insight into the polarity of their lives, and yet how they still manage to maintain the same core ideals. It actually takes a while before the two meet, but once they do the story kicks into overdrive and all the things start to happen. But between the two character's stories and arcs there is a lot going on. However, instead of being overwhelming or confusing, Tahir manages to keep the plot tight and neat and through her wonderful writing has it running effortlessly. The writing is gorgeous and makes reading this book a dream.
“The voice is deep and soft, not a sound so much as a feeling. It is storm and wind and leaves twisting in the night. It is roots sucking deep at the earth, and the pale, sightless creatures that live below the ground. But there’s something wrong with this voice, something diseased at its core.”
That doesn't, however, take away from the gravity of the novel. This book is dark and gritty. Tahir does not shy away from the gruesome topics we are confronted with; topics such as rape and torture and child abuse which Tahir explores with unapologetic realism. This book is evocative. It makes you feel so completely for the characters and the things they are forced to endure in their attempts to do what they believe is right in a world which will see them dead for trying.
Laia as a female MC was surprising to me. Mostly for the fact that I quite like her. Her journey from start to finish is wonderfully done. She begins as a timid, scared young girl who has lost her family and who lives in constant shame that she will never have the courage that her Mother had. When we leave her at the end of the book Laia is strong and capable and has found the courage that she needs to move forward and save her brother. It's satisfying watching her grow as a person through everything that happens to her.
“My brother is still fighting, and his screams slice right through me. I know then that I will hear them over and over again, echoing in every hour of every day until I am dead or I make it right. I know it.”
Elias when we meet him is a dispirited soldier who is on the verge of fleeing a life, and Empire, he has come to hate. His character arc is more complicated than Laia's and I did find it slightly more compelling. Elias, first and foremost is a soldier - a Mask, elite. Taken at the age of six and then raised to manhood within the walls of Blackcliff. And yet, he has the strength of character to maintain his own ideals about what he believes is good and right. We watch a young man on the verge of desertion grow into something so infinitely more. I can't really say much without heading into spoiler territory - but trust me, there is a reason this guy is a love interest to two women!
The supporting cast of Resistance and Mask characters are diverse and irresistible. The Commandant is one of the most chilling villains that I have come across in a long time. My level of hatred for her is right up there with Dolores Umbridge. Helene is one of the characters that is hard for me to come to terms with; we see her through Elias' eyes and so through his narrative she is cast into a favourable light, and yet we are given enough information about her to know that she is, inherently, not a nice person - anyone who can agree with the enslaving of an entire nation and the annexation of their lands purely because she believes that "might makes right" does not strike me as a good person and yet it her Loyalty to Elias and her willingness to do anything for him that stops her from becoming one of the bad guys. The augurs are a great plot device and are very, very cleverly done. If this does have a second book, I can certainly see that there is a lot more to them and their story than we have been led to believe. And Izzi. Poor Izzi. She is the Neville Longbottom of our story: scared, timid, but someone who wants to fight and has a heart made of fire and hope.
And this is just a small sample of the wonderful secondary characters that we come across.
The love quadrangle - or whatever it was - is what lost this book a star for me. Mostly, the instalust! between Elias and Laia is what I found it hard to cope with. Tahir does a good job of making the feelings between Helene and Elias feel real, but then the rest all feel very forced. I think it's because it's more a case of Tahir has told us instead of shown us and I couldn't connect with their feelings. Still, it is definitely better done than a lot of romances that I've come across.
The book has an exciting start, slows down briefly and then is explosive for the last 50%. I think one of the things I like best about this book is that it constantly kept me guessing but never gave enough away that I knew what was coming. The plot twists were big surprises and it made for a much more exciting read.
A phenomenal book that is worth the hype and is more than worth the read!
If you liked this, you'll definitely like Sacrificed by Emily Wibberley.
“You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes.”
Title: Unteachable
Author: Leah Raeder
Published: March 25, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
ISBN: 978-1476786407
Genre: Contemporary Romance
An edgy, sexy USA Today bestseller about falling for the one person you can’t have.
Maise O’Malley just turned eighteen, but she’s felt like a grown-up her entire life. The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future.
But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.
When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.
That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.
Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.
Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.
Rating: ★★★★☆
"I see the lights every night. It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one's letting me in on the secret."
Okay.
Fuck.
Wow.
Guys.
This was really hard for me to rate because it was actually, like, a brilliant book. Just - really well written and engrossing and engaging and the overall quality of it should get it five stars alone.
But!
But but but.
I just couldn't connect with the characters *sad face*.
I know this is an it's-me-not-you thing because obviously no one else had any problems connecting with Maise and Evan. But, the fact that I couldn't connect meant that their love scenes? Didn't do it for me. Their situation? I wasn't bothered. Their angst? Sorta annoyed me. And it is so frustrating for me to sit here and realise that this book is sort of incredible and I can't fully appreciate it because I couldn't drum up an affinity for the characters.
So.
I'm going to try and be objective about this.
Unteachable deserves all the hype that it has received. Like, hella.
Firstly. The writing? Woah.
"The thought of how much happiness lay scattered across the universe, unrealized, in fragments, waiting for the right twist of fate to bring it together."
I believe Leah Raeder once described her own writing as "pretentiously lyrical" and that is a completely accurate description but it actually really fucking works. There's only a certain type of fiction that can make pretentiously lyrical work; this is also true of certain types of writers. Maggie Stiefvater is one of these writers. Her books, the Raven Cycle, is an example of this certain type of fiction. Leah Raeder and Unteachable are another example. Even though the two sets of writing are pretentiously lyrical in completely different ways.
But yeah. What I'm trying to say is that Leah Raeder does with her writing what people like Tahereh Mafi epically fail at. So, the writing is incredible.
The plot is simple yet effective: Girl meets boy. Girl sleeps with boy. Girl leaves boy. Girl pines for boy. Boy turns out to be her teacher. They get it on. Repeatedly. Things start to go to shit. Formulaic and simple. Also, very fucking effective. I think the fact that the story is so realistic helps us engage with it.
How many of us, at eighteen, had a thing for one of our teachers? How many of us, at eighteen were sexually aware enough that given half the chance we probably would have gone along with it. I remember "that" teacher for me: He was the P.E teacher. He was young, he was beautiful, he was funny and he gave a shit about us and given half the chance I would have jumped his bones.
This is something that is happening all over the world. But instead of making this about the teacher abusing his position of authority, Raeder makes this a story about two genuinely fucked up people trying desperately to pull some happiness into their lives; trying to claw out a hand-hold for themselves in the world. I never once felt like the relationship between Maise and Evan was unequal because they were both equally infatuated with each other.
In fact, Raeder gives us quite a few gritty topics in this book and then gives us a completely different way of looking at all of them: Maise's drug ruined home. Wesley's single parent home. Hiyam's privileged life. Nothing about this book is "typical."
This book deserves five stars. Because I'm emotionally stunted, I wanted to give it three. I settled on giving it four.
4/5 would bang recommend.
Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published: October 22, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion Books
ISBN: 978-1423159322
Genre: Dystopian/Sci Fi
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.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
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. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.
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.
Rating: ★★★★☆
How to write a typical Dystopian adventure, and get it completely, 100% right.
I really enjoyed this book. I had such high hopes going in and it did not disappoint me at all.
Really interesting premise and awesome characters, and oh mY GOD A FEMALE CHARACTER THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE!!!1!
The world building is superb. The way that Bracken only gives you enough information to understand what is going on, but little enough to keep you intrigued is terribly clever. There are a lot of authors who try too hard at this end up failing miserably. Not so in this book; the balance is just right.
The characters, whilst certainly nothing I haven't seen before, are infinitely likeable - even her villains. They are complicated, diverse, well-fleshed out and human. It's so easy to make your character into a caricature of what a human being is supposed to be, but Bracken doesn't take it too far here. She captures all of the good and bad parts of humanity in all of the best ways.
And, ultimately, that's what this books is about. Humanity and how we fight to keep it in the worst of conditions.
Maybe a little predictable at times, but there's so many dystopian stories out there now that they're obviously all going to be following the same recipe. This one is no different, but it doesn't take away from your enjoyment at all.
That ending, though. Welcome to heartbreak hotel.
I can't wait for book 2 to arrive.
You said it, Liam.
