monday memories – clariel

Emma of Miss Print and Nicole at The Book Bandit have started a new weekly feature called Monday Memories.  To participate, all you have to do is take a photo of one of your books (or a library book that means a lot to you) and talk a bit about why it made an impression.  Today I'm going to talk about Clariel by Garth Nix.

True story: I haven’t read this book yet. 

Given that I’ve re-read Sabriel and the other Abhorsen stories over and over (too many times to count!), you’d think I would have already jumped into this one.  Especially since I picked it up at Book Expo America in MAY, and it is October now.  Somehow this book has become a charm.  In my head it has become the thing that’ll pull me out of a terrible day, the antidote to reading malaise, the cure for all that ails me! 

I may be putting too much pressure on this book.  I’ll stop, I swear. 

Oh look at that – it’s me meeting Garth Nix in person and getting his signature.  I was SO EXCITED (I’m in the middle, that’s my sister on the right, beeteedubs)… it doesn’t show in the photo, but my heart was beating like mad and I almost forgot how to speak.  I just… authors are my rock stars, you know? 

So yeah.  Even though I haven’t read this book, it means a lot to me.  It’s potential wonder, the continuation of a favorite universe, and the meet-and-greet of the year.  Dear book, I don't know you yet, but I love you.

If you'd like to see more Monday Memories posts, head over to this week's link list.

newt's emerald

Garth Nix is one of my all-time favorite authors.  I have an entire shelf of his books in my living room (including one duplicate copy of Lirael, but who’s counting?).  I await each of his books with a sort of glee, because I *know* I’ll love them.  It was funny/shocking to realize that I’d somehow missed news of Nix’s Regency romance Newt’s Emerald.  It contains: a girl posing as a boy, adventures magical and mundane, and FUN.  It's also exactly what I asked for on my reading wishlist in January.

After the Newington Emerald is stolen at the height of a conjured storm, eighteen year-old Lady Truthful Newington goes to London to search for the magical heirloom of her house. But as no well-bred young lady can hunt the metropolis for a stolen jewel, she has to disguise herself as a man, and is soon caught up in a dangerous adventure where she must risk her life, her reputation... and her heart. 

Balancing twin roles as a young lady coming out in her first season and as an intrepid young man up against an evil sorceress isn’t easy, but Truthful has to manage it. Her father’s life and even the fate of England may depend upon her recovering the Newington Emerald!

Truthful Newington is a young lady of eighteen, and she is about to make her debut in Society.  You might think she lives in the Regency England so often co-opted as a setting by romance novelists like Georgette Heyer, but in fact her England is different: it contains magic.  When a famous family jewel (the Newington Emerald, don’t you know!) is stolen in the midst of a storm, Truthful sets out to recover the heirloom.  To do so, she’ll have to pose as her own (male) cousin.  Shenanigans ensue, mistaken identities abound, and all the adventure leads to the requisite happy ending.

Whether you’ve read romances for years or are new to the genre, you likely know that a happy (and romantic) ending is the norm.  Garth Nix doesn’t take any chances in that regard with this tale, but he does include rather more adventures than the traditional romance novelist.  The best fun, of course, is in playing with a cross-dressing female.  There’s more freedom of choice, movement, and even thought for the heroine when she can go about life as a man.  And Truthful, while not exactly meek or docile, worries about making a good impression and finding her feet.  Nix surrounds her with interesting people, and in (and out of!) her alternate identity as Hénri de Chevalier adventure soon breaks out. 

While I enjoyed the book as a frothy, fun read, my favorite bits tended to be about side characters like Lady Badgery (Truthful’s great aunt, who has hidden depths), Lord Otterbrook (a chance encounter), and the three Newington-Lacy cousins (young scoundrels all, in different ways).  I appreciated the book at novella length, but I wished for a bit more time with Truthful’s merry band of friends and family.  Though he describes Truthful’s stubbornness and the struggle keeping her double life alive very well, Nix’s writing is strongest in the action scenes, which mostly cluster toward the end of the book. 

On the whole, Newt’s Emerald is an amusing adventure wrapped in a mystery.  Its strengths are the setting, active writing, and secondary characters, though the central romance has its own delightful moments, too.  It’s the perfect introduction to Regency romance for aficionados of young adult fiction who may be unfamiliar with the genre.

Recommended for: fans of Georgette Heyer, Patricia C. Wrede, and Mary Robinette Kowal (and Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series!), and anyone looking for a few hours of pure reading fun.

waiting on wednesday (73)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

I read Garth Nix’s Sabriel, the first book in his Old Kingdom series, when I was in high school.  My main prerequisites for checking a book out from the library (my primary means of book discovery) at that point were that the cover look cool (granted, totally subjective) and that the book be substantial/long.  I read very quickly in those days (ah, I miss them!), had few distractions, and craved as long a reading experience as possible.  It is important to note that during this same period I read many James Michener and Leon Uris epics – solely due to page count.  Follies of youth and all that.

Anyway, Sabriel was a huge favorite, and so were the following books, Lirael and Abhorsen.  I actually asked for (and received from an obliging brother) a box set of the Abhorsen books for my nineteenth birthday.  An Old Kingdom novella was included in Nix’s collection of short stories Across the Wall, and that also joined my Garth Nix shelf.  What I am trying to say… is that I am flipping obsessed with this series, and the fact that there’s a new story coming out this year makes me want to spaz out like a child on Mountain Dew for the first time.  I have no idea how I will stay sane until Clariel’s release date (which is October 14, from HarperCollins).  So so so so so so so excited!!!

Clariel is the daughter of the one of the most notable families in the Old Kingdom, with blood relations to the Abhorsen and, most importantly, to the King. When her family moves to the city of Belisaere, there are rumors that her mother is next in line for the throne. However, Clariel wants no part of it—a natural hunter, all she ever thinks about is escaping the city’s confining walls and journeying back to the quiet, green world of the Great Forest.



But many forces conspire against Clariel’s dream. A dangerous Free Magic creature is loose in the city, her parents want to marry her off to a killer, and there is a plot brewing against the old and withdrawn King Orrikan. When Clariel is drawn into the efforts to find and capture the creature, she discovers hidden sorcery within herself, yet it is magic that carries great dangers. Can she rise above the temptation of power, escape the unwanted marriage, and save the King?

What books are you waiting on?

under my hat

I’ve undergone a transformation.  For most of my life I thought of short stories as the second-class citizens of the reading world.  Why read a short story anthology when you could pick a thick book that would keep you reading the same story for hours?  I wanted epic stories, the longer the better.

Things have changed since those days.  I don’t have hours-long blocks of time to spend immersed in a book (unless I want to stay awake all night and then deal with a reading hangover at work the next day).  Instead, I have a twenty-five minute bus commute, a fifteen minute lunch, one hour before bed. In those moments, a brief, vivid story is sometimes all that I can digest. And an anthology, created to collect related short stories or novellas, is the perfect solution.  It is this change in thinking and change in reading habits that led me to list ‘read more short stories’ as one of my goals for 2013.  And I did just that by picking up Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan.

Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund, Margo Lanagan, Peter S. Beagle, and Garth Nix are just a few of the authors who have toiled over their cauldrons and conjured up bewitching new creations inspired by and celebrating the might and mystery of the witch. Assembled by one of the most well-regarded anthologists in the science fiction/fantasy world, this rich, intelligent collection will enchant readers of all ages.

Under My Hat is one of the strongest anthologies I’ve ever read.  Usually there are a couple of excellent entries, a few that register as fair, and one or two that are simply mediocre.  The quality of this anthology was ‘good and/or great’ across the board.  The theme, of course, is magic.  Specifically, magic that requires a hat: witchy magic.  Strahan gave the authors some flexibility within that theme, but all of the stories have a connection to the central motif.  Even within a strong anthology I had my favorites, and the mini-reviews for those stories follow below.

Payment Due by Frances Hardinge – When an unwelcome intruder takes the things that matter to a girl and her grandmother, something must be done – and it may be a bit… unnatural.  I have never, to my knowledge, read Frances Hardinge before.  I will remedy my ignorance posthaste, because this little story was not only about revenge and magic, it also managed funny, tragic, menacing, and heartwarming all in one go. 

A Handful of Ashes by Garth Nix – A school bully awakens old magic that should have remained buried, and it’s up to a few intrepid student witches to protect their lives and outwit the other side.  It doesn’t surprise me that a Garth Nix story should be one of my favorites of the collection.  Nix’s entry highlights the advantages of working hard, overcoming obstacles and paying attention to history – which are life skills too (not just magic).

Which Witch by Patricia A. McKillip – Bandmates may be facing a menace blind if a crow familiar can’t communicate to and protect his chosen witch.  Faceoff at show time.  Though short, this story is packed with detail.  Multiple character perspectives widen the scope, and while the threat is deadly, the focus is light and fun overall.

Great-Grandmother in the Cellar by Peter S. Beagle – When a witch curses his sister and threatens to keep her asleep forever, a young man makes the fateful decision to dig up his great-grandmother’s bones. This story is gruesome, hilarious, (again) revenge-filled awesome.  Just dark and unpredictable enough to make one shiver, while surprising the reader into laughs and an acknowledgement of the author’s skill.

Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow by Margo Lanagan – Even across many miles, Pen knows it’s time for her granddaughter’s birth.  The journey changes her, and her granddaughter will alter her even more.  When I first read Lanagan last year I predicted that I would be coming back to her writing.  Here’s the proof that I was right.  The tale of this woman’s journey and choices is beautiful, haunting, and human.

In all, Under My Hat is a delicious anthology: it combines wonderful work by some of the best fantasists in the business, and brings those stories to the reader in one delightful package. It’s early yet, but I predict that it’ll be in the running for best of the year.

Recommended for: fans of fantasy and the short story form, anyone who imagines magic in the everyday (or would like to), and the uninitiated reader who would like to sample the wares of some of the greatest (living) writers of fantasy.

a confusion of princes

Dear Garth Nix, 

I will buy any and every book you write – and often extra copies for gifts.  Seriously.  I think your work is fantastic.  Shade’s Children chilled me to the core years before dystopian fiction got big.  My copies of the middle grade fantasy Keys to the Kingdom books are well-loved and much-read.  And I don’t think I can say it any better than Amanda of Dead White Guys did on twitter: “The best YA trilogy I've ever read was Garth Nix's Sabriel. I don't know why I just remembered that it existed, but it owned my face.”  Also, you sent me a signed postcard once (thanks!), which I still have (not creepy, not creepy at all).  As expected, I loved your newest sci-fi YA title, A Confusion of Princes.  Thank you for writing wonderful books!

Sincerely,

Me

A grand adventure that spans galaxies and lifetimes, A Confusion of Princes is also a page-turning action adventure.

These are the three deaths of Prince Khemri. Told in his own words, we follow him as he trains to become a Prince of the Empire, an enhanced human being, equipped with biological and technological improvements that make him faster, stronger and smarter than any ordinary person. Not to mention the ultimate benefit: should he die, and be deemed worthy, he will be reborn…
Which is just as well, because no sooner has Prince Khemri graduated to full Princehood than he learns the terrible truth behind the Empire: there are ten million princes, and all of them want each other dead, because there can only be one Emperor…

As A Confusion of Princes opens, the reader is introduced to Khemri, an altered and improved human being whose fate it will be to rule as Prince in a vast Empire – as long as he isn’t killed first.  Khemri has been brought up his entire life to believe in his own importance, and his first steps into the universe he is sure he was born to dominate are an unpleasant shock.  The book follows his journey from an egotistical and selfish novice Prince to an adult, with understanding and capabilities that do justice to his purpose.  The story explores Khemri’s coming-of-age on intellectual and emotional levels, and manages to be a fully entertaining sci-fi adventure at the same time.  In a word?  Awesome.

This book is: a first-person narrative from a male perspective, hard* sci-fi, and all about character growth (Prince Khemri goes from blank, selfish slate to somewhat patient, empathetic, and humble over time? Be still my heart!).  Also: there’s alien action, sweet star ships, manufactured beings, mind-controlled servants and made-from-scratch beasts, and of course the battles and adventures and impossible tests that go into the making of any space opera worth its salt.

Have I mentioned the world-building?  The world-building was REALLY GOOD.  There you have it.  Oh, you need specifics?  Okay.  Nix took sci-fi clichés and twisted them into new configurations.  The Empire is arranged along a strict social hierarchy and surveillance, with no real ‘religion’ (no Star Wars-type Force, in other words).  But Princes and Priests and the Emperor come from somewhere, and the long-abandoned history of Earth makes appearances in the narrative.  The morality and purpose of Princes is also an interesting theme – as is Khemri’s evolution in that area.  And I am now fascinated by movement via wormhole jumps and the different kinds of Tek – I want more! 

In all, Nix’s latest is satisfying for a couple of reasons: complex characterization and exciting plot being two of them.  But the best barometer of its appeal (to me) remains the fact that my 21-year-old brother called to discuss how much he enjoyed it.  One day after getting it in the mail, I might add. That is a good book.

Recommended for: fans of science fiction and first-person narratives, those who have enjoyed the recent spate of superhero films and books, and anyone with a taste for excellent characterization in YA fiction.

*Liviania pointed out the difference between hard sci-fi and this book's characteristics in the comments.  Thanks for setting me right!

waiting on wednesday (19)

I’m participating today in "Waiting On" Wednesday. It is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and its purpose is to spotlight eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

None of you compulsively check an author’s website to see when their next book comes out, do you? 'Cause that would be weird. Oh wait, I do that. I mean, I MUST know when the next Robin McKinley, Neil Gaiman, and Garth Nix book will appear (not to mention about 30 other authors added on the the list). I’m a geek like that. So when I checked Garth Nix’s website for the eleventy-billionth time in the last 5 years and saw that he actually has a novel out THIS YEAR? I might have wallowed a bit in glee and expectation. Can’t. Freaking. Wait. A Confusion of Princes will be released by HarperCollins on May 15, 2012.

A grand adventure that spans galaxies and lifetimes, A Confusion of Princes is also a page-turning action adventure.

These are the three deaths of Prince Khemri. Told in his own words, we follow him as he trains to become a Prince of the Empire, an enhanced human being, equipped with biological and technological improvements that make him faster, stronger and smarter than any ordinary person. Not to mention the ultimate benefit: should he die, and be deemed worthy, he will be reborn…

Which is just as well, because no sooner has Prince Khemri graduated to full Princehood than he learns the terrible truth behind the Empire: there are ten million princes, and all of them want each other dead, because there can only be one Emperor…

What books are you waiting on?

favorite fictional character (and happy friday!)

If you haven't yet, you should go check out my guest post at Wordsmithonia on my favorite fictional character. I chose to talk about Suzy Turquoise Blue, heroine and auxiliary character extraordinaire from Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series. The first of seven books (and an introduction to Suzy) was Mister Monday, which I reviewed here. Oh, and happy Friday!

mister monday

I’m mildly irritated whenever someone starts off a review by comparing a series to another, already wildly popular, series. So I’m not going to do it. (However, if you see some obvious parallels, feel free to run riot in the comments. Or…yeah. Run calmly in the comments. Whatever suits your fancy.) That said, Garth Nix’s Mister Monday is the first in a seven-book series, about an unassuming boy with an ‘interesting’ future.

Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world -- where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets.

I first heard of Garth Nix through his Old Kingdom series, which is comprised of novels Sabriel (which I reviewed here), Lirael and Abhorsen, and short story The Creature in the Case. These books are addictive, dark, adventurous and just a little morbid. Then I read Shade’s Children, one of Nix’s earlier works and what I’d term a dystopian YA novel. That book rocked me – in the way that a good YA dystopian or post-apocalyptic story will do (at least in my little world). After that, I was pretty sure that Nix could do no wrong. That’s when I picked up The Keys to the Kingdom series, of which Mister Monday is the first entry. Nix = all-star? Confirmed.

Mister Monday begins the story of Arthur Penhaligon, a young man who by all rights should die young of asthma complications. But something interesting happens. Actually, several interesting and menacing things happen all at once, and Arthur is thrust into the center of a perfect storm. The only way out? Is to the save the world. Of course, you say to yourself. But it’s not like that. It’s a grand adventure, sure. But it’s also Arthur growing up and having to be brave and survive without feeling sorry for himself or worrying for even a second, because the action never stops. He shows such determination and resourcefulness (without verging on sappy), that you just pull for the kid. It’s like watching the underdog. You want them to WIN! But you know that no matter the story, winning’s only half the battle.

And that’s what this story is. It’s an epic adventure all in itself, with marvelous world-building and fantastic characters, but you get the feeling that you are only standing at the precipice of a huge universe that goes on around, under, and over ours – in another dimension entirely. It’s grand and entertaining, and its characters make you laugh and shudder and tear up. So: the plot’s excellent. The characters are believable and lovable. The writing? Simply fantastic. There are allusions and references to classic literature, history, culture and world problems, galore. I felt smarter after reading this book. And it’s MIDDLE GRADES fare? No wonder I love this author.

So, having just given this book the most glowing of reviews, who will enjoy it? I dare say that anyone would. Here’s the part where I break my promise: if you liked Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Ranger’s Apprentice, The Warrior Heir, you’ll probably gobble up The Keys to the Kingdom like cotton candy. Best of all? The last book in the series, Lord Sunday, just came out, so you don’t have to wait for the next installment!

This post was inspired by Andrea of The Little Bookworm, who hosted a Garth Nix Mini Reading Challenge – which I have been VERY slow to complete. But hey, I’ve contributed now!

teaser tuesday (32)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“The drumming sound came again. Leaf gasped and jumped back as several tentacles ripped the draft excluder off the bottom of the door and slithered inside. She picked up an umbrella and struck at them, but the tentacles gripped the umbrella and cut it into pieces. More and more tentacles came through under the door. Then they started sawing backwards and forwards.”

-p. 46 of Garth Nix’s Grim Tuesday

mister monday finds three new owners

Dear all and sundry:

I have been remiss. And missing. And it’s Monday. Eeeek! What a combination. I think that means I’m past-due to introduce the winners of my Mister Monday (by the always amazing Garth Nix) giveaway. Mister Monday is the first in the Keys to the Kingdom series, where a lot of magic, world-saving and mayhem happen to a boy who may or may not have been supposed to die an early death. And basically? The book rocks it out, no matter who you are, or what age bracket you hail from. I’m happy to announce that the winners are:

sRy_ of El último primer beso

donnas of Donna’s Blog Home

and Another Daydreamer from Daydreams and Wanderings

Their favorite literary characters are V from V for Vendetta, Sherlock Holmes, and Auralia from the Auralia Thread series by Jeffrey Overstreet. Congratulations, winners! Many happy thoughts go out to everyone else, and look for a LARGE blogoversary-type contest in the next week or so. Yay!

mister monday giveaway

I joined the Garth Nix mini-challenge hosted by Andrea of The Little Bookworm back in autumn of 2009. I’ve been anticipating Lord Sunday, the final entry in the seven book ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ series, for a couple of years now. The challenge seemed like the perfect way to get excited for a new installment. But I’ve been lazy, and the reading hasn’t happened. So! To jumpstart a little Garth Nix love, I’m going to give away three copies of the first book in the series – Mister Monday.

Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world -- where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets.

This series is full of action and adventure and mystery, and one of my favorite literary characters of all time, Suzy Turquoise Blue, makes her entrance in the pages of Mister Monday.

-----

If you’d like to win one of three paperback copies, just follow the directions below!

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post answering the question, “Who is your favorite literary character?”

Please include your email address or another method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on March 19 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

Good luck!

mini challenges rock. and so does garth nix.

Andrea at The Little Bookworm is hosting a Garth Nix mini-challenge! Here’s what she says:

“One of my favorite series of all time is the Keys to the Kingdom series. The last book, Lord Sunday, is out in March so I thought now is a good time to do a Garth Nix mini-challenge. The challenge is to read 3 Garth Nix books by April 30, 2010. Easy, right? It starts today. To join enter your name in the Mister Linky list at my blog.”

I may have mentioned that Garth Nix is a favorite author of mine. I may also have written him at one point and received a signed postcard back and KEPT that postcard until the present day. Or something. *looks around furtively and pretends normalcy* I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of Lord Sunday as well, and in preparation for its arrival will probably need to read the whole series again. Plus a couple of others…so yay! Another challenge. And it’s low pressure and short, so I can’t go wrong. Remember to go over and check out Andrea’s post if you want to take part!

sabriel

Alyce at At Home with Books has started a weekly tradition of revisiting past reading favorites and bringing them into the spotlight.

My pick this week is Garth Nix’s Sabriel, which I just re-read the other day for probably the sixth time. Throughout my teenage years I’d go and scour the Young Adult section at my local library, looking for anything new, or at least anything that seemed interesting. I’m pretty sure I pulled Sabriel off the bookshelf primarily for its size – it’s pretty thick, and at that point, fat books = the best books.

I was immediately sucked into the world Nix had created - a world divided by a Wall. On one side was Ancelstierre, a modern society, a reality identical to my own; the other side, the Old Kingdom, was rife with magic. Sabriel, the young protagonist, faces perils and dark adventures, but she learns, grows and changes as she meets these challenges, and eventually finds that she has the strength to accept her fate and defeat evil. The story is told along a journey, reminiscent in some ways of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, though Nix has a considerably more modern (and less protracted) narrative voice. It’s a wonderful, un-put-downable, dynamic fantasy, and I’d recommend it to anyone craving a well-crafted and persuasive high fantasy in the tradition of heroic romance.

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds extraordinary companions and embarks on an epic journey as threats mount on all sides. Every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death—and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.

Sabriel is a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.

Sabriel is the first of the Abhorsen trilogy, but also functions as a stand-alone novel. Other stories in the Old Kingdom world include: Lirael, Abhorsen, novella “Nicholas Sayre and The Creature in the Case” in Across the Wall, and upcoming Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen.

teaser tuesday (2)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“Rapunzel shrieked again, and something inside her, something old and cold and strange that should never have come back into the world, bubbled up from where it was hiding and used her voice to speak a spell. The carefully pruned thorn bushes shivered in answer, and their branches suddenly grew long and the thorns much sharper, and they lashed out at the three boys, scratching horribly, tendrils seeking their pale red eyes.”

-from Garth Nix’s “An Unwelcome Guest,” p. 42 in Troll’s-Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling