The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion
JRR Tolkien
Houghton Mifflin, 2001 (originally published 1977)

Oh. Stars. As a Tolkien fan for literally half my life, I'd never read The Silmarillion. Friends have talked about how tough a read it is, that it took three tries (or more) to finally slog through. They cautioned me about my pre-reading enthusiasm, and hoped I wouldn't be disappointed. Readers, I fell in love. From the earliest pages, I was caught hook, line and sinker. Head over heels.

I'm not even going to try to write a "formal" review. This isn't a book to be "reviewed" -- it's a book to be read, to be absorbed, to be loved. Richly, intricately detailed The Silmarillion is the history of Middle Earth's most awesome residents: the Elves. (Okay, so there's quite a bit of basic Middle Earth history too, but let's be honest: It's all about the Elves). At the risk of sounding like a mad woman, at times I felt as if I was reading my own history; that's how deeply I connected with this book. It's a novel, but not. It's a tome of history, but not. It's a collection of short stories, but not. It's, quite simply, Tolkien. With characters to love, to honor, and to abhor. With so many minute details and complex family relations that things become muddled even as they fall into clarity. It sets up the Tolkien most of us "know" with astonishing cohesiveness.

I think, having read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings several times before, and thereby coming into this reading having some knowledge of the significance of what was happening, aided greatly in my understanding. The plan now is to reread those books again (very soon, we hope, since I read this back in August (oops)), and see what new elements I pick up on.

Book provided by my personal library.

Keeper of the Lost Cities

Keeper of the Lost Cities
Shannon Messenger
Aladdin, 2012

Oh. My. Goodness. I loved this book! I cannot thank Melissa Buell enough for sending her extra ARC my way -- I've passed it along to another blogger, sharing the love, because I quickly realized I must have a finished copy of this in my library. It's really that awesome, you guys.

Sophie always knew she was different. Aside from being a genius (or possibly even smarter than a genius), she hears voices. Actually, not "voices" so much as thoughts. Sophie can read people's minds. Everyone's mind. There is no off-switch. She has told nobody about it, but when she stumbles into a mysterious - and handsome - boy on a field trip, she discovers that he can read minds also. And that's only the start of an incredible journey of discovery. See, Sophie - and this new dude, Fitz - are elves. Yup. Elves. (Be still my beating heart!) Fitz takes Sophie home, to this semi-alternate world, which is comprised greatly of "mythic cities" in human history (there's a wonderful history to all this, but I won't paraphrase - you need to experience this yourself) - and so begins Sophie's strange and wonderful transition from weird human to extremely talented elf.

There are so many awesome elements to this story. Between refraining from complete fangirling and not wanting to totally spoil the reading experience, this review is tricky to write, ha. Let's talk about characters. Sophie is a trooper. She keeps getting thrown curveball after curveball, and keeps finding ways to rise above the obstacles. She's crazy smart too, and adjusts to being an elf in an elven world beautifully. For the most part. She also meets some amazing people, making a surprising circle of friends. Like Dex - goofy, clutzy, somewhat untalented Dex. He's adorable, very much like a long-legged puppy trying to adjust to growing up. And Keefe - the resident Bad Boy of the Academy. He's such a smart alecky charmer too - I can definitely understand why "Team Keefe" has a huge following. I was tempted myself, but had to be true to my heart's first instinct: Fitz. Oh, Fitz. The honorable, trustworthy, also-crazy-smart-and-talented Fitz. He not only finds Sophie, but he plays a huge role in helping Sophie survive. He's swoony.

All the characters are well-rounded and intriguing. There's a lot of backstory that you know is going to come into the open sooner or later, affecting character dynamics and explaining the mysteries surrounding Sophie's very existence. There's history and depth and believability to Keeper of the Lost Cities - something sort of hard to achieve in fantasy, but Shannon manages. I could almost fancy myself meeting a handsome elf who could whisk me away on a beam of light to a wonderful world of tasty desserts and fantastic animals... but I digress. For all the fun, quirky details in Keepers, there's a darker thread too - a bit of a mystery, a taste of danger, an element of the Unknown. It keeps the story moving, it helps grow the characters - especially Sophie - and it makes this book kick butt. I inhaled the ARC, staying up way too late, and cannot WAIT for the next installment! Read it people, just read it. You won't regret it! ((Oh, and just because it's technically "middle grade" - don't let that throw you. It's a story anyone can read and enjoy, regardless of how long ago middle school was.))

ARC provided by my personal library.

Blog Tour: The Luckless Prince

 

The Luckless Prince
Rie Sheridan Rose
Zumaya Otherworlds, 2011

When I saw this listed as an upcoming blogtour over at Pump Up Your Book, I knew I had to try to get on that schedule - very happy I was successful in that quest! The synopsis of The Luckless Prince, and the blurbs accompanying it, liken the tale to Tolkien, and I can definitely see how and why.

The Luckless Prince is one of those beautifully crafted stories that reads as ancient, treasured legend - only, you're living it as it happens. There's an intricacy to the story - so many layers, so many questions. The world of men collides with the world of elves (yes, beautiful, wonderful, mysterious elves! er, can you tell my favorite 'species' in Lord of the Rings?), and the two sworn enemies find themselves fighting elbow-to-elbow, struggling against forces of evil to save the life each adores. But it's so much more than just a battle against evil, there are rich characters - characters with mysterious pasts and yet more mysterious futures - who provide their own stories and intricacies, affecting every tiny nuance of the plot. It's a tale that caught my attention from the first few chapters and wouldn't leave my mind when I set the book down. The story itself carried me through the pages and to the end - holding my breath at each twist and turn, trying to figure out just where everyone fit into the big picture: who is the bad guy?, what's the history here?, so that's why -- ...

The writing is not pretentious or what I consider "heavy," but it is equally far from sparse. There are beautiful details, both in terms of physical descriptions as well as attention to the 'backstory' - readers are given hints and tastes of the things that have led to this moment, but discover the full truth of those matters alongside the main characters - particularly Roland and Stefan - with a sense of natural timing. There are legends and songs and the elves of Starlit Wood reminded me so very much of my beloved Tolkien elves, though they are not copycat duplicates, they have their own flavor.

In short, it's a story that drew me in and begged me to finish as fast as I possibly could - I had to know what happened next, how things worked out. The characters feel real, alive. I'm being deliberately vague in terms of exactly how the story progresses and refraining from divulging too many details - I don't want to ruin the surprises your reading journey will deliver, I want you to experience it all firsthand. I am pretty sure you won't be disappointed. (Though if you are, please tell me about it - I'd love to hear your responses!)

PS: If you click on the blogtour banner, it takes you to the official 'Blog Tour Central' page, with the full schedule (lots of great stops you should visit!), and...a teaser excerpt.

Book provided by publisher for review through Pump Up Your Book.