Fairy Tale Survey

Mel over at The Daily Prophecy created this survey based on fairy tales, and I thought I'd join in.  Thanks to Mel for creating the survey and to Deb over at Debz Bookshelf for pointing it out to me.  

PART 1. CLASSIC Tales.

Pinocchio – The boy whose nose grows when he lies.
Is there are book you lie about, because you feel ashamed for liking it?
Jane Austen novels.  I don't lie about them, but since people tend to assume that Austen novels are just fluffy romance, I sometimes feel a little silly calling them my favorites.  But they're not just fluff; there's a lot of biting social commentary in there.

Beauty and the Beast – The girl who fell in love with personality.
Which book do you love that has a hideous cover?

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.  I don't care for high fantasy covers.  They weird me out.  Luckily, Words of Radiance has a better cover.

Snow White – Hunted down for her beauty.
Do you ever buy a book based on the cover alone and if so, what is the last one?

No, I'm too judicious with my book buying, and even if the cover is gorgeous, I won't try a book if the jacket blurb doesn't sound interesting, I won't try it.  But the last cover beauty I was drawn to was The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  I love scroll work.

Sleeping beauty – Cursed to sleep, awakened by true loves kiss.
 What is your favorite book couple?

Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables.  No competition.  They're intellectual equals and best friends.  They make sacrifices for each other and make each other better people.  And it's just fun to read their interactions.

Little Mermaid – Gave up on her old life for love.
Do you ever branch out to new genres or do you like to stick with the ones you know and love? If you try new things out, what is the latest book?

I like to try new genres both because I eventually get tired of fantasy and because I'd otherwise miss out on the gems in other genres.  And because I need to be able to recommend all sorts of books to my students. Friends with Boys is my latest favorite atypical-for-me-book.  It's a contemporary graphic novel with a dash of the supernatural.

Cinderella – Who lost her shoe after midnight.

What is the last book that made you stay up all night?
I don't pull all nighters.  I value sleep and my ability to function the next day too much.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the only book I've pulled an all nighter for, and really, that was a special circumstance.  However, I will often stay up reading into the wee hours of the morning.  Sometimes I regret it, but it's usually worth it.  The last book I stayed up late for was Words of Radiance.

Rapunzel – locked up in a tower.
What is  the worst books you read last month?
It took me all of last month to read just one book (in my defense it was over 1000 pages long and I had a lot of teacher stuff to do), so I'll go back further and choose Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen.  I could easily lock it in a tower and leave it there to rot for all eternity.  I know a lot of people about the blogosphere love it, but I had some major, major issues with it.

PART 2. MIX-MATCH.

Aladdin – The poor boy who found a genie.
What is the latest book treasure/gem you found?

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen.  I wanted to use it in my book groups unit, but another teacher is already using it.  Curses!

Alice in Wonderland – The girl who fell through a rabbit’s hole. 
Which book made you really feel like you landed in another world?
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatake.  I could spend a very long time looking at the illustrations and noticing every little thing going on in the crowd shots with all the bizarre space creatures.  The alien planet is such a fun world to explore.

East of the sun and west of the moon – where a girl embarks on a journey to save her love.
Who is one of your favorite kick-butt heroines?
Lo from Fathomless.  She can't exactly be described as kick-butt, but she's one of the most fascinating female characters I've read about recently.  She's strong in a way that doesn't involve beating people up.

The Frog Prince – where an enchanted prince becomes human again.
What is a book you thought you would hate, but end up loving?
Crash by Jerry Spinelli.  I fully expected to get nothing out of a skinny little book about a middle school bully football player, but it was actually quite good.

Hansel and Gretel – left alone in the woods and captured by a witch.
Which duo (sister/sister, brother/sister) is your favorite and why?
Cinder and Iko from Cress and the rest of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.  They're technically not sisters, but they're close enough, and their relationship is too fun to leave out.

Little Red Riding Hood – almost eaten by a wolf dressed as her grandmother.
What book disappointed you after falling in love with the cover and blurb?  
Ironskin.  I wanted so much more out of a fey Jane Eyre adaptation.  The cover was really interesting, the premise was intriguing, the beginning of the book was good, and then the rest of the book didn't follow through.  I had to watch episodes of The Autobiography of Jane Eyre to console myself, not that rewatching AoJE is ever a bad thing.

Rumpelstilskin – nobody knows his name.
Which book do you love that doesn't get enough attention?
Okay for Now.  Just go read it.

Quotes--Top Five Wednesday

Top Five Wednesday is hosted by Lainey of gingerreadslainey.  This week's topic is quotes.

I am a bit of a strange one when it comes to quotes.  Most people like inspiring quotes, and while I do like those, I more often zero in on either morbidly creepy ones or the funny ones, so my list is a bit atypical.  I'm weird like that.

Here in no particular order are some of my favorite quotes.

Top 5 Wednesday--Genres

Hi!  It's me.  I know I've been MIA for a couple months.  Teaching has been crazy busy, but I want to get back to blogging.  So I'm going to start small.  I won't be thoroughly reviewing every book I read, like I've done for the last year or so, just the ones I have something to say about.  I won't be posting to any set schedule, but I'm going to shoot for about once a week.

I'm making my comeback by joining the Top 5 Wednesday meme started by Lainey of gingerreadslainey.  Yes, I know that's supposed to be a YouTube thing, but it's way faster to type up a post than to film and edit a video.  And I know that Top Ten Tuesday is a the bigger meme  in the text blogging world, but I don't like their topics as much.  And I know it's Thursday.  But you know what?  I don't care.  This is my blog and for the first time in forever (cue the music) I actually feel like writing something.  My blog, my space, my rules.

So anyways, this week's topic is Top Ten Genres.

Fantasy.  I would spend all my time reading this if I didn't stop myself.  There are just so many exciting looking fantasy adventures out there.  This will always be my go to genre.  Favorites include Mistborn (really anything written by Sanderson), Harry Potter, Dealing with Dragons, Dragon Slippers.

Fairy Tale Retellings.  Also fairy tale esque books.  Ditto to the above sentiment.  Favorites include Princess of Glass, Strands of Bronze and Gold, Entwined, Ella Enchanted, The Princess Curse, The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.

Coming of Age Contemporary.  Not fluffy chick lit.  That's good every once in a while, but give me a book where the main character is struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong and couple it with excellent writing and I'm gone.  Favorites include Speak, Freak the Mighty, Rules, Okay for Now.

Historical Fiction.  Sometimes these are hard-hitting serious books, sometimes they're just good-ole adventures.   Favorites include Between Shades of Gray, Okay for Now, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Leviathan (alternate history counts).

Dystopia as Social Critique not as Setting.  So many of the recent "dystopian" fiction in recent years has just been adventure set in a messed up society.  The story is there for the adventure, not for the exploration of the society.  Boring.  I want my dystopia to project potential futures based on society's current trends.  I want to see where we could go and why that path would be bad.  I want to explore corruption that is based in reality, not that was invented abstractly in the author's mind.  Favorites include Unwind, The Giver, Across a Star Swept Sea, Uglies.

If this post seems a bit unpolished and thrown together, it is.  I really should be planning a lesson right now and don't feel like hunting down an image or carefully drafting and editing.  I just want to get back into the blogging game.

A to Z Bookish Survey

Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner created the survey a while ago, but I just found it thanks to Misty at The Book Rat.  I had some time on my hands (yay, no school!), so I put together my answers.

Author you've read the most books from:

Brian Jaques.  I read all of the Redwall books in middle school.  All of them.  I still have a secret desire to be a squirrel.  Or an otter.  Or a hare.  Really any Redwall creature would do.
(Want an easy way to figure this out if you have Goodreads and keep good track of your stuff? Go to your account, hit “my books”and on the left hand side under your shelves you will see “most read authors”)

Best Sequel Ever:

The Hero of Ages.  Prepare to have your mind blown.  This book does require the investment of 1000+ pages to get through the first two books.  Sanderson's books are amazing, but they are slow starters.

Currently Reading:

The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen.  I'm a sucker for a good first line:  "I had arrived early for my own assassination."  I quite liked The False Prince.  And book three, The Shadow Throne, comes out in February.

Drink of Choice While Reading:
Apple cider or hot chocolate.

E-reader or Physical Book?
Both.  Both is good.  With a Kindle I can get books for cheap that I never, ever have to pack (I hate moving).  But there's just something about browsing through a bookshelf, brushing my fingers against my favorites and flipping through physical pages.  So both.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:
Gilbert Blythe.  Gilbert is real, real as in realistic and flawed.  He and Anne are intellectual equals; I love how they pushed each other in school--first out of spite, then in friendly competition..  He made some stupid mistakes (Carrots), but he always wanted the best for her.  He gave up the Avonlea School for her!  What could be more romantic?

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.  I read this partially because of a recommendation from a professor and partially because my school district banned it about 10 years ago (crazy, I know).  It ended up being both funnier and deeper than I expected.

Hidden Gem Book:
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt.  More people need to read this book.

Important Moment in your Reading Life:
Getting permission to go to the library on my own.  Looking back on it, I'm surprised my mom let me ride my bike that far alone.

Just Finished:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  So good.  And the cover.  Silhouette plus scroll-work.  Swoon.

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:
Paperback romances/bodice rippers--the ones with Fabio and his abs and a woman in a falling-off satin dress.  Just not interested.

Longest Book You’ve Read:
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

** easy way to find this out. Go to your Goodreads “read” list, don’t scroll down but where you are on the screen there will be this little tab on the bottom that lets you choose how you want to scroll or how many books you want display. There is also a sort option with a drop down and you can sort by page.

Major book hangover because of:
Seraphina.  The sequel is taking way too long to come out.

Number of Bookcases You Own:
One at home, three at school.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
Anne of Green Gables.

Preferred Place To Read:
Curled up on the couch, often with a throw.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:
Although I do love a good set of feels, I actually prefer spunk, so here's my favorite quote from Jane Eyre as she's being interrogated by Mr. Brockelhurst:

"No sight so sad as that of a naughty child," he began, "especially a naughty little girl.  Do you know where the wicked go after death?"

"They go to hell," was my ready and orthodox answer.

"And what is hell?  Can you tell me that?"

"A pit full of fire."

"And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?"

"No, sir."

"What must you do to avoid it?"

I deliberated a moment:  my answer, when it did come was objectionable:  "I must keep in good health and not die."

Reading Regret:

Ummmm, I was anti graphic novel for a little while.

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series): Matched.  I really liked the first book, but I don't feel strongly compelled to pick up Crossed, even though I do want to read it...one of these days.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

Persuasion
Anne of Green Gables
Ella Enchanted

Unapologetic Fangirl For:
Fairy tale retellings.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

CRESS!!!  Just a couple more weeks.

Worst Bookish Habit:
Acquiring cheap Kindle books and then not reading them for a long time or ever.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
Between Shades of Gray.

Your latest book purchase:

Goblin Secrets.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

Across a Star-Swept Sea.

Feel free to fill out the survey yourself or just let me know what you think in the comments. 

End of Year 2013 Book Survey

Happy 2014!  I had a great year in books and in life.  I started teaching, which is why my posting has gotten spotty, and overall it's going well.  I love my kids (most of the time).  It's definitely a challenge, but there are moments that make it all worth while.  Despite being busy with teaching, I've been able to fit in a lot of good books.  Here are some of the highlights.  Thanks to Jamie over at The Perpetual Page Turner for the survey questions. 

1. Best Book You Read In 2013?
This is a tie between Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys.  They're both beautifully and powerfully written with characters that you love and root for as they endure all this crap.  Okay for Now is also sweet and funny, so I think it wins, but only by a little bit.

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  I know that by saying that, I'm signing up to be chased by a pitchfork-carrying mob full of feels.  I heard so much hype about it from so many people, that by the time I read it there was no way it could live up to its reputation.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 

Either Bomb by Steve Sheinkin or How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg.  These are both non-fiction, which is a genre I don't usually enjoy.  I read Bomb because it received so many awards, but I was surprised at how compelling of a narrative it presented.  How They Croaked is quirky and a delightfully gruesome book for reluctant readers.


4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Definitely, Okay for Now.  I finished it and went to school the next day and recommended it to all my kids, and most everyone else too.

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
The League of Princes by Christopher Healey (aka The Hero's Guide to...).  I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings, and these are just hilarious.  They delve into the oft ignored stories of the Prince Charmings with fabulous, funny characters.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Christopher Paul Curtis.  I know he's not a new author, but I rediscovered his writing this year while reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 and realized that I really like his style.  Honorable mention goes to Ruta Sepetys, Merrie Haskel, Jane Nickerson, and Terry Pratchet.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Monster by Walter Dean Meyers.  I don't read a lot of realistic fiction, particularly about inner city kids, but this book had me on the edge of my seat as it approached the end of the trial.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel.  Sky pirates.  End of story.

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
The Fault in Our Stars. I want to give it a second chance now that I can approach it with more reasonable expectations.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

This cover is gorgeous in person.  I love scroll work.

11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Monsieur Bernard from Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson.  Bernard's true, abusive self is revealed so gradually, it's chilling.  Honorable mention goes to Death from The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Okay for Now.  Schmidt weaves Audubon's paintings in with the narrative excellently.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Between Shades of Gray.  It is both depressing and inspiring.  And I didn't know anything at all about the Russian concentration camps.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2013 to finally read?
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
"I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me." -- Death, The Book Thief

"The element of surprise can offer a hero great advantage in battle. The element of oxygen - also important." -- The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healey.
"The purpose of a storyteller is is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think on." -- Wit, The Way of Kings

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Shortest--Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale tie at 144 pages

Longest--The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 1007 pages

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It?
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer.  The grandmother scene.  Just.  Aaaaaahhhh!

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013.
Family--Catherine and David in Rules by Cynthia Lord
Friends--Prince Gustav and Prince Frederic from The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healey

Romantic--Miri and Peder in Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously.
I've already talked about Okay for Now a lot, so I'll say Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson.

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 and The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens.

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Without question, fantasy.  Fairy tale retellings ranks up there pretty high too.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
I don't crush on fictional boys anymore, but if I had to choose, I'd go with Peder from Palace of Stone.  He's like the Gilbert Blythe of fantasy.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
Strands of Bronze and Gold.  So creepy.

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
The Way of Kings.  Brandon Sanderson is a master of world building.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Airborn and How they Croaked.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
Okay for Now.  Actual tears running down my face.  Also Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, which was a bit of a problem since at the time I was trying to teach it to my 7th graders.

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
Have you guessed yet?  Okay for Now.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
Code Name Veirty by Elizabeth Wein.  I got this for my classroom library, but before I could read it one of my students checked it out and two others put their names on a waiting list.  As soon as they finish with it, I will read it.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?
Cress by Marissa Meyer.  Prince Kai and Queen Levana and Cinder and dfaljkkdsfaa!!!!  I have to know what happens!

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Sekret by Lindsay Smith.  Spies and psychics and the KGB.

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?
I don't think any of the series I'm following end this year, so I'll list The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell because it needs a sequel.  I need to know more about Reveka's awesome underworld powers.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?
I want to read with greater variety.  I was doing a better job of this before school started.  Now I read whatever I'm in the mood for, can finish quickly, or have in my classroom library.  This leads to me reverting to my favorite genres.

Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Steelheart--Brandon Sanderson
September 2013 by Delecorte
384 pages--Goodreads

There are no heroes.

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

---

Steelheart is another book to add to Sanderson's already long list of great novels. I never thought I'd enjoy a superhero comic book in novel form so much.  Some of the twists are predictable, but over all the story is still very good.  Dan and I spent a long while after finishing the novel discussing how everything might work out in the next books.  Steelheart is a very visual story, almost begging to be a movie.  You can totally tell when during the action sequences we're supposed to switch to slow motion.  And that was part of the fun of it.

The premise is intriguing:  a world of super villains and a renegade bunch of humans trying to fight back.  But these villains aren't as complex as Sanderson's usually are.  It's too simplistic for all Epics to be inherently and completely evil from using their powers.  There has to be at least one good Epic.  But I trust he will develop the magic system later in the series.  And hopefully he'll explain the physics-defying powers, like never ending bullets, somewhere along the way.

Character development is usually where Sanderson shines, but he had a couple of misses in this book.  Cody is hilarious, David's horrible metaphors and similes are funny, and I really want to know more of Prof's back story.  However, Megan is not very fleshed out.  She's mostly a love interest.  She has potential hidden in her history and the end plot twist, which Sanderson could explore in later books.  But so far, she's kind of flat, just the hot fighter chick that the hero/audience to ogles at but who has no real personality.  Hopefully, that will change.

Steelheart is an great beginning to a new series.  My biggest complaint, beyond Megan, is the long wait until the sequel.  And Nightweilder is SUCH a good name for a bad guy.

Book Pet Peeves

We all have things that get on our nerves in books and movies and things.  Here are my peeves.  What are yours?  

This really was the best thumbnail Youtube could come up with.  Lame.

Books and Movies and Things Mentioned:

Wings--Aprilynne Pike

The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins

Eyes Like Stars--Lisa Mantchev

Clockwork Angel--Cassandra Clare

Entwined--Heather Dixon

Hush, Hush--Becca Fitzpatrick

Twilight--Stephanie Meyer

Strands of Bronze and Gold--Jane Nickerson

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Carousel 

Brave

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym--Edgar Allan Poe

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea--Jules Verne

Cinder--Marissa Meyer

Seraphina--Rachel Hartman

Harry Potter--J.K. Rowling

The Last Think I Remember--Andrew Klaven

Goose Girl--Shannon Hale

The False Prince--Jennifer A. Nielsen

Anything written by Brandon Sanderson

Review: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

The Rithmatist--Brandon Sanderson
May 2013 by Tor Teen
378 pages--Goodreads

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

---

I have liked everything I've read by Brandon Sanderson, and The Rithmatist is no different.  Well, it's less mindblowing than Way of Kings and Hero of Ages.  Like most of Sanderson's books, The Rithmatist took me a while to get into, but after the first few chapters I got sucked in and could not put it down.  

The Rithmatist has a very different feel from Sanderson's other novels.  It's simpler.  The characters aren't as intricately developed.  There's only one plot line instead of seventeen.  The world building is less rigorous.  We get a fuzzy sense of the Academy and the politics of the country, but not the hundred years of history that we usually do.  It's mostly a book of "Wouldn't it be cool if..."  There's no particular reason that Korea has taken over Europe and that America is an archipelago.  Its just cool and that's all.  But, not every book needs to be developed to the point of reasoning out the ecology of the animals and plants on a given planet, and Sanderson would lose some of his younger readers if he tried.

Oh, but the magic system.  I don't know how Sanderson does it, but he makes magical theory interesting.  Along with the snooping and sleuthing, I loved learning the principles of Rithmatics, the various strategies you can use, the limits to the system.  Somehow, the magical theory always ends up as one of the most fascinating parts of Sanderson's books.  I love seeing the unique challenges that a particular magic system presents and trying to find a way around it along with the characters.

As I said earlier, the character development is a bit toned down in this novel, perhaps a bit too far.  We do get some back story on how Joel and Melody's parents affected their personalities, but I wanted more.  Young readers can handle more complexity than that.  And we didn't get much of any development of our villains.  I can excuse that for the kidnapper, since we're not supposed to know who it is, but Professor Nalizar is just the  Snape figure we don't trust because...we don't.  Hopefully, we'll learn more about the Forgotten and get some villain complexity in the next book.

Can I just give a shout out here for platonic relationships?  Finally!  A young adult novel where a boy and girl can just be friends without being romantically interested in each other.  I have a feeling that that might change in later books, but at least for now, Joel and Melody are just friends.

The book is well paced, but I'm not perfectly happy with the way the ending.  I feel like there are some unacceptably loose strings.  But that only bothered me a little.  I will of course read book 2.  When it comes out.  In two years.

Review: The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

The Emperor's Soul--Brandon Sanderson

October 2012 by Tachyon Publications

175 pages--Goodreads

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Though her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead.

Probing deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that Shai’s forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.

Brimming with magic and political intrigue, this deftly woven fantasy delves into the essence of a living spirit.

---

The Emperor's Soul is Sanderson's usual storytelling, but condensed; rather than juggling three or four intertwined plots and dozens of characters we have one main character, one plot arc.  The story is straight forward, but not oversimplified.  From the intriguing beginning to the satisfying conclusion, we experience all of Sanderson's skill and style.

We once again get an excellently crafted magic system.  Soulstamping, like all of Sanderson's magic systems, has rules and limitations that make sense and pose challenges.  Shai is limited in what and how she can forge.  Sanderson never has his characters wave a magic wand to fix everything inexplicably.  It is much more satisfying when a character has to be creative to work around the limitations in order to find a solution, rather than just poofing everything to perfection.

And the characters are excellent, as always.  They are real.  Even with the limited amount of time we have to work with in this novella, Shai, Gatona, and the other characters are real, not one dimensional caricatures.  They each have motivations, desires, personalities, histories.  No one is evil just for the sake of being evil, and no one is angelically good.  Everyone has a purpose to what they do.  That skill in characterization is what keep me coming back for more.

My only regret is that The Emperor's Soul isn't loner.  Sanderson didn't cut the story short or leave dangling plot strings or anything like that.  Everything wraps up well and the story is just as long as it needs to be.  I just want more.  I enjoy Sanderson's storytelling so much, that only getting 200 pages leaves me wanting more.  I'll just have to go reread Mistborn.

Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings--Brandon Sanderson

August 2010 by Tor Books

1007--Goodreads

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soiless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

---

This is a slow, slow burn that builds up to a wildfire.  With three separate prologues, Way of Kings takes a long time to get into.  Only Sanderson gets a 350 page grace period; I would have given up on any other author.  My patience was eventually rewarded, and the book ended phenomenally, but you really have to stick it out.  

The world building in Way of Kings is more in-depth than in his others.  The basic ecology of the planet is entirely different from what we're used to, so Sanderson spends a ton of time developing the world, the climate, the plants, the animals, and multiple cultures.  At times this is fascinating and other times it is tedious.  Way of Kings is the beginning of a ten-part, so there is a lot of exposition to go through.  His extensive world building will be a hurtle for some readers.  It's worth the investment, but it is quite an investment.

There is a huge cast of characters, but Sanderson excels at character development, so even when we only see a character for one chapter, we still feel like we know them well.  This is what I love most about his books.  His villains are especially well developed.  He gets you inside their heads so well that you can't help but love them even as they're stabbing you in the back.  Each character feels justified in their actions, which makes them far more compelling than villains who are bad just because they are bad.  

Kaladin's story was particularly interesting.  Similar to the prince in Elantris, he drops to the very bottom of society, becoming bait for enemy soldiers.  In that hopeless existence he manages to inspire and unite the other bridgemen.  Sanderson never has simplistic right-or-wrong plots.  Not only does he give you each character's perspective, each character faces impossible moral conundrums.  Should you save the few people you know and care about or should you save the much larger number of people?  Should you live honorably even if it could get you killed?  Do ends justify means?  Hard questions make for an interesting plot and real character development.

The magic system is only hinted at through most of the book.  Unlike in Mistborn where there is a teacher to explain the magic system, no one really gets how Stormlight works, so the characters discover the magic system along with the readers.  It's an "I have no idea what I'm doing, but this is keeping me alive, so let's figure it out" kind of thing.  I'm interested to see where he takes it in future books.

Like most of Sanderson's books, Way of Kings has a twist near the end that tosses into question everything we had understood previously.  Think the twist at the end of Well of Ascension, but perhaps a bit smaller.  It's one of those WHAAAAAAT?!?!? moments.

I got involved halfway through the book, and as always, the climax was great.  It's a good book, but one meant for readers who already like Sanderson's writing style.