Review: Nobody's Prize - Esther Friesner

Synopsis: Young Helen of Sparta is not about to be left behind when her older brothers head off to join the quest for the Golden Fleece - why should boys get to have all the fun? Accompanied by her friend, the ex-slave Milo, and disguised as a boy herself, Helen sets out to join the crew of heroes aboard the fabled ship the Argo. But even with the best-laid plans, it takes all of Helen's wits, plus a favor or two, for their voyage to begin - a voyage that will bring many changes for our determined heroine.

Helen quickly faces all sorts of danger and intrigue. Not only does she have to avoid her brothers' detection, a devastatingly handsome boy catches her eye and Hercules falls in love with her boy-self. There are battles to be fought, as well as an encounter with a terrifying murderous princess. But that's only the beginning! With her beauty blossoming, Helen's journey takes her beyond the mythology of the Golden Fleece to Athens, where her very future as Queen of Sparta is threatened.

Review: This had more of a definite storyline than Nobody's Princess, and it was every bit as good. Helen continues to be a good, properly strong female heroine without being obnoxious and always disparaging against the male gender. I have always been a fan of the myth of the Golden Fleece, so I found this installment particularly fun. Esther Friesner's rendition of Jason was well in keeping with how I always suspected he may be, and her Medea was astounding. She brought new and further life to an already intriguing character; I know that whenever I read about her in the myths again, I will feel more as if I know her.

But mixed in with the adventure, the good characters, and all that, there were some delicate and disturbing content. Hercules really does fall in love with Helen's boy-self Glaucus. Resulting in Hercules's weapons bearer being quite jealous of Helen - yes, his weapons bearer doubles into Hercules's boyfriend as well. Now, I always suspected that Hercules was gay when I read the myths - I suspected that of most of the Greek heroes, except Odysseus, Jason, and Hector (the latter not necessarily a Greek hero, but I always liked him). But it was disturbing to read. Esther Friesner does not carry this to a ridiculous degree, though, and nothing actually happens. The other delicate matter the Author addresses is when Helen transitions from girlhood into womanhood by the arrival of a monthly event which we ladies detest. I'm never one who likes it when an Author brings in such issues into a story - it's invasive, though realistic, but there are some realistic matters that one need not address. One of the attractions of literature is we get a chance to live in a world where daily functions are modestly ignored. But Esther Friesner deals with this issue very delicately, with careful and few words, and it actually does serve to introduce an important plot development.

What I found most disappointing was the end. It isn't abrupt or lacking - nothing like that. But I was sad to discover that the Author gives no explanation as to why it is Helen eventually marries Prince Menelaus. He's featured very briefly and there's no indication that Helen would ever consider him as a husband. I had waited in anticipation for this - what did Helen see in Menelaus that resulted in such an intimate tie? And then nothing.

Still, I will buy Nobody's Prize to add to my collection, and if you enjoyed Nobody's Princess, you'll enjoy this one, too.

Overall Rating: JJJ

Other Books in This Series:

1)Nobody's Princess

2)Nobody's Prize

Review: The End of Time - Avi

Synopsis: After the death of their beloved mentor, Bear, Crispin and Troth are more desperate than ever, wandering the desolate French countryside, where they don't speak the language and know no one. The only hope they cling so is that somehow they can reach Iceland, where Bear had said there were no kings or lords, and where they can live in freedom. Crispin is determined to fulfill this dream, both for himself and to honor Bear's memory. But the road to liberty is filled with danger, betrayal, and loss. Crispin must decide for himself what freedom really means - and how high a price he is willing to pay for it.

Review: The Cross of Lead - the first book in this series - didn't need a sequel, and I still think that. However, its sequels - At the Edge of the World and The End of Time - are just as good as The Cross of Lead. And I get the feeling that this one may have yet another one after it. It doesn't need one, but I have faith that Avi will do a good job, just as he did with the others. Avi is a very talented author. Never have I encountered one who can write so effectively in any genre he wishes - and for all ages. But I'm especially fond of his historical novels.

I don't really have much to say about The End of Time simply because there are no criticisms and no extreme praise that I have not already said. Normally, by the 3rd installment, an adolescent narrator becomes annoying. But Crispin, being thirteen and in general a good boy, is not annoying and I am quite fond of him. I missed Bear in this one, but as an Author, I can appreciate and understand why he had to die. I was sad that Troth left the story fairly early on, but Owen has his own charm and is an acceptable "replacement" - though that doesn't seem the right word, because he isn't a replacement; he's a new character not meant to fill in Troth's role, but just another unfortunate who Crispin meets along the way.

Like the other two, The End of Time is a very quick read, and I think can be enjoyed by any age. What I really like is in some ways each book in this series can almost act as a stand-alone volume, which is nice when one hasn't read the prequels in a while, and doesn't really have time to go back and read them first. If you haven't read At the Edge of the World, then you won't understand the full story behind Troth nor Bear's death. And if you haven't read The Cross of Lead, you won't be able to appreciate the great loss Crispin feels when Bear dies, nor will you understand why Crispin is so desperate for freedom. But the events that take place in either of those do not so heavily influence its successors that you cannot read one without the other.

The Crispin Series is a very good, quick, enjoyable read. The End of Time doesn't need a sequel, but I will not feel dread as I so often do when an Author adds on to a series that really ought to be finished. Indeed, I'll be content whether or not Avi writes another.

Overall Rating: {{{{

Others in the Crispin Series:

1)The Cross of Lead

2)At the Edge of the World

3)The End of Time

Review: The Sherlockian - Graham Moore

Synopsis: December, 1893: Hungry for the latest Sherlock Holmes installment Londoners ripped open their Strand magazines, only to reel in horror. Holmes's creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning, with crowds donning black armbands in grief, branding Conan Doyle an assassin, and demanding an explanation. But the cryptic author said nothing.

Eight years later, however, just as abruptly as he had "murdered" Holmes in The Final Problem, Conan Doyle brought him back for a new series of adventures. Again, the author said nothing. After his death, the diary that would have shed light on his mysterious reasons, chronicling this interim period in detail, went missing. In the decades since it has never been found.

Or has it?

January 2010: When Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes society, the Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to embark on the hunt for the holy grail of Holmesophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar turns up dead in his hotel room, it is Harold - using wisdom gleaned from countless detective stories - who must take up the search, both for the diary and for the killer. In a journey that hurtles from New York to London, and from the present day into the historical milieu of Conan Doyle, Harold delves perilously into the history of Sherlock Holmes and his creator - discovering a secret that proves to be anything but "elementary."

Review: Any mystery fan will love this book, but to truly appreciate it - to truly understand it - you must be a Sherlockian yourself. And I mean a real Sherlockian - not someone who gets all of their information from The Seven Per-Cent Solution and thinks that the Baker Street Irregulars are just okay.

That said, I must now move onto less pleasant things. The Sherlockian is a great mystery, but none of the characters are at all likable - except, maybe, Bram Stoker, but even he has shortcomings that are hard to ignore. I thought that I would like Harold White at first, but as the story wore on, I began to care less and less about what happened to him. This is one of those stories where you read it for the story's sake - not for the characters' sakes. But what really made me decide that I wasn't going to buy it is the language: 1 g--damn, 2 f-words, and 8 s-words. Now, a lot of the language can actually be avoided.

There are two stories going on in The Sherlockian: the mystery Harold White is trying to solve on 2010, and the one Conan Doyle is trying to solve in 1900. The book goes back-and-forth between the two, and you could actually just read Conan Doyle's story and skip the 2010-set story entirely - this is how you avoid the language. The 1900 section only has three bad words - 1 f-word and 2 s-words. And if you do this, you'll be reading the more interesting of the two mysteries. However, you cannot read the 2010-mystery without reading Conan Doyle's story, because it does end up being linked in the end, but not in a way that prevents you from reading Conan Doyle's mystery only. I will warn those of you who have easily-upset stomachs: the last two chapters set in 1900 have some pretty graphic gore.

In short, if I could just buy the chapters set in 1900 and the Author's Note (really, the most interesting part the book; definitely worth reading), then I would buy The Sherlockian. But I can't and there are better mystery stories out there with likable characters and not nearly as much language.

Overall Rating: KK

Sherlockian Rating: JJJ

Review: Erak's Ransom - John Flanagan

Synopsis: What does it mean to earn the Silver Oakleaf? So few men have done so. For Will, a mere boy and apprentice to the most difficult Ranger to please, that symbol of honor has long seemed out of reach. If he is to ever earn it, he must prove himself in ways he never imagined.

Now, in the wake of Araluen's uneasy truce with the raiding Skandians comes word that the Skandian leader, Erak, has been captured by a desert Arridi tribe. The Rangers, along with a small party of warriors, are sent to free him. But the desert is like nothing these warriors have seen before. Strangers in a strange land, they are brutalized by sandstorms, beaten by the unrelenting heat, tricked by one tribe that plays its own rules, and surprisingly befriended by another. Like a mirage, nothing is as it seems. Yet one thing is constant: the bravery of the Rangers.

Review: I am pleased to say that this Ranger's Apprentice installment was almost as good as the first four. Almost. But not quite. Why? Well, for one thing Halt gets married. I just have never seen Halt as the marrying type, let alone having a large wedding with ceremony and a bride-and-groom dance. Yes, it is largely Lady Pauline who insists on the large wedding and whatnot, and though Lady Pauline certainly broaches no argument, I just don't see Halt bending to anyone's will - not even hers - as easily as he does. And then taking up permanent residence in Castle Redmont? I beg to differ with Mr. Flanagan on this: it's not Halt.

Thankfully, though, Halt's wedding mainly serves as a dramatic arrival for Svengal, and the adventure starts. There are a lot of characters toted along on this particular adventure. Cassandra/Evelyn is back (grr), along with Halt, Horace, Svengal, Will, Gilan, Selethen the Arridi, and later Erak. When I first heard about the number, I was worried. There definitely is such a thing as too many characters on one adventure, and it's a very tricky business trying to balance them out both in dialogue and action.

Flanagan did a pretty good job of pulling it off!

Through a series of events that I won't give away, Will is separated from the group, giving a separate adventure to follow (Note: have a glass of water handy; you'll get thirsty reading it). And for the most part, Selethen, Halt, and Gilan are the only ones who talk. Cassandra has very little dialogue, which pleased me immensely - I could forget that she was there! Horace, too, was fairly mute, as was Svengal - it worked. Too much dialogue from lumps like them can be bad. Better for the Reader to pretty much forget that they are there. But the few times that either of these three characters do speak, it doesn't entirely feel as if Flanagan just made them talk so the Reader wouldn't forget about them; their comments were useful to a degree.

What also made this book almost as good as the first four was the lineup of characters. Halt is back to pretty much being Halt, Gilan is back, and of course Will and Tug - all the classics. Horace, too, must be included in this, I suppose, though I still maintain that he's not necessary. But I guess he does no serious harm, either. And the Arridi are just awesome to read about. Not as fascinating and "cool" as the Temuji (hey, they were based off of the Mongols, and sorry, but you cannot get much cooler than that), the Arridi still offer their own interest and uniqueness to the story. What The Sorcerer of the North and The Siege of Macindaw lacked is back in Erak's Ransom.

I hope the others are as good, but I doubt that they are. Still, I will read Book 8 as soon as I can.

Overall Rating: {{{{

Other Books in the Ranger's Apprentice Series:
1)The Ruins of Gorlan
2)The Burning Bridge
3)The Icebound Land
4)The Battle for Skandia
5)The Sorcerer of the North
6)The Siege of Macindaw
7)Erak's Ransom
8)The Kings of Clonmel
9)Halt's Peril
10)The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
11)The Lost Stories

Review: The Diamond of Darkhold - Jeanne DuPrau

Synopsis: It's been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Lina knows they are lucky to be there, but life aboveground is hard. Instead of opening a can for dinner, they must plant and harvest their food. And while there was no sun or moon in Ember's sky, neither was there rain, sleet, or wind. Now, in the middle of their first winter, Lina finds herself feeling homesick for her old city. It's during this dark time that Doon finds an unusual book. Torn up and missing most of its pages, it alludes to a mysterious device, a piece of technology from before the Disaster. Doon becomes convinced that the Builders of Ember meant for them to find the device when they left the city, to help them in their new lives. Together, Lina and Doon must go back underground to retrieve what was lost and bring light to a dark world.

Review: At first I had hopes that this book would prove to be a dark and rather creepy installment. Doon and Lina return to Ember! What has happened to it since then? Who has moved in to claim the ruins after the evacuation? What terrible secrets now lurk in the dark? When Lina and Doon first return to Ember, my hopes seemed to be confirmed - it was eerie, dark, and mysterious. But when Doon meets the new occupants of Ember, my hope soon crumbled into disappointment. There's nothing scary about the Troggs (and no, they are not some strange creature; that's the family name), and nothing terribly mysterious and sinister about the Diamond, either. Jeanne DuPrau had the perfect opportunity to do something similar to The Time Machine - Morlocks and Eloe - and it would have been really good. Had she done something along those lines (not necessarily right along those lines, but something similar), I would have ranked The Diamond of Darkhold every bit as good as The City of Ember.

But The City of Ember - the first book in the Ember Series - is still the best, and The Diamond of Darkhold, while an interesting read, is not necessary and a little boring. A quick read, but sadly lacking. In the end, all people learn to get along and make a better world for themselves, which then prospers and there is no fighting - etcetera. Sorry, but no. Doesn't work that way. Never will - not on this Earth, at least. While I took some small pleasure in reading The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood (which was a complete disappointment), and now The Diamond of Darkhold, I still maintain that Jeanne DuPrau did not need to write a sequel, let alone three. The City of Ember ends perfectly - let the Readers assume what happens after that.

I'll buy The Diamond of Darkhold simply to complete the series (hate having only two installments in a series), but you would be content to read no further, depending on where you are in the series. If you've just read The City of Ember, I would suggest reading no further. The sequels won't ruin the first book, but you'll be disappointed. If you have read beyond the first book - well, The Diamond of Darkhold is about as disappointing as the others.

Overall Rating: KK

Other Books in the Ember Series:
1)The City of Ember
2)The People of Sparks
3)The Prophet of Yonwood
4)The Diamond of Darkhold