Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just the other day, my friend's daughter asked me about somebody I grew up thinking to be absolutely evil. Did he deserve all the bad rap (**paraphrased from kidspeak), she asked. I told her the explanation was not that simple, and it would probably take two hours for me to tell the whole story (including all the competing narratives).

And then I came upon this book today.

In just a few pages, I found my answer:

“I don’t understand. Who’s the good guy here?” There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between. Conor shook his head. “That’s a terrible story. And a cheat.” It is a true story, the monster said. Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving.

Because humans are complicated beasts, the monster said. How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour? How can an apothecary be evil-tempered but right-thinking? How can a parson be wrong-thinking but good-hearted? How can invisible men make themselves more lonely by being seen?



View all my reviews

Review: Morning Star

Morning Star by Pierce Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh I had ambivalent feelings about this last book in the Red Rising trilogy. There were some sappy parts that I just couldn't let go. But I concede that the author could be one hell of a screenwriter, as Morning Star would make a better movie than a book (and I'm not saying this to disparage it in any way, because I finished it, and that's saying something). Golden Son's the best in this trilogy, in my opinion.

View all my reviews

Review: Golden Son

Golden Son by Pierce Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I put off reading Golden Son for the longest time because I recall having a hard time wading through Red Rising (although to be fair, I ended up enjoying it and giving it four stars plus a glowing review). I finally summoned the energy to start reading it upon encountering rave reviews on Goodreads—and I wasn't disappointed.

Golden Son provided a much better reading experience that its predecessor because of the improved writing. I still got disoriented by the in-your-face Ancient Roman references, but it got easier in time.

A final word: In this book, Darrow managed to utter one of the most astig (i.e., super-duper-cool-up-there-with-Gladiator's-my-name-is-Maximus-Decimus-Meridius-commander-of-the-Armies-of-the-North...-and-Braveheart's-they-may-take-our-lives-but-they'll-never-take-our-freedom) lines in popular literature I've ever had the pleasure of coming across: "Tell all who will hear, the Reaper sails to Mars. And he calls for an Iron Rain." Just read to appreciate.

View all my reviews

Review: Tiger Lily

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unforgettable—you could feel the darkness and the menace, the magic and the desperation borne out of doomed love leap off the pages. The writing could have had easily become maudlin in less capable hands.

View all my reviews

Review: Blood Eye

Blood Eye by Giles Kristian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Didn't want to compare with B. Cornwell's The Last Kingdom, but I guess it can't be helped. There were some (very forgivable) similarities. Good enough for me to look forward to the rest of the books in this series.

View all my reviews