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THE REVENGE OF BONNIE AND CLYDE Saving the future by exploding the past It's January 1945, six...
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ClareR (5996 KP) rated The Wolves of Winter in Books
Mar 11, 2022
I keep doing this. Reading books about pandemics during a pandemic, and then scaring the living daylights out of myself. Thank goodness I’d read Justin Cronin’s The Passage trilogy pre-Covid, because that would really have had me battening down the hatches!
This is about a different flu-like virus, but the mortality rate is far higher than Covid. And then nuclear bombs are also involved, so it’s a pretty full-on start to this remarkable book.
The sensible people move north. In this case, they move to the Yukon, where the virus is less virulent and people can hunt and trap their food. Lynn McBride lives here with what’s left of her family. They’ve carved out a life for themselves and live in relative safety in the barren, white landscape. But they can’t keep everyone away, and soothe outside world starts to encroach in the form of a loner called Jax, and a frankly scary group of people who are intent on seeing the end of the virus, no matter the human cost.
I loved the descriptions of the landscape - I do tend to love a book set in frozen landscapes (Arctic, Antarctic, just somewhere plain cold!), which is odd really, because I can’t think of a worse place to live. It’s a morbid fascination, I suppose. And the descriptions in this book of the cold, the landscape and the difficulties of living there are so evocative. People surviving against the odds always a winning theme.
It wasn’t until I sat down to write this, that I found out that the book was YA. Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Ok, there’s no sex, but in my opinion it just seemed too cold anyway 🤷🏼♀️. The main protagonist is in her late teens, and there is a sexual assault and some shooting/ bloodshed. There’s a very cute dog though (also a winning formula for me).
So if you’re feeling brave and like a post-apocalyptic story, you may well fancy reading this. I do wonder if there will be a follow up, because I’d love to know what happens after the final page (it does seem open to that). I’d definitely read it!
This is about a different flu-like virus, but the mortality rate is far higher than Covid. And then nuclear bombs are also involved, so it’s a pretty full-on start to this remarkable book.
The sensible people move north. In this case, they move to the Yukon, where the virus is less virulent and people can hunt and trap their food. Lynn McBride lives here with what’s left of her family. They’ve carved out a life for themselves and live in relative safety in the barren, white landscape. But they can’t keep everyone away, and soothe outside world starts to encroach in the form of a loner called Jax, and a frankly scary group of people who are intent on seeing the end of the virus, no matter the human cost.
I loved the descriptions of the landscape - I do tend to love a book set in frozen landscapes (Arctic, Antarctic, just somewhere plain cold!), which is odd really, because I can’t think of a worse place to live. It’s a morbid fascination, I suppose. And the descriptions in this book of the cold, the landscape and the difficulties of living there are so evocative. People surviving against the odds always a winning theme.
It wasn’t until I sat down to write this, that I found out that the book was YA. Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Ok, there’s no sex, but in my opinion it just seemed too cold anyway 🤷🏼♀️. The main protagonist is in her late teens, and there is a sexual assault and some shooting/ bloodshed. There’s a very cute dog though (also a winning formula for me).
So if you’re feeling brave and like a post-apocalyptic story, you may well fancy reading this. I do wonder if there will be a follow up, because I’d love to know what happens after the final page (it does seem open to that). I’d definitely read it!
ClareR (5996 KP) rated The Twyford Code in Books
Feb 24, 2022
The Twyford Code is written in the form of a transcribed voice recording from a mobile phone. It was a bit of a ‘Marmite’ book on The Pigeonhole (where I read it), and I came firmly down in the ‘love’ camp. It was such an original idea.
Steve a former criminal, has recorded messages to the adult son he has only met a couple of times. His son has decided that he doesn’t want to see him, but Steve has something important that he wants to share with him. He repeatedly says that he hopes his son will get to listen to what he has to say. But as the book goes on, it looks increasingly less likely. Danger is around him at every turn.
Steve has joined the hunt for hidden treasure, and he believes the clues are hidden in a series of children’s books by Edith Twyford.
Ok, so apparently the clues can be found in this book, but I’m afraid my brain just doesn’t seem to work like that. So, I’m here to say that I read this, enjoyed it immensely, and was just happy to sit back, read the book, and let the story unfold. If you like puzzle solving, you might enjoy that aspect to it. But it’s not imperative!
I thought it was fascinating. The writing style took a couple of pages to get used to, and often the words were written phonetically. Steve’s Remedial English teachers name was written as ‘missiles’ instead of Miss Isles, for example. There are lots of spellings that follow this pattern, because the recordings have apparently gone through a computer programme that changes the spoken word into text. I did wonder if Steve’s own writing would have been much different, as we learn that he only really learnt to read and write whilst in prison.
I don’t want to say too much and spoil the book, but I will say that this had me hooked. I enjoyed each and every stave on The Pigeonhole. This book deserves the hype!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Janice Hallett and her publisher.
Steve a former criminal, has recorded messages to the adult son he has only met a couple of times. His son has decided that he doesn’t want to see him, but Steve has something important that he wants to share with him. He repeatedly says that he hopes his son will get to listen to what he has to say. But as the book goes on, it looks increasingly less likely. Danger is around him at every turn.
Steve has joined the hunt for hidden treasure, and he believes the clues are hidden in a series of children’s books by Edith Twyford.
Ok, so apparently the clues can be found in this book, but I’m afraid my brain just doesn’t seem to work like that. So, I’m here to say that I read this, enjoyed it immensely, and was just happy to sit back, read the book, and let the story unfold. If you like puzzle solving, you might enjoy that aspect to it. But it’s not imperative!
I thought it was fascinating. The writing style took a couple of pages to get used to, and often the words were written phonetically. Steve’s Remedial English teachers name was written as ‘missiles’ instead of Miss Isles, for example. There are lots of spellings that follow this pattern, because the recordings have apparently gone through a computer programme that changes the spoken word into text. I did wonder if Steve’s own writing would have been much different, as we learn that he only really learnt to read and write whilst in prison.
I don’t want to say too much and spoil the book, but I will say that this had me hooked. I enjoyed each and every stave on The Pigeonhole. This book deserves the hype!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Janice Hallett and her publisher.
Mothergamer (1598 KP) rated Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
As mentioned in my last post, I am going through my backlog of video games and playing them. I picked Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and I feel this was a great choice because this game had a lot of things I enjoyed immensely.
The hero of the story is a young boy named Oliver who is kind to everyone who lives in Motorville City with his mother. Oliver's kindness is an important aspect to the plot of the story because this isn't about his physical strength, but the strength of his heart. Oliver's adventure leads him to not only an entirely different world, but a myriad of great characters and as the story progresses you come to care about him even more as you see how much he cares for others and genuinely wants to help those in need.
Oliver and his mother
The battle system reminds me a bit of a Tales game with planning out tactics and figuring out an enemy's weakness in real time. There is also a Pokemon feel with trying to charm various creatures you fight in battle and make them your familiar. You can choose different familiars to fight alongside you and even evolve them into stronger forms. The system menu is quite easy to navigate which is always a plus with me. Level grinding did not seem like a chore because the way the game has been designed actually made it fun.
The world of Ni No Kuni is beautiful, and I was delighted to see the Studio Ghibli art and animation incorporated into the game. The musical soundtrack is also inspiring with fantastic orchestral arrangements that fit very well with the different moments of the story. I found that I loved exploring all the different areas because there was always something fantastic to see and plenty to do. I never found myself bored while playing the game at all and found that I really liked having that freedom of exploring.
Of course there are side quests in Ni No Kuni known as errands and you get various awards for them and something known as Merit Stamps. When you complete a quest, you get a certain number of stamps on Merit Cards. The more difficult the task, the more stamps you receive. You can trade in 10 merit stamps for rewards such as capturing familiars more easily, or gaining more experience in battle. While some of the quests are fetch this or that; many of the quests are about mending a person's heart and you get to see just how kind a person Oliver truly is.
There are quests known as Hunts too given by a character named Derwin in the game which involves capturing the specific types of beasts that he asks for and showing them to him for rewards. While the rewards and stamps are pretty great, this is the one thing about the game I did not like. Derwin's Hunts is one of the most infuriating quests because some of the beasts have a ridiculously low charm rate. One of the beasts requested had a drop rate of 4% so of course it took a very long time to get it. This led me to wonder why the character whose talent was charming beasts wasn't at least given a spell to capture them rather than leaving it entirely random and up to chance. It became very frustrating and I almost didn't finish all of the Hunt quests because of it. I did finish however, but that was my least favorite part of the game.
Once the game is finished, there is still more to do as you get some spiffy new spells and you get some post game side quests you can do. There's even a bounty hunt with Derwin that offers some pretty great rewards if you choose to do them. These side quests do add a little more to Oliver's story and are actually fun except for that Derwin quest because those are a bit tedious.
Overall Ni No Kuni is a great RPG and I would recommend it highly to fellow RPG game lovers. It has a great story with amazing characters. The game play is actually fun, with gorgeous artwork and music which makes for a game that is quite enjoyable. I'm definitely glad I picked it up because it is a nearly perfect game and one worth playing.
The hero of the story is a young boy named Oliver who is kind to everyone who lives in Motorville City with his mother. Oliver's kindness is an important aspect to the plot of the story because this isn't about his physical strength, but the strength of his heart. Oliver's adventure leads him to not only an entirely different world, but a myriad of great characters and as the story progresses you come to care about him even more as you see how much he cares for others and genuinely wants to help those in need.
Oliver and his mother
The battle system reminds me a bit of a Tales game with planning out tactics and figuring out an enemy's weakness in real time. There is also a Pokemon feel with trying to charm various creatures you fight in battle and make them your familiar. You can choose different familiars to fight alongside you and even evolve them into stronger forms. The system menu is quite easy to navigate which is always a plus with me. Level grinding did not seem like a chore because the way the game has been designed actually made it fun.
The world of Ni No Kuni is beautiful, and I was delighted to see the Studio Ghibli art and animation incorporated into the game. The musical soundtrack is also inspiring with fantastic orchestral arrangements that fit very well with the different moments of the story. I found that I loved exploring all the different areas because there was always something fantastic to see and plenty to do. I never found myself bored while playing the game at all and found that I really liked having that freedom of exploring.
Of course there are side quests in Ni No Kuni known as errands and you get various awards for them and something known as Merit Stamps. When you complete a quest, you get a certain number of stamps on Merit Cards. The more difficult the task, the more stamps you receive. You can trade in 10 merit stamps for rewards such as capturing familiars more easily, or gaining more experience in battle. While some of the quests are fetch this or that; many of the quests are about mending a person's heart and you get to see just how kind a person Oliver truly is.
There are quests known as Hunts too given by a character named Derwin in the game which involves capturing the specific types of beasts that he asks for and showing them to him for rewards. While the rewards and stamps are pretty great, this is the one thing about the game I did not like. Derwin's Hunts is one of the most infuriating quests because some of the beasts have a ridiculously low charm rate. One of the beasts requested had a drop rate of 4% so of course it took a very long time to get it. This led me to wonder why the character whose talent was charming beasts wasn't at least given a spell to capture them rather than leaving it entirely random and up to chance. It became very frustrating and I almost didn't finish all of the Hunt quests because of it. I did finish however, but that was my least favorite part of the game.
Once the game is finished, there is still more to do as you get some spiffy new spells and you get some post game side quests you can do. There's even a bounty hunt with Derwin that offers some pretty great rewards if you choose to do them. These side quests do add a little more to Oliver's story and are actually fun except for that Derwin quest because those are a bit tedious.
Overall Ni No Kuni is a great RPG and I would recommend it highly to fellow RPG game lovers. It has a great story with amazing characters. The game play is actually fun, with gorgeous artwork and music which makes for a game that is quite enjoyable. I'm definitely glad I picked it up because it is a nearly perfect game and one worth playing.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Treasure Hunter in Tabletop Games
Jun 28, 2019
Indiana Jones. Lara Croft. Benjamin Franklin Gates. These were all great treasure hunters. All of them had to overcome incredible riddles, curses, traps, and death-craving dark places to claim their loot. In Treasure Hunter you will be searching for your treasures using mules, scarecrows, and locals in a frozen tundra, a jungle, and a volcano. So, like, exactly the same as Indy and Tomb Raider and the dude from National Treasure.
Obviously I am making light of the theme of this card drafting, set collection, hand management game from Queen Games, but it’s just so fun to imagine yourself as a genuine treasure hunter. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES??
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T
To setup the game, shuffle the cards and the treasure tiles and place them in their respective resting spots. Place a treasure tile on the MIN and MAX sections of each terrain type on the main board. Assign three goblin tiles to their spots on the cave sections of the main board to be dealt with after your adventure round. Each player receives 15 starting gold to begin their adventure. Deal each player nine cards and you are ready to begin!
To start the game, look at the hand of cards that were dealt, choose one and pass the rest to the leftmost neighbor. This should be familiar if you have ever played any other card drafting game (like Sushi Go!, 7 Wonders, etc). Once you have your complete hand of nine cards you drafted, the hunt may begin. During you draft phase you will have already assessed the main board and decided how you would like your draft to go – do want the maximum red treasure? The minimum blue treasure? All the dogs?? Each terrain type will be scored in order from top down, so whomever has amassed the minimum number of blue values will receive the tile on the MIN section of the tundra, while they who gathered the most value in blue cards will receive the MAX tile. There are cards that can affect your values using a +/- mechanic so that you can hopefully come in the victor on your chosen field.
Once the main treasure hunt is complete and everyone has their treasure tiles, you must figuratively store your treasures in the cave. Predictably, goblins will visit your cave to try to steal your goods, so I hope you had drafted some guard dogs in the first phase of the game to protect your shinies. If not, you will be parting with some of your gold (which are ultimately VPs)! At the end of five rounds following this structure, and reversing draft direction, you flip over the main board to reveal the scoreboard where you can record your earnings (findings?) and determine victory for the greatest Treasure Hunter!
Components: this game comes with a good amount of components – just the way I like it. The main board, treasure tiles, money chits, and goblin tiles are all thick cardboard that are of great Queen Games quality. The cards are great quality too. I really like the double-sided game board that also serves as score board. Another great component collection from Queen Games!
Ok, so I really like this game a lot. I received this game from my wife, who has an uncanny ability to choose games for me that are not on my wish list, but that end up being simply wonderful (see Azul, Saboteur). I really enjoy card drafting games, and when you can go into a draft with a strategy that just is completely obliterated by someone else’s draft is unpredictable fun! So many times I have played this and just KNEW that my 2 of Red was going to win me the MIN tile. But then my opponent busts out a 3 of Red with a -2 card and snags it away from me. It can be frustrating, but it’s also just a testament to really good drafting and counter-strategy. Using the guard dogs to scare off goblins is cool, and the goblin tiles provide you with VPs too. I know it’s kinda kooky and silly, but I really enjoy this one. Richard Garfield has another hit on his hands for me, and I’m not the only one who recognizes it. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a sneaky 14 / 18.
Obviously I am making light of the theme of this card drafting, set collection, hand management game from Queen Games, but it’s just so fun to imagine yourself as a genuine treasure hunter. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES??
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T
To setup the game, shuffle the cards and the treasure tiles and place them in their respective resting spots. Place a treasure tile on the MIN and MAX sections of each terrain type on the main board. Assign three goblin tiles to their spots on the cave sections of the main board to be dealt with after your adventure round. Each player receives 15 starting gold to begin their adventure. Deal each player nine cards and you are ready to begin!
To start the game, look at the hand of cards that were dealt, choose one and pass the rest to the leftmost neighbor. This should be familiar if you have ever played any other card drafting game (like Sushi Go!, 7 Wonders, etc). Once you have your complete hand of nine cards you drafted, the hunt may begin. During you draft phase you will have already assessed the main board and decided how you would like your draft to go – do want the maximum red treasure? The minimum blue treasure? All the dogs?? Each terrain type will be scored in order from top down, so whomever has amassed the minimum number of blue values will receive the tile on the MIN section of the tundra, while they who gathered the most value in blue cards will receive the MAX tile. There are cards that can affect your values using a +/- mechanic so that you can hopefully come in the victor on your chosen field.
Once the main treasure hunt is complete and everyone has their treasure tiles, you must figuratively store your treasures in the cave. Predictably, goblins will visit your cave to try to steal your goods, so I hope you had drafted some guard dogs in the first phase of the game to protect your shinies. If not, you will be parting with some of your gold (which are ultimately VPs)! At the end of five rounds following this structure, and reversing draft direction, you flip over the main board to reveal the scoreboard where you can record your earnings (findings?) and determine victory for the greatest Treasure Hunter!
Components: this game comes with a good amount of components – just the way I like it. The main board, treasure tiles, money chits, and goblin tiles are all thick cardboard that are of great Queen Games quality. The cards are great quality too. I really like the double-sided game board that also serves as score board. Another great component collection from Queen Games!
Ok, so I really like this game a lot. I received this game from my wife, who has an uncanny ability to choose games for me that are not on my wish list, but that end up being simply wonderful (see Azul, Saboteur). I really enjoy card drafting games, and when you can go into a draft with a strategy that just is completely obliterated by someone else’s draft is unpredictable fun! So many times I have played this and just KNEW that my 2 of Red was going to win me the MIN tile. But then my opponent busts out a 3 of Red with a -2 card and snags it away from me. It can be frustrating, but it’s also just a testament to really good drafting and counter-strategy. Using the guard dogs to scare off goblins is cool, and the goblin tiles provide you with VPs too. I know it’s kinda kooky and silly, but I really enjoy this one. Richard Garfield has another hit on his hands for me, and I’m not the only one who recognizes it. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a sneaky 14 / 18.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Ready or Not (2019) in Movies
Sep 3, 2019
Verdict: Blood Soaked Wedding
Story: Ready or Not starts on what should be Grace’s (Weaving) greatest day, her wedding day to Alex (O’Brien) which will put her into the famous gaming family Le Domas. With the wedding at Alex’s family home, she is welcomed by the likes of his brother Daniel (Brody), his father Tony (Czerny) and his mother Becky (MacDowell).
The family has an unusual tradition of playing a randomly selected game, which can be a simple game like chess, but tonight Grace selects Hide and Seek, a game which means the whole family will hunt her down before dawn, being a race for her to survive.
Thoughts on Ready or Not
Characters – Grace is a woman that was raised through the foster system, now she has met the love of her life in Alex and is hoping to be part of a family for the first time in her life. Like most people she is nervous on her wedding day, eager to impress her new family too, but nothing will prepare her for the night, where she must learn to fight to survive when her new family is hunting to capture her. Alex is the man that is going to marry Grace, he has become distant from his family, but knows the traditions that must be followed, he doesn’t give everything away to Grace, knowing it will scary her away, though he doesn’t want to get involved in everything once the game starts. Daniel is Alex’s brother, he hates being part of the family, he wants nothing to do with the game, but reluctantly agrees to play along with little to no enthusiasm, being one of the few people that will help Grace. Tony is the father of the household, he has made the family bigger that ever and wants to continue the traditions that were bought upon the family, he will do anything to make sure the tradition is upheld. We do meet other members of the family including Becky the wife of Tony, mother of the boys, her daughter Emilie alone with the spouses Fitch who will get the most laughs in the film and Charity.
Performances – Samara Weaving kills it in the leading role, first she puts up a fight, secondly, she gives us natural looking reactions to everything that is going on. Adam Brody gives us a strong performance that makes us want to be like his character in this situation. Mark O’Brien is strong, but doesn’t reach the levels of the fellow stars of the film. Henry Czerny is fun through this film, he starts welcoming, turns psychotic and soon becomes a loose cannon as things get out of control, Henry makes us want to see more from his character through this film.
Story – The story here follows a woman that is getting married, only to learn that her wedding night is going to have a twist, she must play a game with the family, with this being a extreme, hide and seek, in a battle for life. This is a story that takes the most important day in anybody’s life and turns it into a nightmare, which will see Grace needing to fight to survive against a family that will do anything to hunt her down to continue having their fame and fortune. It does show how the rich will do anything to get away with something big in their lives, even murder, while it does show us just how games can be turned into something bigger than just a board game.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film does come from the gore that we do see, both towards Grace and to other innocent victims in the game, one scene involving a hand is extremely difficult to watch. The mystery in the film does look at how the family is acting, like what will happen if they don’t win.
Settings – The film is set in one location, the giant mansion of the Le Domas, this shows how many different potential hiding spots we could see and how much she is playing on away ground.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are brutal to see, it is mostly all the injuries being inflicted through the film, as mentioned before the hand sequence is one that will make most wince.
Scene of the Movie – How to use a crossbow.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do get a lot of time jumps here, considering this is taking place over about seven hours.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining humour filled horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat seeing if Grace will make it out alive and just what will happen next.
Overall: Fun survival horror.
Story: Ready or Not starts on what should be Grace’s (Weaving) greatest day, her wedding day to Alex (O’Brien) which will put her into the famous gaming family Le Domas. With the wedding at Alex’s family home, she is welcomed by the likes of his brother Daniel (Brody), his father Tony (Czerny) and his mother Becky (MacDowell).
The family has an unusual tradition of playing a randomly selected game, which can be a simple game like chess, but tonight Grace selects Hide and Seek, a game which means the whole family will hunt her down before dawn, being a race for her to survive.
Thoughts on Ready or Not
Characters – Grace is a woman that was raised through the foster system, now she has met the love of her life in Alex and is hoping to be part of a family for the first time in her life. Like most people she is nervous on her wedding day, eager to impress her new family too, but nothing will prepare her for the night, where she must learn to fight to survive when her new family is hunting to capture her. Alex is the man that is going to marry Grace, he has become distant from his family, but knows the traditions that must be followed, he doesn’t give everything away to Grace, knowing it will scary her away, though he doesn’t want to get involved in everything once the game starts. Daniel is Alex’s brother, he hates being part of the family, he wants nothing to do with the game, but reluctantly agrees to play along with little to no enthusiasm, being one of the few people that will help Grace. Tony is the father of the household, he has made the family bigger that ever and wants to continue the traditions that were bought upon the family, he will do anything to make sure the tradition is upheld. We do meet other members of the family including Becky the wife of Tony, mother of the boys, her daughter Emilie alone with the spouses Fitch who will get the most laughs in the film and Charity.
Performances – Samara Weaving kills it in the leading role, first she puts up a fight, secondly, she gives us natural looking reactions to everything that is going on. Adam Brody gives us a strong performance that makes us want to be like his character in this situation. Mark O’Brien is strong, but doesn’t reach the levels of the fellow stars of the film. Henry Czerny is fun through this film, he starts welcoming, turns psychotic and soon becomes a loose cannon as things get out of control, Henry makes us want to see more from his character through this film.
Story – The story here follows a woman that is getting married, only to learn that her wedding night is going to have a twist, she must play a game with the family, with this being a extreme, hide and seek, in a battle for life. This is a story that takes the most important day in anybody’s life and turns it into a nightmare, which will see Grace needing to fight to survive against a family that will do anything to hunt her down to continue having their fame and fortune. It does show how the rich will do anything to get away with something big in their lives, even murder, while it does show us just how games can be turned into something bigger than just a board game.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film does come from the gore that we do see, both towards Grace and to other innocent victims in the game, one scene involving a hand is extremely difficult to watch. The mystery in the film does look at how the family is acting, like what will happen if they don’t win.
Settings – The film is set in one location, the giant mansion of the Le Domas, this shows how many different potential hiding spots we could see and how much she is playing on away ground.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are brutal to see, it is mostly all the injuries being inflicted through the film, as mentioned before the hand sequence is one that will make most wince.
Scene of the Movie – How to use a crossbow.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do get a lot of time jumps here, considering this is taking place over about seven hours.
Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining humour filled horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat seeing if Grace will make it out alive and just what will happen next.
Overall: Fun survival horror.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Reign of the Fallen in Books
Mar 22, 2018
Reign of the Fallen has a pretty interesting premise - there are a few different school of magic in this world, and our main character is a necromancer. (One of the side characters is a Beast Master, and another is a Healer. We also see Weather Mages.) Necromancers, far from being the mysterious evil mages we see in most fantasy, are revered and noble in this world; they bring souls back from the Deadlands, when they can, so they can continue "living" in the real world. "Living" is a loose term - they must make sure they are completely covered at all times - if a living person sees any of their flesh, they turn - immediately - into terrifying monsters that hunt and kill both the living and the Dead. And the more they kill, the more powerful they become. Thankfully, people are very, very careful, and so Shades are very rare! .....or they were. Now that someone has started to purposefully make them, shit's hitting the fan.
Odessa and her friends - three other Necromancers, a Healer, a Beast Master, and a Princess - set out to solve this mystery and take out the shades wreaking havoc on the kingdom. Entwined in that plot is the near-breaking of Odessa's spirit when one of her friends dies, and the recovery from that, as well as romances with people of both genders. Yay for bisexual representation! (One of her Necromancer friends is also in a homosexual relationship with the Healer, and it's all perfectly normal. I love seeing so many fantasy YA books these days not treating that as something special or other. Yay for culture changing! Maybe someday it won't even be so out-of-the-ordinary that I'll feel the need to point it out!)
The book had a few technical problems - a few scenes where I was confused how a character had gotten someplace when I thought they were somewhere else, some confusion in how a scene was described - but those could be overlooked with how wonderful the rest of the book was.
The plot was wrapped up very nicely by the end of the book, so I don't know if there will be a sequel or not, but I really enjoyed the world and would definitely read one if she writes it!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Odessa and her friends - three other Necromancers, a Healer, a Beast Master, and a Princess - set out to solve this mystery and take out the shades wreaking havoc on the kingdom. Entwined in that plot is the near-breaking of Odessa's spirit when one of her friends dies, and the recovery from that, as well as romances with people of both genders. Yay for bisexual representation! (One of her Necromancer friends is also in a homosexual relationship with the Healer, and it's all perfectly normal. I love seeing so many fantasy YA books these days not treating that as something special or other. Yay for culture changing! Maybe someday it won't even be so out-of-the-ordinary that I'll feel the need to point it out!)
The book had a few technical problems - a few scenes where I was confused how a character had gotten someplace when I thought they were somewhere else, some confusion in how a scene was described - but those could be overlooked with how wonderful the rest of the book was.
The plot was wrapped up very nicely by the end of the book, so I don't know if there will be a sequel or not, but I really enjoyed the world and would definitely read one if she writes it!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com